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highlighted words to know meanings.
13 In a village called Notun Gram we found a suitable bamboo grove to
film the first meeting between Goopy and Bagha and the appearance of the
tiger. Mr Thorat reached the shooting location with the tiger. There
were about twenty five people in the location. A few local people took
our permission to go with us to watch how we
tackled the tiger
14 The cage on the lorry was covered.When the cover was removed we were
surprised to see not one, but two well-fed and robust tigers.
I decided to play it safe,' Mr Thorat explained.' If one doesn't get it right, we can use the other.'
15 We mounted the camera on its tripod and placed it so that it faced
the bamboo grove. The audience was instructed to get behind the camera
and to stand as far back as possible. We had to stay relatively close to
the bamboo grove, and Goopy and Bagha too, had to be within yards of
the camera, for it was necessary to have at least one shot that showed
them together with the tiger.
16 Mr Thorat's men had fixed a five foot iron rod to the ground, about
thirty feet from the area where the tiger was supposed to take a walk.
They took a thin, long wire and fixed one end to the collar made of
tiger-skin that the tiger was already wearing. The other end was tied
firmly to the visible portion of the iron rod. The door of one of the
cages was unfastened and Mr Thorat called out to the tiger. It responded
almost at once and
sprang out of its cage to land on the open space outside. What followed was totally unexpected. One look at Mr Thorat's
startled and helpless face told us that he was as
taken aback as the rest of us. Instead of walking
sedately in a dignified manner, the tiger started
prancing around with tremendous enthusiasm. It leapt, it jumped, it rolled about, dragging its poor trainer who was desperately
clutching the wire tied to the tiger's collar in a
futile
attempt to bring it under control. We stood around foolishly, watching a
new and strange kind of circus which we were getting to see for free!
The camera was still standing on its three legs, staring into the wood,
but the tiger was showing no sign of making its way there.
Answer the following questions
1. Why did Ray and team select Notun Gram village for the shooting?
2. How many people were present in the location totally?
3. Why were they surprised when the covering of the lorry was removed?
4. “I decided to play it safe”. What was Mr.Thorat’s safe play?.
5. Why should the actors and the tiger be close to the bamboo grove and within yards of the camera
6. What were the arrangements made by Mr. Thorat’s men before releasing the tiger?
7. How was the tiger expected to behave and how did it actually behave?
8. What did Mr.Thorat’s startled and helpless face reveal?
9. How did Ray comment humorously on all these unexpected and fearful incidents?
17 Once the tiger had calmed down, we managed to take the few shots we
needed. This should have been the end of the story. But, when we
returned to Calcutta and looked at the scenes with the tiger, we
realised that the camera had failed to work properly. The shots were too
dark, so much so that the tiger was merging almost completely with the
background of the trees and leaves. We had to shoot the scenes all over
again. We spoke to Mr Thorat and he agreed to give it another go. We
found another bamboo grove closer to Calcutta in a village called Boral.
The lorry arrived once more, with Mr Thorat, the tiger, the steel wire,
the special collar and the iron rod. And with the lorry came the whole
village. We told the villagers that they should stand at a distance of
seventy feet. No one paid any attention to what they were told. The
entire crowd moved as close to the camera as they could. We could not
afford to waste any more time explaining and arguing. So we got the
camera ready and signalled to Mr Thorat.
18 He opened the door of the cage. The instant the door opened with a
clang, our tiger emerged with a loud roar, and charged straight at the
villagers gathered behind the camera. The crowd, consisting of about a
hundred and fifty people, melted away as if by magic. After that great
burst of energy, the tiger calmed down very quickly. Like an obedient
child, it walked over to the spot we had chosen, paced about quietly as
it was led back to its trainer. required to, and then
ambled back to
its trainer. Even the camera behaved this time, which we realised two
days later, when we returned to Calcutta and saw the scenes we had shot.
Answer the following questions
1. What did Ray mean when he said, 'This should have been the end of the story'?
2. Why was Mr Thorat asked to 'give it another go'?
3. What was the 'magic' performed by the tiger?
4. What was really required of the tiger in that scene?
5." Even the camera behaved this time"what does Ray mean by this statement?
6. What did Ray and his team realise two days later
Activity 1
Satyajit Ray and his friends had to shoot the scenes involving the tiger, twice at Notun
Gram and Boral.
Write the events that took place in both the places in a sequential order and then
describe the shooting.
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Shooting at Notun Gram
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Shooting at Boral
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Shooting at Notun
Gram
Satyajith Ray and
his team first found asuitable bamboo grove in Notun Gram. Thetrainer
of Bharat Circus Mr.Thorat broughtthere two well-fed tigers in a
lorry. Then theyarranged the camera and placed it facing thebamboo
grove. Before opening the cage ofthe tiger, the audience were
instructed to stayaway. They fixed an iron rod to the groundand tied
one end of a thin steel wire to the rodand fixed the other end to the
tiger-skin collarwhich the tiger was already wearing around its neck. Mr.Thorat opened the cage and the
tiger sprang out and started prancing around
with tremendous enthusiasm. They were
shocked to see this unexpected behavior of
the tiger and even Mr.Thorat was taken
aback. He was helpless to bring it under
control. After a while the tiger calmed down
and they immediately took a few shots they
needed. But when they returned to Calcutta
and checked the scenes, they realized that the
camera had failed to work and the scenes
were too dark. They had to shoot the scenes
all over again.
Shooting at Boral
They found another
bamboo grove near Calcutta in Boral. Once again Mr.Thorat brought the
tiger, the iron rod, the steel wire, the tiger-skin collar etc in a
lorry.There were more villagers there, and they were instructed to
stay behind the camera at least seventy feet away. But nobody was ready
to accept the instructions. They had no time to argue with the
audience. They made all the arrangements and set the camera ready.
Mr.Thorat opened the cage and the tiger fiercely charged at the crowd of about hundred and fifty people gathered there. But all of them
melted away as if by magic when the tiger turned to them. In a short
while, the tiger behaved gently and walked as they required like an obedient child. They soon shot all the scenes they needed. After two
days when they returned to Calcutta, they realized that this time not only the tiger had behaved well but also the camera had worked in a
good way. All the shots were in perfect order
Assignment
Prepare Thorat's diary entry on the day in which the shooting was held in Boral.
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