Sunday, February 6, 2022

I enjoyed watching Walking To School

Walking To School 
Pic: Google

I prostate before my Root Guru! 

Art is one thing that will always remain close but in a respectable manner in my heart. I am always fascinated by any kind of artistic style although I do not possess one. Yet I've sang enough songs in the bathroom and watched best movies and have appreciated that deserved. It has been quite a long-time that I've lost much interest into watching movies and listening to songs. But thanks to electricity I could focus on an old documentary movie Walking to School. Yesterday we didn't have electricity for whole day and unfortunately I forgot to charge my cellphone. So what I did was, transferred some old movies to my old phone—that would serve any purpose but call—and started watching movies repeatedly to kill boredom. Not to my surprise there was this movie which I downloaded but never got opportunity to watch. I was excited to watch 2013 documentary movie and in between have to check battery life since old phones usually doesn't last long. I tried to use economically because I'll have to last till the electricity comes. 

The film Walking to School introduces a little girl, who later happens to be a Naxiang, with a rope, smilingly walking towards her house. At her home is mother and an old bedridden granny along with her little brother Wawa. Her mother ends her day attending meals to granny and other household chores. While Wawa is seven years old boy having a keen interest to go school with his older sister their mother doesn't allow. She expects her husband—their father—to return from town and help Wawa cross the river. 

Actually this takes place in a Nujiang River in Yunnan Province, China. Based on a true story.

Everyday Naxiang goes to school after crossing a river with the help of overhead cable. Wawa accompany her till the cable and in the evening too when his sister return from school. He stay at home wondering about school life at the other side of a river but he'll have to get mother's permission to cross. 

One day Wawa cross the river but nobody knows except new teacher, Ms. Nie. 

Still from the movie. Wawa crossing on his own. 

This movie is something I can relate myself. The casts are like us, I mean Bhutanese, and the landscapes are like ours. Only thing I might have missed is their dialect. But I could feel their emotions as it is expressed in a common language—expressions. Of course I used subtitles to understand throughout the film. 

Walking to school has never been easy for many of us and I can relate myself to this particular situation. Although I didn't cross the river and walked scary path, I have walked down the valley for more than hours and climbed up the hills in the evening. It used to be a thick jungle and I will have to wait till my seniors classes gets over. I'll have to compete my little feet to walk like theirs otherwise I'll be left far behind. During summer's my gho would be drenched from the lower part due to heavy dew. There would be another hurdles for timid like us—bully—every morning elder boys would snatch our cash. They'll beat us if we failed anytime. Fearing them nobody complained to parents let alone teachers. 

I am thankful to blessings I've received that I spent only a year in that situation.

From the film, I loved everything but I am touched deeply by the loving relationship between a brother and a sister. They love eachother while still having huge respect as a sibling. One morning Wawa calls his sister and asks her to sit down. When she did, he cleans his sister's feet with his clothes, he says, everyone in the school wears a new shoe and that his sister shall wear a pair too. So he puts her shoe.

Still from the movie. Wawa cleaning his sister's feet.

Spoilers alert. In a tragic incident Naxiang falls down into the river while returning home from school. Wawa is left alone. Hence he do not enjoy anyone's company. Ms. Nie teach him at home but she finds him less interested. So she reminds him about his interests into drawing. He nods his head and takes her where he had drawn. It was a spine-chilling moment to see his drawing. 

Wawa's drawing

Six months later the village receives a bridge. 

There are some great messages conveyed through movies and it has helped in a greater ways. This movie shows how people suffer in rural area and how some of their voices are heard lately. There's no one we can blame. This is how everything rolls in samsara.