THROUGH COURTSHIP TO THE COURTROOM

Love beckoned him to the legal profession

A young man named J.D.Abraham (JDA) joined the St.John's College in Palayamkottai as a lecturer after completing his B.A. at Madras Christian College. This was in the early days of the 20th Century. The MCC was near the court building in GeorgeTown, not in Tambaram. The next year he moved to Srivilliputtur as a teacher in the CMS High School.

There he became friendly with the headmaster's son, a tall, gangling young man who was studying Law in Madras. The two friends strolled about in the evenings taking in the sights and sounds of the small town. Among the sights that appealed most to JDA were the young girls returning home after a bath in a nearby tank. They carried a lot of wet clothes they had washed, and chatted and giggled as they made their way home. One girl in particular, a fair and rather buxom character took the fancy of the young teacher.

Brothers in law

Every time they saw the young girls JDA became tongue-tied, and gawked at the passing vision. His friend who had observed this, asked him one day what ailed him. "That girl... that girl in the green saree... " JDA muttered. "The plump one ?" asked his friend. JDA nodded dumbly. "Are you interested in her?" Another nod. "You want to marry her?" JDA nodded again. "I can arrange it," said his friend. "She is my sister". JDA gaped at his friend in grateful wonder. "But there is one condition" said the brother of the girl. "You must become a lawyer. Only then will you earn enough money to keep her in style." JDA nodded again.

JDA was passionately interested in English literature and had always wanted to be a professor of English. But love pushed him into the legal profession. The marriage was fixed in no time, and after the marriage JDA went to Madras to study law. He kept making frequent trips to Srivilliputtur, unable to stay away from his young wife. No wonder he failed a couple of times before getting his B.L. degree.

His brother-in-law then asked him to start practicing in Kovilpatti since it was a fertile ground for criminal cases. The brother-in-law himself became a well known lawyer in Madurai. His name was Edwin Periyanayakam.

Danger Zone

A few days after he had moved to Kovilpatti, JDA was coming out of his house when he noticed a man with a muffler round his neck sitting near a low wall with his hand on his moustache. When he returned after about an hour the man was still there. "What are you doing here?" JDA asked him. But there was no reply. The man just sat there and stared. So the lawyer tapped him on the shoulder, whereupon the man's head rolled off and fell to the ground. Someone had murdered him and left him like that. JDA knew he had come to the right place for a career as a criminal lawyer. Murder cases kept turning up almost every day. Soon JDA had built himself a huge house for the princely sum of Rs 3000/-. That was in the year 1917. The noted brigand, Jambulingam was one of his clients, and the patriot V.O.Chidambaram Pillai was his colleague.

JDA ordered his life well. He was in court in the mornings and in the tennis court in the evenings. At 6 pm he went to the Literary Association or the Thinkers' Club. After dinner he read his favourite authors like Dickens and Mark Twain. Magazines like `Titbits' and `The Strand' came to him directly from London. When the Kovilpatti Sports Club was started in order to promote hockey, he became its first secretary. He was an avid amateur photographer. Since there was no electricity those days he had to use natural light for taking the photographs and sunlight for printing. He won several prizes in the national level for his photos. The composition of these was near perfect.

Many young boys and girls were inspired and guided by him in literature and photography. I was one of them.

J.VASANTHAN

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

THE MONKEY TRIAL

The monkey trial

A historic event becomes a memorable film

Courtroom dramas have always fascinated me. I am an avid reader of John Grisham's novels, and I used to watch the TV series, `The Practice' without fail. Films based on true or imaginary court cases have been among my favourites right from my college days.

Films based on plays have a certain dramatic quality that grips the viewer. Agatha Christie's `Witness for the Prosecution' and the World War II drama, `Judgement at Nuremberg' come to mind. But perhaps the film that is my favourite trial drama is `Inherit the Wind'. This was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer.

Big names in a little town

The film was based on a true incident that happened in 1925 in a southern town, Dayton, Ohio. A schoolteacher was arrested and tried because he had taught Darwin's theory of evolution to his students. This was a serious crime in the eyes of the southern fundamentalists. The trial took on a great deal of importance because some very big names in the US descended on the town to participate in it. William Jennings Bryan, a two-time Presidential candidate wished to make use of this situation for his next Presidential campaign. He agreed to be the prosecutor.

On hearing this, Clarence Darrow, a legendary trial lawyer, offered to appear for the defence. H.L.Mencken, an iconoclastic journalist known all over the US, came to Dayton to cover the trial for his paper. These VIPs in turn attracted a lot of admirers and followers, and soon the trial of the schoolteacher, Scopes, became a national event. The newspapers dubbed it as `The Monkey Trial', and the name stuck.

Stanley Kramer's film, `Inherit the Wind' (1960), was based on a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E.Lee. The screen adaptation, the slick direction and the brilliant performances of some extraordinary actors makes this film a delight to watch. When I first saw it I was so taken up with it that I kept going again and again to the theatre where it was being shown. The film uses fictitious names for all the main characters and the town and adds a few imaginary additions to the actual story. The local priest's daughter is in love with Scopes, and the priest curses her for it. And then Bryan quotes the Bible to pull up the priest. "He who curses his children shall inherit the wind", which gives the title to the film.

Several brilliant actors played the main roles in engagingly contrasting styles. Spencer Tracy as Clarence Darrow is quiet and dignified coming out with pithy comments when necessary. Frederic March plays William Jennings Bryan with flamboyant mannerisms and fluctuating emotional peaks and depths. The acid tongued H.L.Mencken is played by Gene Kelly who usually appears in musicals, being a terrific tap dancer and a choreographer.

When Tracy (Darrow) arrives at the small town, Kelly (Mencken) is there to receive him at the station. "Hello Devil, welcome to hell" he says. Darrow and Bryan pit their wits against each other in a thrilling duel of intellect and legal expertise. Darrow puts Bryan on the witness stand and there is a theological debate that adds to the dramatic content. Bryan mocks Darwin's theory complaining that it had man descend "Not even from American monkeys, but Old World monkeys". The judge permits the lawyers and others to remove their jackets and loosen their ties as the heat is almost unbearable. Small cardboard hand fans are distributed to everyone in the court.

Finally the trial is shifted to the Tennessee Supreme Court. A few days later Bryan dies of a heart attack. Darrow goes to Bryan's quarters to pay his last respects. Mencken is also there. And when he sees Darrow, he makes a flippant comment about Bryan's death. Darrow looks at him steadily and says, "One doesn't have to believe in God, but one must have faith in something. One who doesn't have faith in anything is just a slob. You are a slob". And then he walks off as Mencken wears a bewildered look on his face. The film ends on this note. `Inherit the Wind' is a tour de force of acting and direction touches, which makes a lasting impact on the viewer.

J.VASANTHAN

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu