- a place which had somehow come to be known as the Ginger Field, possibly because at some remote period someone had cultivated ginger and sent up the crop in wagon-loads for extraction to a factory in Madras, and later sold the land to a pawnbroker at the Market Gate. Madan lost no time in preparing the location for shooting. He engaged men and women from a near-by village to remove stones and bumps, and sweep and smooth out the ground. He pressed Jaggu into service, a welcome diversion for him from swatting flies at The Travellers’ Bungalow. He uprooted boulders and tossed them off with ease. He lifted heavy articles in the construction of sets (a village street with a row of two-dimensional homes), stockades, and platforms for mounting lights, reflectors, cameras.
When all was ready, Madan could persuade Captain to come up and see it, and felt happy when Captain remarked after his inspection, ‘You are truly great to be able to transform Ginger Field into a film studio.’
‘All your blessing and cooperation,‘Madan replied.
‘More than mine, seems to be that giant’s cooperation,’said Captain.‘He is, I suppose, a substitute for power-lifts, steam hammers, cranes, and other stuff of that kind.’
‘He could carry down that generator as if it were a box of matches. Hauls up stacks of bamboos for the fencing, probably a ton at a time, he just picked them up and set them in place ... For all his appearance, he is mild and gentle.’
Captain cast a special eye on the spot chosen for the tiger, and suggested a few changes:‘Get the enclosure close upon this spot, so that the cage is not hit by the evening sun, which is not good for the tiger. Give me twenty-four hours’ notice, and I’ll have him ready for your call. Your Jaggu is really a find,’he said, looking at him while he was unloading a truck-load of property and enjoying the task.‘What a mountain of a man! You are lucky. I could have used him in my circus too - for lifting and moving which goes on all the time with twenty hands at the job. After you have done with him, will you please let me try him?’
‘Of course, if you like. After all the possible retakes, when the negatives are cut, I’ll set him free and you may have him. Perhaps if you include an all-in wrestling show, he’ll excel in that ...’
‘Oh, that may not fit into my general programming, but I’ll take him on and see what I can do.’
Madan explained,‘I first saw him at a village market fair. I was travelling from Trichy to Madras, and owing to a tyre-burst and a radiator leak the car stalled at an awkward place, and had to be taken to a wayside mechanic. The nearest village smithy was over a mile away, but everyone was at the weekly market fair when I went along to seek help. At the fair I noticed this fellow standing on a little platform and challenging the people around to come up and wrestle, even four at a time, if they chose. When his challenge was accepted, and a batch of four fell on him, he just brushed them off with the back of his hand. His admirers applauded and cheered, while his challengers picked themselves up from the dust and paid down the wager. That seemed to be his main source of income. The money was collected by a woman; I learned from the crowd that she was his wife. Bouts of wrestling were followed by feats of strength: he snapped chains, bent and twisted iron rods, split a slab of granite with the edge of his palm, and even offered to run a road engine over his chest if someone could arrange it. The puny wife went round collecting money. Now, after his performance, I took him along to the spot where my car had stopped, and he just pushed it down the road like a perambulator. I paid ten rupees to his wife and they were overwhelmed. Before he returned to his place at the fair, I noted down his address. He lived in a hut and made money at the market fairs in the countryside. While I was brooding on a subject for a film, the sight of this man gave me
When all was ready, Madan could persuade Captain to come up and see it, and felt happy when Captain remarked after his inspection, ‘You are truly great to be able to transform Ginger Field into a film studio.’
‘All your blessing and cooperation,‘Madan replied.
‘More than mine, seems to be that giant’s cooperation,’said Captain.‘He is, I suppose, a substitute for power-lifts, steam hammers, cranes, and other stuff of that kind.’
‘He could carry down that generator as if it were a box of matches. Hauls up stacks of bamboos for the fencing, probably a ton at a time, he just picked them up and set them in place ... For all his appearance, he is mild and gentle.’
Captain cast a special eye on the spot chosen for the tiger, and suggested a few changes:‘Get the enclosure close upon this spot, so that the cage is not hit by the evening sun, which is not good for the tiger. Give me twenty-four hours’ notice, and I’ll have him ready for your call. Your Jaggu is really a find,’he said, looking at him while he was unloading a truck-load of property and enjoying the task.‘What a mountain of a man! You are lucky. I could have used him in my circus too - for lifting and moving which goes on all the time with twenty hands at the job. After you have done with him, will you please let me try him?’
‘Of course, if you like. After all the possible retakes, when the negatives are cut, I’ll set him free and you may have him. Perhaps if you include an all-in wrestling show, he’ll excel in that ...’
‘Oh, that may not fit into my general programming, but I’ll take him on and see what I can do.’
Madan explained,‘I first saw him at a village market fair. I was travelling from Trichy to Madras, and owing to a tyre-burst and a radiator leak the car stalled at an awkward place, and had to be taken to a wayside mechanic. The nearest village smithy was over a mile away, but everyone was at the weekly market fair when I went along to seek help. At the fair I noticed this fellow standing on a little platform and challenging the people around to come up and wrestle, even four at a time, if they chose. When his challenge was accepted, and a batch of four fell on him, he just brushed them off with the back of his hand. His admirers applauded and cheered, while his challengers picked themselves up from the dust and paid down the wager. That seemed to be his main source of income. The money was collected by a woman; I learned from the crowd that she was his wife. Bouts of wrestling were followed by feats of strength: he snapped chains, bent and twisted iron rods, split a slab of granite with the edge of his palm, and even offered to run a road engine over his chest if someone could arrange it. The puny wife went round collecting money. Now, after his performance, I took him along to the spot where my car had stopped, and he just pushed it down the road like a perambulator. I paid ten rupees to his wife and they were overwhelmed. Before he returned to his place at the fair, I noted down his address. He lived in a hut and made money at the market fairs in the countryside. While I was brooding on a subject for a film, the sight of this man gave me
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