Digvijay Nikam in Frontline:
S.N.S. Sastry’s 1967 documentary film I Am 20 opens with the whistle of a train and the words of T. N. Subramanian, a loquacious young man with a book of chemistry in front. In a nearly 20-minute film documenting the reflections, hopes, and fears of 20-year-old Indians regarding the equally old Indian republic, Subramanian begins with confessing his ambition, much like Mohandas Gandhi who had returned from South Africa, to “go through this country top to bottom” with “a pad and paper, a tape recorder, and a camera… seeing all kinds of people… their anguish and their anger, the fertile soil, the pastures, everything! So that one day when I could come back, I could open the book and remind myself of what I am part of and what is part of me.”
While Gandhi’s journey went on to transform the history of this country, whether Subramanian’s came to fruition is a mystery. But it at least became the inspiration for Amitava Kumar’s latest book The Social Life of Indian Trains: A Journey. In August 2024, Kumar found himself aboard the Himsagar Express with a pad and paper.
More here.
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