Poets and Pancakes
European descent, who emerged as a distinct community through
Poets and Pancakes was written by Asokamitran, a famous Tamil
writer and winner of Sahitya Akademi. He was one of the few
writers who could write in Tamil and English fluently and wrote
several novels and hundreds of short stories in his career that
spanned over six decades. He spent the starting years of his
career in Gemini Studio of Chennai and was entrusted with
clerical tasks of cutting and pasting newspaper articles. He
learned a lot about how Gemini Studio operated and depicted it
humorously in his autobiography My Years with Boss.
The chapter Poets and Pancakes is taken from Asokamitran’s
book My Years with Boss and highlights several issues relating to
India’s film industry specifically and provides a glimpse into the
infant years of Independent India. The boss that the writer talks of
was S.S. Vasan, the founder of Gemini Studio and producer of
several films that influenced all aspects of e Indian Life. He talks
about the manner in which a legal advisor ruins the career of an
actress. The story also portrayed the writer’s and Gemini Studios’
support of communism and mentioned the anti-communism
movements by the West.
WORD MEANING
Incandescent- emitting light as a result of being heated; burning
Fiery- red-hot; scorching
Misery- a state or feeling of great physical or mental distress or
discomfort
Madras Indian Christian – a particular caste in Indian Christians of
people from Madras who have been converted to Christianity
religion
Anglo-Burmese – The Anglo-Burmese people, also known as the
Anglo-Burmans, are a community of Eurasians of Burmese and
mixed relations between the British and other European settlers
and the indigenous peoples of Burma from 1826 until 1948 when
Myanmar gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
Integration- unification
Broadcasting- the transmission of programmes or information by
radio or television
Hideous- extremely ugly
Crimson hue- deep red colour
Potions- a liquid mixture
Hierarchy- A system in which members of an organization or
society are ranked according to relative status or authority
French window – each of a pair of glazed doors in an outside wall,
serving as a window and door, typically opening onto a garden or
balcony
Cubicle- a small partitioned-off area of a room
Barge in- to walk into a room quickly, without being invited
Enlightened-having or showing a rational, modern and well-
informed outlook
Epics- an exceptionally long and arduous task or activity
Perverts- a person whose sexual behaviour is regarded as
abnormal and unacceptable
Covertly- secretly
Woes- distress
Ignominy- public shame or disgrace
Contrary- opposite in nature, direction or meaning
Virtue- behaviour showing high moral standards; here, good luck
Affluent- having a great deal of money; wealthy
Having a hand in – to be involved with something
Deliberately- on purpose
Overshadowed- was better than
Dwarfed- cause to seem small or insignificant in comparison
Literary – associated with literary works or other formal writing
Critic- a person who judges the merits of literary or artistic works
Refrain- lines that are repeated in poetry
Diction- the style of enunciation in speaking or singing; articulation
Sprawling- spreading over a large area, detailed
Deftly- effortlessly
Etched- here, defined, described
Lead – main
Subsidiary- secondary, supporting
Main players- actors performing the main roles
Genuine- true
Conscious- aware
Improvident- a person who does not plan his expenses and ends
up wasting money
Demeanour- manner; attitude
Sycophant- a person who acts obsequiously (excessively
obedient) towards someone important in order to gain advantage
Direst- terrible
Tempramental – liable to unreasonable changes of mood.
Blew over- to pass by or to end
Incriminating- making someone appear guilty of a crime or
wrongdoing.
Foul – bad
Tirade – a long, angry speech of criticism or accusation
Struck dumb – shocked
Countryside: from village
Sophistication – having a good understanding of the way people
behave
Catapulted – move suddenly or at great speed
Unwittingly- unknowingly
Khadi – an Indian homespun cotton cloth
Dhoti – a garment worn by male Hindus, consisting of a piece of
material tied around the waist and extending to cover most of the
legs
Coat of mail – a protective garment made of linked metal rings
(mail) or of overlapping metal plates
Cold logic – logic that fails to consider human factors such as
culture, language, social dynamics, personality and emotion
Haunt – frequently visited by
Mess- a building or room providing meals
Prohibition- the act of forbidding something
Leisure- time when one is not working or occupied; free time
Prerequisite- a thing that is required as a prior condition for
something else to happen or exist
Averse- having a strong dislike of or opposition to something
Communism- collectivism, socialism
Filial- relating to or due from a son or daughter.
Conjugal- relating to marriage or the relationship between a
married couple
Compunction- reluctance
Vaguely- in a way that is uncertain
Forthcoming- about to happen or appear
Trapeze- a horizontal bar hanging with two ropes and free to
swing, used by acrobats in a circus
Homilies- sermon; lecture
Bare – empty
Surmise- guess; suspect
tephen — that was his name.
Pursuit – hobby, activity
Genius – an exceptionally intelligent person
Persevering- continuing in a course of action despite difficulty or
delay in achieving success.
Drudge – a person made to do hard menial or dull work.
Manuscript- an author’s handwritten or typed text that has not yet
been published
Literati- well-educated people who are interested in literature.
Sneaking into- doing something in a secretive or stealthy way
Forbidden- not allowed; banned.
Stephen Spender- An English poet essayist who concentrated on
themes of social injustice and class struggle.
Andre Gide- A French writer, humanist, moralist, received the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947.
Richard Wright- An American writer, known for his novel Native
Son and his autobiography Black Boy.
Ignazio Silone- An Italian writer, who was the founder member of
the Italian communist party in 1921, and is known for the book.
The God That Failed, authored by him.
Arthur Koestler- A Hungarian born British novelist, known for his
novel Darkness at Noon.
Louis Fischer- A well known American journalist and a writer of
Mahatma Gandhi’s biography.
Summary
The writer talks about his days at Gemini Studio and is known for
his humor and satire. He talks about a makeup material from a
brand called Pancake. The material was bought and used in the
studio and named some actresses who used it. He suggested that
the makeup department was situated in a building believed to
have been Robert Clive’s stable. There were several buildings
associated with Clive’s residence, but this was not true because
his stay in India was very short.
Asokamitran has described the makeup department as a sign of
national integration and the makeup room as a hair cutting salon.
Pancake and several other lotions were used to make the actors
look ugly and presentable in the movie. In the make-up
department, there was a forty-year-old office boy who dreamed of
becoming a star actor or director or lyrics writer, but his dreams
were not fulfilled, and he blamed the Boss’s favorite, Subbu, for it.
His job was to slap paint on the faces of players during crowd
shooting.
The author talks about the poets who wear khadi and believed
that the Communists were monsters and about the legal advisor
who was a member of the story department. The legal advisor
was at odds with the story department and even lost his job with
the closure of the story department, and he has once brought an
abrupt end to the promising career of a talented actress. People
considered him to be the exact opposite of a legal consultant. The
Gemini Studio gets the opportunity to host the two-hundred-strong
Moral Rearmament Army that showed two plays in a highly
professional manner. The play was a huge success and left a
long-lasting impression on Tamil drama. The writer later found out
that MRA was a counter communist movement. They did not have
complex plots, and their sets and costumes were near perfect.
The author joined the studio to become an actor, screenwriter,
director, or lyricist and has a cubicle where he collects newspaper
cuttings on several issues and stores them in files. However,
people who saw him cutting newspapers perceived that he had no
work, so everyone wanted to deliver some work to him. The office
boy always came in with complaints, and the author believed that
Subbu troubled him and had the upper hand because he was a
Brahmin. Subbu is seen as a resourceful man who is very loyal,
and films and filmmaking are impossible without him.
The writer humorously talks of the visit of an English poet,
Stephen Spender, in the studio. They prepared for it royally but
concealed the purpose of his arrival for a long time. At the
studios, they had not heard of the poet’s name before and owing
to the language barrier, it was difficult to understand what he said.
The writer noticed a notice in The Hindu about a short story
contest organized by a British periodical called, The Encounter.
The writer wanted to send an entry but wanted to know the status
of the periodical and to understand that he went to the British
Council Library. He learned that the editor of the periodical was
Stephen Spender.
Post the writer’s retirement, he came across a book titled- The
God That Failed, and it had six essays discussing the failure of
Communism. One of the essays was written by Spender and
revealed the mystery of Spender’s visit to Gemini Studios and has
relevance to the anti-communist perspective
Analysis
Poets and Pancakes is based on the initial years of the Indian film
industry and is an important description of the same. The writer
mentions the famous makeup brand-Pancake that the makeup
artists put on the actresses’ faces in abundance and make them
look ugly. He talks about the office boy who complains of
favoritism, and the same stop him from becoming a star actor,
director, or lyrics writer. The writer mentions that the reason
behind the office boy’s misery is Subbu, who gets an underlined
advantage because he is a Brahmin. He talks about a guest that
no one knew much about and later understanding the reason for
his visit.  like Miss Gohar, Greta Garbo and Vyjayantimala. The writer says
Theme
Poets and Pancakes by Asokamitran is an extremely important
biographical description of Gemini Studios and circles around
some very important themes. One important theme is that of
favoritism at the workplace and highlights how Subbu reached the
point of being second in command at Gemini Studios based on
that. It talks about Subbu remaining overpowered and various
sides of life. It presented office life to a large extent and issues
about life at work like jealousy, hierarchy, favoritism, sycophancy,
and more. However, it also speaks of social integration and
bringing communities together.
Key Points
The story is humorously based on how the film industry operated
in its early years. It takes account of favoritism, casteism, and
jealousy, among other problems in the workplace. The story is
based around the writer’s and the studio’s support of communism
and an unknown writer publishing stories.
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The word ‘Pancakes’ from the title ‘Poets and Pancakes’ is the
name of a make-up brand that Gemini Studios used in large
amounts. It is a very popular brand used by famous celebrities
that another actress named Rati Agnihotri may not have even
heard of the brand of makeup as she entered the industry later
and probably, the brand was no longer in use then. The lesson
begins with a brief description about the make-up room of Gemini
Studios which was situated on a higher level floor of the building.
The place was earlier believed to be Robert Clive’s stables.
Robert Clive was the English soldier and statesman who
expanded British power in India. Many other buildings in the city
are identified as the place of his residence which is evident of the
fact that he moved frequently. He is believed to have fought some
impossible battles in the remote areas of India. He married a
young woman in St. Mary’s Church in Fort St. George in Madras.
The make-up room had the look of a hair-cutting salon with lights
at all angles around half a dozen large mirrors. They were all
incandescent lights, so you can imagine the fiery misery of those
subjected to make-up. The make-up department was first headed
by a Bengali who became too big for a studio and left. He was
succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was assisted by a Dharwar
Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-
Burmese and the usual local Tamils. All this shows that there was
a great deal of national integration long before A.I.R. and
Doordarshan began broadcasting programmes on national
integration.
Character Analysis
1. Ashokamitran
He is the author of this lesson and used to work as an employee
of Gemini Studio. His job was to cut newspaper clippings on
different topics and make a file on it. The other members of his
staff looked down upon his work and felt superior to him always.
2. The Office Boy
He was not really a young boy, but a grown-up man of forty years
old and was given the duty of crowd makeup. His job was an easy
one still he feels he was an expert and a skilled make-up artist.
He blamed Subbu for his failure to become a hero or a star actor.
3. Kothmangalam Subbu
He was considered the No.2 at the studio and came from a lower
background than the office boy but being a brahmin he was given
more importance than the office boy. He always looks cheerful as
a lark and was loyal towards Vasan, always being at service for
him. He was extremely creative and used his talent to his own
advantage and to make his position strong in the studio.
The Gemini Studios was set up with a team of 600 people in
1940. It had set up its identity in film production and it touched
upon varied aspects. In his book, My year with Boss, the author
Asokamitran had described Subbu at the No.2 at the Gemini
Studios. Being a many sided genuis, he was an indispensable
man for the studios. He served his Boss and the organisation
from the core of his heart. He did not have much education but
his loyalty had made him identify with his Principal or the Boss.
He used all his energy and creativity to the advantage of his
Boss and his company. He understood all the complexities and
technicalities of film-making. In case the director was not
satisfied, Subbu would come out with fourteen more alternatives.
He was a many sided genious. During its golden period, Subbu
gave a new direction and definition to the Gemini Studios.
Being a poet, he wrote his poetry for the masses. His sprawling
novel ‘Thillana Mohanambal’ had dozens of lovely characters on
the mood and manner of the Devadasis of early 20th century.
Whatever roles Subbu played, he acted better than the main
actor. Subbu was of a charitable and cheerful personality. He fed
and supported dozens of near and dear ones at his residence
but he had his enemies. With the closure of the story
department, Subbu also lost his job.
He was a talented poet also and sometimes performed better
than the lead actors. He used to write poems in Tamil and so he
had made some enemies also in the studio. He was a brilliant
poet and actor and contributed a lot to the Studio.
4. Legal advisor
He was a lawyer in the story department of Gemini Studio. He
wore pants and a tie and sometimes an oversized coat unlike
everyone in the department. He possesses cold and lame logic.
He destroyed the career of many actresses by his unrealistic
behavior.
5. Stephen Spender
He was an English poet, editor, and a one-time communist who
gave a speech about Communism. He gave a long lecture on
communism and also explains his tough times when he wishes to
establish it here. Later on, people could know about the reason he
gave. Asokamitran, later on, came to know that he was the Editor
of the British Periodical, ‘Encounter’.he recognized the
connection between him and the owner of the Studio, S.S. Vasan.
Stephen Spender. All these are evidence that he had some
literary taste.
Q1. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those
subjected to make-up?
Ans: The writer means the misery caused by the incandescent
lights that poured out intense heat. The make-up room of the
Gemini Studios had bright bulbs in the room full of large mirrors
that reflected the glowing lights. Under such blazing heat make-up
was done.
Q2. What is the example of national integration that the author
refers to?
Ans: The make-up team and also those who came and went were
from different states. It was headed by a Bengali and next in
hierarchy was a Maharashtrian, assisted by an Andhraite, a
Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and other local
Tamils. It was truly a gang of nationally integrated make-up men.
Q3. What work did the ‘office boy’ do in the Gemini Studios? Why
did he join the studios? Why was he disappointed?
Ans: The office boy applied make-up to the crowds, mixing his
paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the crowd players. He
had joined the studios in the hope of becoming a star actor or a
top screen writer, director or lyrics writer. He was a bit of a poet.
He was disappointed as he was placed low even in the hierarchy
of make-up men.
Q4. Subbu is described as a many-sided genius. List four of his
special abilities.
Ans: Subbu was a many-sided genius. He was born a Brahmin. It
is a virtue in itself as it exposed him to more affluent situations
and people. Second, he had the ability to look cheerful at all
times. Third, he always had work for somebody. Fourth, he had
great loyalty to his principal, S.S. Vasan, the Boss .
Q5. Did the people at Gemini Studios have any particular political
affiliations?
Ans: The people at Gemini Studios wore Khadi and worshipped
Gandhi, but beyond that they had no particular political interests
or understanding. They only had opinions on communism, which
they loathed and looked down on communists. They considered
communists as heartless atheists who are devoid of emotions.
They went about letting loose anarchy in the society.
Q6. Name one example to show that Gemini Studios was
influenced by the plays staged by MRA?
Ans: MRA staged two plays ‘Jotham Valley’ and ‘The Forgotten Factor’.
Their high quality costumes and
well made sets earned a lot of admiration. Their sunrise and sunset scene
impressed them so much that all Tamil plays started reproducing the
scene with a bare stage, a white background curtain and a tune playing
on the flute.
Q7.The author has used gentle humour to point out human
foibles. Pick out instances of this to show how this serves to make
the piece interesting?
Ans: ‘Poets and Pancakes’ has an underlying tone of humour
which is satirical and has been deployed by the author to point out
human foibles. It is mainly manifested in his description of the
make-up room people The make-up room, he says, was in a
building that had once been the stables of Robert Clive. He
further makes fun of the make-up team that slapped make-up.
Ironically, the make-up turned any normal man into a hideous
monster, far from being presentable. He also refers to the fiery
misery of the actors when their make-up was done under the
bright bulbs, large mirrors reflecting blazing heat. His description
of Subbu’s No. 2 position in Gemini Studios, the frustration of the
office boy and the opposite role played by the legal adviser in the
acting career of a countryside girl are humorously dealt with but
effectively bring out the flaws in the set-up. The showmanship of
the boss and what influences his guest list point out human
weaknesses in a light-hearted manner. The humour is at its peak
in the description of the visit of Stephen Spender. S.S. Vasan’s
reading a long speech in his honour but he too knew precious
little about him. Spender’s accent is highly unintelligible. Then the
author’s establishing long lost brother’s relationship with the
English visitor is also funny and humorous. All these slight digs at
human foibles tickle in us humour.
.
.
Q8. Explain the appropriateness of the title ‘Poets and
Pancakes’?
Ans: The chapter describes Gemini Studios and its functioning
very clearly. Its employees are little unrecognized poets. Though
they work in a film studio, the focus is on the author’s station in
the Studios as a make-up boy using pancakes on crowd players,
and how he failed as a poet. So, the title is appropriate.
Q9. Describe the make-up department of Gemini Studios?
Answer:
The make-up department of the Gemini Studios was established
on the upstairs of a building that was believed to have been
Robert Clive’s stables. The make-up room had the look of a hair-
cutting salon with lights at all angles. The lights were
incandescent which produced the extreme heat and about half
dozen big mirrors reflected the light, that was totally unbearable
for the artists to be made-up.
The make-up department was first headed by a Bengali who
when left, a Maharashtrian headed it with an assistant Dharwar
Kannadiga, an Andhra, a Madras Indian Christian, an Anglo-
Burmese and the usual local Tamils. In this way, there was a
great deal of national integration. A strict hierarchy could be
noticed at make-up department. The chief make-up man attended
to the chief actors and actresses. His senior assistant looked to
the ‘second’ hero and heroine, the junior assistant the main
comedian and so forth.
The players who played the crowd were the responsibility of the
office boy. He used to mix his paint in a giant vessel and slap it on
the crowd players. So, the gang of nationally integrated make-up
men could turn any decent-looking person into a hideous crimson
hued monster with the help of truck-loads of Pancake and a
number of other locally made potions and lotions. Thus, the
make-up room was not less than a torcher room for the artists
who were to be prepared for the shoot.