Poets and Pancakes – Asokamitran

Gemini Studios
Gemini Studios was one of India’s pioneer movie factories. Situated in the present day Chennai, owned by
S.S Vasan and worked by over 600 staff, the GS made movies for Tamil Nadu and other southern Indian
states. Pancake[TM] was the makeup material used by the GS.

Questions & Answers

1. How was Gemini Studios connected to Robert Clive?
The connection the Gemini Studios had with Robert Clive was that its Make-up Department was built on
the upstairs of Clive’s stables.
2. What was the fiery misery inside the make-up department of the Studios?
The makeup room had a lot of hot bulbs always burning inside and a number of mirrors to reflect the
heat. Madras, being a hot city and no cooling at that time at the studio, it was a real misery inside the
makeup room.
3. All this shows that there was a great deal of national integration long before A.I.R. and
Doordarshan began broadcasting programs on national integration. Explain.
The heads and the subordinates of the make-up department were from various parts of India. There was
no preference to any state or language or religion. Anyone could be the head. Once there was a Bengali as
the head of this department. He was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar
Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the local Tamils.

The Office Boy

Office Boy was a grown up man in the Makeup Department of the GS. He was in charge of the crowd
makeup. He applied pancake on their faces with the help of a dipped paint brush. Though his job was
quite an easy one, the office boy considered him to be a greatly skilled artist.

Questions & Answers

1. Who was the office boy? What was his duty in the make-up department? How did he appreciate
himself and his profession?
The office boy was a forty year old man who worked at the lowest rank among the makeup artists at the
Gemini Studios. His duty was to apply makeup for the crowd-players for shooting. As his work required no
skill and that he was not satisfied with his designation and the kind of work, the ‘Boy’ remained unsatisfied
and criticized everyone he was jealous.

Asokamitran
Asokamitran was one of the staff whose job was to collect information such as news events from
newspapers and magazines and to paste them in files. The other staff considered his job out of place and
most of them thought so high of themselves. Here are some of the interesting staffs of GS.

Questions & Answers

1. How was the author’s job odd in the eyes of the other staff? How did they respond to this?
Asokamitran’s job at the Gemini Studios was to collect information from newspapers and magazines and
to paste the cuttings in files for reference. This was probably the only work odd in the Gemini Studios
while every other staff was some sort of an artist. They therefore advised the author to do some better
jobs other than wasting his time cutting papers in a department similar to a barber shop.
2. Why did the author pray for crowd shooting?
Like many of the other staff who believed that Asokamitran was doing next to nothing in the Gemini
Studios the Office Boy too used to advise him for hours. When the author was tired of his unending epics,
he used to pray for a crowd shooting to which the Office Boy assigned.

Kothamangalam Subbu

Kothamangalam Subbu was another clerk. He was not as educated, as fortunate and as supported by as
the Office Boy, yet he reached the top of the GS. He was a man of amazing genius. He was able to direct
the directors. He suggested dozens of ways to shoot a certain scene when the director failed to find one.
He acted better than the heroes. He wrote incredible poems. Though he was able to write more
complicated ones that could raise him to the status of a great poet, Subbu preferred writing them in
 simple Tamil to enlighten the majority of Tamil people. Besides, he supported his far and near relatives.
But he had enemies because he was very close to the boss, Vaasan.

Questions & Answers

1. Who was Kothamangalam Subbu? How did he make all the other staff hate him?
Kothamangalam Subbu joined the Gemini Studios as a clerk and remained the same in the records. But in
practice he soon acquired the status of the No.2 at the studios thanks to his amazing genius and
multifaceted skills. He did any work for his boss and ignored the rest above him. This made him envied
and hated by the rest of the staff.
2. Discuss Subbu’s identity as a poet. Why was he not known as a poet?
Apart from being an amazing director of movies, Subbu had the identity as a poet. The world of his time
and later never recognized Subbu as a poet yet he was a great unknown poet. He wrote poem in the
simplest Tamil language and was able to recreate the classical poems in his own style.
3. Subbu excelled as an actor too. Discuss.
Subbu was a good actor. He was able to act better than the lead actors yet never wished to take any lead
roles in any movie.
4. In spite of all the good qualities and readiness to be a host any time, Subbu had only enemies.
Why?
Subbu was good to everyone he came by, spoke in his niceness, fed his relatives, excelled everyone in the
Gemini Studios but was hated by most of them just because he was so close to the boss of the studios.
Being a clerk in the attendance register he was above all and above all the departments. Those who bore
designations above Subbu felt it intolerable to obey him.
5. The staff of the Gemini Studios attributed Subbu’s success to his being a Brahmin. Why?
Subbu’s amazing influence on the Boss and the consequent privileges he enjoyed made people feel jealous
of him. So, instead of accepting his talents, they consoled themselves by attributing his fortunes to be a
Brahmin.

Legal Advisor

The legal advisor worked in the Story Department. He was a lawyer and provided legal advices to the
writers yet he was known as the illegal advisor. The following incident is one reason that gave him that
name. Once a shooting was under progress. The heroine, a highly emotional girl, got angry with the
director and producer. While the whole set stood stunned at this, the legal advisor recorded her voice
without her permission and made her listen to the playback, thus resulting the end of a rising actress.

Questions & Answers

1. How did the legal advisor behave illegally in the instance of the actress.
The legal advisor was, of course, an advocate, yet was known as an illegal advisor. Once he recorded the
voice of an actress who shouted at the producer and director while in the shooting sets. The legal
advisor’s behavior turned out to be illegal because he did it without the actress’ permission.

2. In what context did Congress rule mean Prohibition and how was it for the staff of Gemini
Studios meeting over a cup of coffee a rather satisfying entertainment?
Congress being the ruling party, made the public’s life horrible by imposing curfew and emergency in the
initial years of Independent India. Citizens were not allowed to gather and hold meetings. While the whole
of the nations struggled under emergencies, the six hundred Gemini staff enjoyed freedom inside the
studios as their freedom was not restricted.

Poets and writers

Gemini Studios had some great poets like Harindranath Chatopadhyaya and a few others. Most of the
insignificant poets considered so great of themselves. They had no great talent, no great creativity, no
political views yet they assumed the airs of the greatest poets, wasting Vaasan’s money and time. They
believed Gandhiji to be the last word of politics and had developed an aversion to Communism.

Questions & Answers

1. How was the Gemini Studios a perfect place of nationally integrated Indians?
Situated in Tamilnadu’s capital Madras, the Gemini Studios was an amazement for a number of reasons,
one of them being the selection of its department heads and other staff from all over India. For instance,
 the makeup department was for some time headed by a Bengali though he was later removed from the
post. His follower in the department was from Maharashtra and his assistant was Dharwar Kannadiga, an
Andra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo Burmese and even the usual Tamilians. The presence of any
talented person from any part of India shows that Gemini Studios was a perfect example of unity.

2. How are poets and prose writers different according to Asokamitran? What personal
experience makes him say that?
Asokamitran believes in the qualitative difference between prose writers and poem writers. A poem can be
written in no time if the poet is a genius while prose such as a novel can be written by a person who has a
lot of patience and perseverance. The prose writer’s mind should be so shrunken that no rejection can
disappoint him but he will be encouraged from failures and rejections.

Communism and MRA

Communism was a new political order that was spreading throughout the world, especially in Asian
countries. Communism preached equality of people and abolition of poverty and class divisions while it
discouraged private ownership. But Communism won a negative impression due the Capitalist countries
such as America.

MRA or Moral Rearmament Army was an international team of actors and actresses that spread
anticommunist feelings throughout the world. The MRA came to Chennai and saw how influential was
Gemini Studios in the south of India. The team got permission from Vaasan to stage their plays. Vaasan
was only happy to give them permission because he hoped that his staff would get inspiration from the
international team. But little did Vaasan know of their intentions. MRA staged their plays with hidden
anticommunist messages and went away and it was yet after some time that Vaasan realised that he had
been fooled.

Questions & Answers

1. What is Communism? What ideas about the communism gathered popularity in India?
Communism is a political order that believes in the equality of citizens and abolition of private ownership.
The state or nation is the owner and caretaker of each citizen. Citizen’s welfare is nation’s prime concern.
It sometimes resorts to armed revolution to establish social and political equality.

2. What was MRA? Why did it tour the world?

MRA, short for Moral Rearmament Army was an anti-Communist organization that toured the world
informing the world of the evil side of Communism that was spreading throughout Asia and some parts of
Europe. Headed by Frank Buchman, the MRA believed that Communism was evil and it would wipe out
democracy in the world.

3. How did the MRA spread its anti-Communist ideas in South India?
Moral Rearmament Army believed that Communism was evil and therefore wanted to wipe it out of the
world. This group of 200 men and women from twenty different nations spread anti-communist messages
with the help of their stage performances such as dramas.

4. How was Vasan played into the hands of the MRA?

There is no clear indication that Vasan, the owner of the Gemini Studios, was a Communist or not yet
there are very clear hints that he was a prominent Communist of Chennai. The MRA spread its anti-
communist messages through their stage programs and made the poets and writers of the South India
hate Communism which was a great achievement. Vasan, who knew nothing of their intentions, was
indeed fooled by MRA at his cost.

Stephen Spender
Anyway, Stephen Spender, who was once a prominent communist editor and poet from England, came to
the studio and gave his speech. His lecture was about Communism on one side and about his struggles to
establish as a poet on the other. Whatever he spoke was great, exciting and inspiring, but what use, his
accent was such terrible one that none of the Gemini staff could clearly understand what Spender had
spoken. They fell into shame for not being able to understand the poet and wished not to meet him again.

Questions & Answers

1. Why was Stephen Spender invited to the Gemini Studios? Who wanted him there?
Stephen Spender was a great poet with Communist inclinations. S. S. Vasan, the owner of the Gemini
Studios, wanted Spender give a speech on the greatness of Communism to his staff.

2. Spender’s Speech was a shock for him and a matter of utter shame for the literati of the Gemini
Studios. Explain.
Stephen Spender was specially invited to the Gemini Studios to enlighten the staff there with communist
ideas. When Spender began his speech he was amazed to see the way he was being listened to. But soon,
when he realised that his audience didn’t follow him the least due to his accent, Spender’s amazement
turned to utter shock and embarrassment and he stopped his speech in the middle.

3. How are poets and prose writers different according to Asokamitran? What personal
experience makes him say that?
Asokamitran says poems can be written by any genius while prose writing is the true pursuit of a really
determined person who has suffered a lot of rejections and is ready for any further disappointments with
more perseverance to pursue his mission of writing a long prose.

4. Spender’s Speech was a shock for him and a matter of utter shame for the literati of the Gemini
Studios?
Stephen Spender was called to the Gemini Studios to talk to the staff there about Communism but what
he spoke was of his struggles as a poet. Whatever he spoke, his talk was not followed by practically
anyone. When Spender realized that his audience didn’t follow his talk, he stopped in utter shame to have
made a talk to a deaf audience while the Gemini staff got dispersed in great humiliation because
Spender’s accent failed them.

5. Why should Vasan be fooled if an organization spread anti-communist messages in Chennai?

It appears that Vasan himself was a Communist! Or, he too had an experience of a disillusioned
abandoning of Communism. The author has given us a subtle hint about this:
 Vasan as a Communist: If so, Vasan felt terribly bad for being played into the hands of the MRA that left a
deep anticommunist impression upon his staff. He therefore decided to bring back the Communist
atmosphere in his studio and for this he invited a communist poet to deliver a speech on how great
Communism was.

Asokamitran’s meeting Spender

The lesson ends with two incidents in which Asokamitran, our author, met Spender; not face to face, but
in two different ways. While attempting to send his short story to England to participate in a contest,
Asokamitran happened to read The Encounter, a magazine that had Stephen Spender as its editor. On
another occasion he happened to read the book, the God that Failed, an article of which was written by
Spender.

Questions & Answers

1. How did the magazine ‘The Encounter’ become important in Asokamitran’s life?
The Encounter was a British Communist magazine. When Stephen Spender was its editor, this magazine
organized a short story competition for writers from all over the world.

2. How does the book, ‘The God That Failed’ deserve its title? OR Justify the title, ‘The God That
Failed.’
The ‘God That Failed’ was written by six eminent writers who were attracted to Communism and
abandoned it because they hated it later on. Communism was in its beginning, a God because it stood
for equality and removal of class systems and poverty. While the Gods or incarnations before it
achieved their goals, Communism failed in attaining its goals as it was a failure in itself.

3. What made Asokamitran hope Stephen Spender too would be singing the same song at the
same time when he sealed the envelop of his manuscript?
Asokamitran had been struggling to establish as a writer when he came across the magazine, The
Encounter. When he saw that the editor of ‘The Encounter’ was Stephen Spender, the same poet who
came to Gemini Studios and talked about his struggles to become a poet, Asokamitran felt as if he had
found a long lost brother.
4. ‘In a moment I felt a dark chamber of my mind lit up by a hazy illumination.’ What was the
dark chamber? What did light up the darkness?
Due to Spender’s British accent the normally educated staff like could not understand his speech and
therefore his speech remained an unsolved mystery for the staff including Asokamitran. This mystery was
the dark chamber of his mind. When Asokamitran saw that Spender was the editor of The Encounter, he
understood that Spender’s speech was all about stories and poems and suddenly he related this to his
speech he made years ago the Gemini Studios.

5. The Boss of the Gemini Studios may not have much to do with Spender’s poetry. But not with
his god that failed.’ Explain.
Stephen Spender was invited to the Gemini Studios to enlighten the staff with great ideals of Communism
but what Spender spoke was about his thrills and struggles to establish himself as a poet. The bosses of
the studio like S. S. Vasan were interested in Spender as a Communist, not as a poet.

6. Taking a careful reading, one sees the tremendous struggle that Asokamitran underwent to
surface as a writer par excellence. Discuss.
For Asokamitran training himself as a writer was passion. He had a nickname, barber, when he was
working at Gemini Studios because he did a lot of cutting newspaper clips and magazine as he was a news
record keeper. Even though he was laughed at by the rest of the staff and was advised by some to seek a
profession that fitted him, Asokamitran had a drudge that nothing could weaken – he was determined to
rise in the world of people of his kind: writers. Among those members of the Gemini staff who was
embarrassed and confused at Stephen Spender’s lost speech was there none as embarrassed and
confused as Asokamitran. It was all because of his literary ambitions that he was able to know more about
Spender and his literary traits and political views as well as the unknown communist inclinations of the
boss of one of India’s foremost movie factories. Asokamitran’s language that we read in the extract, Poets
and Pancakes, is amazing as an India author is concerned and there is no doubt that he acquired it as part
of his quest for perfection as a writer. He quite poignantly narrates his participating in a short story
contest organized by the Encounter for which he spent considerable time and money. On reading the
name of the editor, Stephen Spender, he feels like getting his lost brother back.

https://www.englishnotes.in/2016/03/class-xii-english-core-flamingo-chapter.html

Textual Comprehension Questions:

1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make-up’?
The make-up room of Gemini Studios looked like a hair cutting salon. It had around half a dozen mirrors
with incandescent lights at all angles around them. The artists would feel the heat emanating from these
lights. Thus, the writer uses the term ‘fiery misery’ to denote the uncomfortable situation of those
subjected to make-up.

2. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
The make-up division of the Gemini Studios was an example of national integration. According to the
author, this is so because people from different regions and religious groups worked together in the same
department. The department was headed by a Bengali who was succeeded by a Maharashtrian. The other
helpers included a Dharwar Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and the
local Tamils.

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

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.

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

6. Who was Subbu’s principal?

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

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

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

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

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 yet stupid 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.

9. What made the lawyer stand out from the others at Gemini Studios?
The lawyer wore pants and a tie and sometimes a coat whereas everyone else 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 as if he is a dispassionate man who did not take sides. Moreover,
he was a logical man with no emotional attachment whatsoever.

10. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political affiliations?
The people at Gemini Studios did not have any particular political affiliations. The common political notions
of the day 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.

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

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

13. Who was The Boss of Gemini Studios?

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

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

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

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.

16. Who was the English visitor to the studio?

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.

17. How did the author discover who the English visitor to the studios was?
Before investing money in participating in a short story contest organised 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.

18. What does The God that Failed refer to?

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”.

19. Discuss in small groups taking off from points in the text.
A. Film-production today has come a long way from the early days of the Gemini Studios.
B. Poetry and films.
C. Humour and criticism
Answer:
1. Film production is more technical nowadays. While earlier only five per cent of the shooting was done
outdoors, nowadays outdoor shooting is no more limited to such a negligible percentage. The cameras and
other equipments are more advanced allowing for more varied and accurate presentation.
The quality of make-up has improved many folds from the days of the Gemini Studios where only pancake
was used. The people involved in various departments are experts in their specialised work, be it the
director, producer, scriptwriter, lyricist or the actors. The overall quality of the films is more striking and
lively.
2. In India poetry and films are intricately linked. The people at Gemini Studios, all claimed to have the
talents of a poet. The main reason behind it was their monotonous and leisurely life at the studios.
However, these people were not knowledgeable or educated enough to be poets. Unlike poetry, films can
be enjoyed by people with little resources who cannot afford to cultivate taste for poetry and literature.
3. The story is interspersed with instances dipped in subtle humour. The humorous instances, however,
make interesting and relevant comments on the behaviour of general people. A humorous story has more
readers, a humorous film more viewers. This is because they provide entertainment and a respite from the
tedious existence. Criticism by means of humour is more effective, hence writers and film-makers often
use humorous elements in their works and make sarcastic comments and criticism.
(The above answer is only a sample provided for students’ reference. It is strongly recommended that
students prepare the answer on their own.)

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

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.

21. How does the author describe the incongruity of an English poet addressing the audience at Gemini
Studios?
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 realising the utter inappropriateness of his speech
being directed to such an audience.

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