Poets and Pancakes by Ashokamitran

Summary of Poets and Pancakes

Poets and Pancakes is taken from Asokamitran’s book ‘My Years with Boss’. He worked in The Gemini Studios located in Madras. His duty was to cut out newspaper clipping and filing. SS Vasan was the owner of the studios.

The narrator tells us about pancake, a popular make-up brand used by at Gemini Studios. He tells us that pancake has been used by prominent cinema actresses in India and abroad. The make-up department of Gemini Studios was located on the upper floor of a building. It was filled with lights, mirrors and heat generated by the lights. The Make up department expresses the spirit of national integration as it has been headed by the people all over the India.

There was an office boy in the makeup department who was 40 years old. He entered the studio with hope of becoming a star actor or top screen writer, director or lyrics writer.

Subbu was second in Gemini Studios. He looks cheerful all the time even in bad situation. He was poet, novelist, actor and film maker. Film making was very easy with him. He was tailor made for films.

Studios consists a story department which had a lawyer and an assembly of writers and poets. The lawyer was there as a legal advisor. He unwillingly ended the career of an actress by recording her voice. The lawyer often dressed differently from others. He wore pants and ties and sometimes a coat. One day The Boss closed down the Story Department, and the lawyer lost his job.

Gemini Studios was a favorite place of poets. It had an excellent mess which served good coffee throughout the day. That was was the period of Congress rule and most of the people in the studios wore khadi and worshipped Gandhiji. They were against Communism. Moral Re-Armament army visited Gemini studio and presented two plays named Jotham Valley and Forgotten Factor.  The messages of these plays were simple in nature but they left a very deep impression on the Tamil plays.  

An English editor from London also came there.  He gave a long speech in the studios but no one could understand his speech. The narrator participated in a story contest organized by a British magazine called the Encounter in The Hindu. The narrator wanted to know about this magazine before sending his manuscript. He found that its editor was Stephen Spender – the same editor who had come to Gemini Studios. He felt an instant connection to Spender and was excited to send his manuscript.

Years later, he found a stack of books marked down to students at fifty cents apiece in connection with 50^th anniversary of the Russian Revolution.  He bought one book. It was titled ‘The God That Failed’ and was written by six eminent scholars who talked about their journey into Communism and their disillusioned return. As he read the names of the authors, he came across the name of Stephen Spender – the poet who had come Gemini Studios. 

Introduction:

Presented chapter has been taken from the book ‘My Years with Boss’ by a Tamil writer named Ashokamitran. The chapter describes his time when he worked in Gemini Studios which was owened by S.S. Vasan. It was a famous film studio in those days. In the studios Asokamitran’s job was to cut newspaper clippings concerning different topics and maintaining a file of the same. Presented chapter describes a lot of things relating to the film industry. We get an inside glimpse of the working it and also of the beginning of India post-independence. He first writes his take on the make-up department. Moreover, he makes fun of the looks the actors try and the glaring lights. 

Summary

The lesson begins with Asokamitran telling us about Gemini studios. We learn about the very popular make-up brand whose name was ‘Pancakes’. The Gemini studios use this brand excessively and orders truckloads of their products. After that, he goes on to tell the readers about the troubles the actors and actresses face.

We learn about the many lights glaring in their faces when they are getting ready in the make-up room. Moreover, he also mentions how the make-up department uses loads of makeup to make them look ugly. He also tells us about the office boy in the make-up department. He has a job to slap paint, during crowd-shooting, on the faces of players.

Further, we learn that the author is a poet who joins the studio to become an actor, screenwriter, director or lyricist. He has a cubicle to work where he has to collect newspaper cuttings. The office boy always came in with his complaints to the author. The author thinks that Subbu is the one who troubles him. As Subbu is a Brahmin, the author thinks he has an upper hand.

We see that Subbu is a resourceful man with a loyalty that sets him apart. Subbu is the perfect one for films and film-making is impossible without him. Everyone loves Subbu for being friendly and hospitable. Along with many others, Subbu also does poetry. He works for the story department that also has a lawyer. However, people considered him to be the exact opposite of a legal consultant.

Moreover, he is a logical man with a neutral mindset in a group where there are only dreamers. After that, we learn how the Gemini Studios got the opportunity to host the Moral Rearmament Army. They are a group of international performers named Moral Rearmament Army. While they did not have very complex plots or messages, their sets and costumes were almost perfect.

Further, another guest, Stephen Spender, makes a visit to Gemini Studios. However, turns out, he is not that famous and many people have not even heard of him. Moreover, owing to language barriers, many could not understand him. Thus, his visit remained a mystery until after many years the author saw Stephen’s name in a book and recognized him from his visit to the studio.

Poets and Pancakes

 

1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?

Ans: The heat produced by the lights in the makeup room brought a lot of discomfort to the actors. Hence the writer refers this pain and trouble as 'the fiery misery'.

2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?

Ans:  The make-up room of the Gemini Studios was headed by different people like Bengali, Maharashtrian, Andhra, Madras Indian Christian and Anglo- Burmese so it was an example of national integration.

3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why did he join the studio? Why was he disappointed?

Ans: The ‘office boy’ was responsible for the make-up of the people who formed part of crowd in the films. He used to mix his paint in a giant vessel and slapped the paint on the faces of the players. He had joined the Gemini Studios years ago, aspiring to become an actor, or a scriptwriter, or a director, or a lyricist. He was disappointed with the studio that failed to recognize his talent. He called it a “department fit only for barbers and perverts”.

4. Why did the author appear to be doing nothing at the studios?

Ans: The job of the author was to cut newspaper clippings and file them. For the other employees, all he seemed to be doing is tearing newspapers, which according to them did not qualify as work.

1. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on?

Ans: The office boy had joined the studio years ago in the hope of becoming an actor or a screenwriter, or a director, or a lyricist. The fact that he ended up becoming none of these left him frustrated. According to him, “great literary talent was being allowed to go waste in a department fit only for barbers and perverts”. He used to direct his anger at the author even though it was meant for Kothamangalam Subbu.

2. Who was Subbu’s principal?

Ans: The Boss, who was also the founder of Gemini Studios, was Subbu’s principal.

3. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his special abilities.

Ans: Subbu was a multi-disciplinarian. He could provide solutions of problems and remain cheerful all the time and was an actor, a poet and a novelist.

4. Why was the legal adviser referred to as the opposite by others?

Ans: A lawyer used to be a part of the story department at the Gemini studios. Though, a legal adviser was supposed to be involved in legal matters, his cagey idea led to the end of an actress’s career. Due to this, he was referred to as the opposite of a legal advisor, by the people.

5. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?

Ans: The lawyer wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat whereas everyone in the Story Department wore similar khadi dhoti with a slightly oversized and clumsily tailored white khadi shirt. Thus, the lawyer stood out from others at Gemini Studios. Moreover, he was a logical man with no emotional attachment.

1. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?

Ans: The people at Gemini Studios did not have any particular political affiliations. The common politicians managed to influence them but that was limited to wearing khadi and admiring the Gandhian philosophy.  They were averse to the term ‘Communism’ but had only an erroneous understanding of the concept.

2. Why was the Moral Re-Armament army welcomed at the studio?

Ans: Frank Buchman’s Moral Re-Armament army was welcomed at the studio mainly because of their political association. The people at the Gemini Studios were averse to Communism, and hence, were ready to play host to the MRA. Apart from that, the studio people hardly had any occupation and suffered from boredom. The MRA came as a welcome change to their monotonous days at the studio.

3. Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was influenced by the plays staged by MRA.

Ans: Madras and Tamil drama community included scenes of ‘sunset and sunrise in the manner of Jotham Valley’ in almost all of their plays. This shows how the plays, staged by MRA, influenced Gemini Studios.

4. Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios?

Ans: Mr. S.S. Vasan was The Boss of Gemini Studios.

5. What caused the lack of communication between the Englishman and the people at Gemini Studios?

Ans: The accent of Stephen Spender, the Englishman, was the main cause of the lack of communication between him and the people at Gemini Studios. Apart from that, the people did not have any idea about what he was talking.

6. Why is the Englishman’s visit referred to as unexplained mystery?

Ans: The Englishman’s visit to the Gemini Studios is referred to as an unexplained mystery because no one could decipher his identity, whether he was a poet or an editor. Besides, when he spoke no one at the studio understood what he intended to say as his accent was beyond their comprehension.

1. Who was the English visitor to the studio?

Ans: The English visitor to the Gemini Studios was Stephen Spender. He was the editor of The Encounter, a British Periodical, and a famous English poet, essayist and novelist of the twentieth century.

2. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?

Ans: Before investing money in participating in a short story contest organized by an English periodical The Encounter, the author did a research on the magazine. He went to the British Council Library where, while going through an issue of that periodical, he discovered that its editor was Stephen Spender, the poet that had once visited the studio.

3. What does The God that Failed refer to?

Ans: The God That Failed was a compilation of six essays written by six eminent writers, namely, Andre Gide, Richard Wright, Ignazio Silone, Arthur Koestler, Louis Fischer and Stephen Spender. In each of the essays, the respective writers described “their journeys into Communism and their disillusioned return”.

1. The author has used gentle humor to point out human foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make the piece interesting.

Ans: The instances of humor, used by the author, mark the eccentricities and idiosyncrasies without making any direct and rude comment on anybody. For instance, the author portrays the make-up artists and the usage of the pancakes in an interesting way. Even the caricature of Subbu is hilarious. The way he tries to help his principal by offering quick solutions to his problems is quite amusing. The episode of the legal adviser that inadvertently causes the end of an actress’s career is yet another example. The frustration of the office boy, the superficial praising of Gandhi, hatred of Communism and the ‘mystery’ surrounding Stephen Spender are some of the instances where the author has incorporated gentle humor.

2. Why was Kothamangalam Subbu considered No. 2 in Gemini Studios?

Ans: Kothamangalam Subbu succeeded in securing the place closest to The Boss by means of flattery. He was not brilliant but a rather cheerful person and exceedingly loyal to The Boss. He offered solutions whenever The Boss was in a fix. Thus, the other employees considered him No.2 in Gemini Studios.

3. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini Studios?

Ans: The audience at the Gemini studios was not knowledgeable enough to understand the thrills and travails of an English poet, of which the visitor poet-editor talked about, in his speech. The studio made films for simple people whose limited resources did not provide them with an opportunity to develop a taste in English poetry. The audience failed to understand anything the poet said, all the more, because of the latter’s accent. The poet-editor, in turn, looked baffled realizing the utter inappropriateness of his speech being directed to such an audience.

4. What do you understand about the author’s literary inclinations from the account?

Ans :Though the author had a very tedious and unchallenging job at the studios, his interest in literature and writing is apparent in his willingness to participate in the short story contest organised by the British periodical, The Encounter. Moreover, the author appears to be a keen reader visiting libraries and buying books on wide-ranging topics whenever he could afford them. Besides, the narrative also establishes the fact that the author was one of the most knowledgeable persons in Gemini Studios. His idea about how prose writing was not meant for geniuses but for those with patience and perseverance, highlight his reflective and deep thoughts on literature and creative writing.