And/Or

And/Or

What the Wisdom Tree means to me – Part 2


David Dhawan, Editing 1976

Great Yaar! I don’t know yaar! It gave a lot of wisdom to us. We sat down, used to gossip there, make fun of people. You could do anything. Something made you stop there. It was very spiritual, I feel.

Gurpal Singh, Direction 1993

Much of my learning process at the Institute happened under the Tree sipping chais with seniors and interacting with them. Most of the classes that I bunked were also spent there. It’s a lovely place to sleep.

Muraleedharan CK, Motion Picture Photography 1987

I got three emails and an sms asking the same questions. Now I am getting scared, tomorrow somebody might land up at home with these questions. I don’t think I can keep them as secrets anymore. So here are the answers –

1. What does the Wisdom Tree mean to you?
   It means some wisdom and a tree to me.
   
   
2. How did the Wisdom Tree get its name?
   Long long long time back, a wise young man studying at FTII gave all his wisdom to a tree at Law College Road, Pune and went to Mumbai to work as a bonded laborer in the Entertainment Industry. Lots of people followed his path and got salvation. Some refused to give their wisdom to the tree, started doing documentaries and are now trying to figure out where they lost it.
   
   Some couldn’t give their wisdom to the tree (because they didn’t have any), joined Doordarshan and started doing door to door selling in free time. The tree which got all this wisdom later came to be known as Wisdom Tree.

Ramchandra P N, Direction 1991

When you have not understood a film that you saw in the main theatre, when you are fed up with the administrative red tapism in the Institute production office, when you have just realized that your diploma film does not have that standard that many of the classic films you seen at the FTII have or even when the money from your dad has not yet arrived, it is the wisdom tree that you surrender to. Sitting under the Wisdom Tree had a calming effect on the self. It was a place where one could ponder, reflect, discuss, argue and have fights. You could get the muck out of the system. It gave an opportunity for redemption and therefore for breakthroughs. The Wisdom tree gave you power.

Jyothi Kapur Das, Editing 1995

The tree means a lot to me. Chiru (Chirantan Das, Motion Picture Photography 1994) and I started going around the tree quite literally as we used to meet under the tree. And here I am today with two of our own productions Chandrachur and Arush. I tell them now that they are actually fruits of the tree!

Jaya Bachchan (nee Bhaduri), Acting 1970

You fought a lot of battles, both personal and professional under the Wisdom Tree.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Direction 1976

I don’t know if we were wise but if we were, we got it from the Wisdom Tree.

These ‘musings’ have been taken from the ‘wisTreefest Bulletins’ that were published daily during the Wisdom Tree Film Festival, Pune 2003.