Panel discussion on ‘Akorik’: Tug-o-War between the nuclear and joint family systems

Jamshedpur, April 14: Everyone is lonesome, cocooned in a restrained world where the self is the sole companion. The few souls around are mere shreds in the name of company. They want to look beyond but cannot penetrate the shell. Director-storywriter Tathagata Bhattacherjee penetrates this lonely world of a working mother and a growing child, an elderly couple with a son working abroad and a sister-in-law trying her tireless best to cast light in an otherwise lonesome world. How best the characters manage their situations is the ore (Akorik) of the poetic narrative that Tathagata brings to life with panache. All need company but the essence is lost in the how’s and why’s of daily living that hinges on the factor of tedium. Among the many reasons why ‘Akorik’ attracts attention is that this lyrical celluloid narrative does not advocate the nuclear-joint family systems. Instead, it is a poser for the reckoning audience to judge and gauge.

The genre of film that ‘Akorik’ is, certainly calls for a panel discussion. The film show was organized by the Department of Mass Communication of Karim City College headed by the bundle of cultural and literary energy and HOD, Dr Neha Tiwari. The topic for the panel discussion was, “Has the disintegration of the traditional joint family structure into nuclear families and further into single parenting made us more independent or has it drifted us away from our roots?” The panelists were Hari Mittal, Govind Sharan, Rajani Shekhar, Rtn Pratim Banerjee, Mondrita Chatterjee and Azka Ahmad. The discussions were ably anchored by Siddharth Sen.

The panel discussion brought to life several variants, versions and situations. The panelists felt that one needed to grow and move forward and the best possible way lay in both, the joint family path and the nuclear mode. Some lamented that children were too busy catering to their jobs and personal lives and looking after elderly parents under the situation was difficult. Instead, today’s scenario is the mushrooming of old age homes. The physical needs of the elderly may be satisfied but are they really happy? But then, that is life as the working children are able to breathe an extra ounce of air freely. But is it the solution?

Panelists looked back down the years and recollected the happy times when one roof was shared by 30 or more family members. They all lived together and cared and shared for all. But in many cases, occupational concerns gradually eroded the joint family concept and many members stepped out into the world to lay foundations for the now almost universal nuclear family.

There was this one suggestion when a panelist observed, “We do feel lonely with our two children abroad. During these initial times, it took much longer for the day making way for the night. But today, we have our relatives and friends. They visit us and we visit them. We go out occasionally. Seldom does any day pass without company. We do not think we are a nuclear family anymore.”