Ginsberg’s Karma
Ginsberg’s Karma (25 minutes) is an insightful and entertaining look at a transformative phase in the poet Allen Ginsberg’s life -- his first trip to India in 1962 would transform him into America’s first hippie. While in India, he experimented with mind-altering drugs, spiritualism, and became a political activist. The documentary follows poet Bob Holman as he travels to India to piece together Ginsberg’s life there, and interviews many of the writers who knew him during his trip. Ginsberg’s adventures and what he experienced in India are the bridge between the Beat generation of the 1950s to the hippie counterculture of the 1960s in America. Interviews and featuring Gary Snyder, Joanne Kyger, Deborah Baker, Bill Morgan, Meena Alexander, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Subodh Sarkar, Utpal Kumar Basu, John Giorno, Tony Trigilio, Anne Waldman, and Ashok Sarkar (aka Ashoke Fakir).
Produced & Directed RAM DEVINENI. Music and sound by RENE VERON, and illustrations by HARSHO MOHAN CHATTORAJ. Edited by RAM DEVINENI & CHUCK SMITH. Ginsberg’s Karma has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. Distributed by Virginia Quarterly Review.
Read the article in FIRSTPOST: “Ginsberg’s Karma: A new documentary creatively illuminates the American poet’s time in India” by Sandip Roy.
Read the article in INDIA TODAY: “Ginsberg’s Karma: Documentary film on a hippy's discovery of India” by Ruchir Joshi.
Available for screenings, readings & lectures:
-- Perfect for a screening and lecture at colleges & schools.
-- Learn about poetry, literature, history of the Beat poets, and Indian culture and spiritualism.
-- Accompanying the film is Bob Holman’s India Journals, for discussion and reading.
-- To schedule a screening of the film and presentation by Bob Holman, please email rattapallaxfilms (at) gmail.com
Bob Holman's India Journals
From Bob Holman's India Journals: "I pull my camera out and stand next to Ram while he shoots with the pro camera. By gumbo, it is beautifully lit! and once Jitendra starts to rock, rolling it out like Ginsberg himself, a satori moment re: the aforementioned Trilochen, which means “Third Eye” in Hindi. Jitendra recites, in Hindi, a Trilochen poem about Ginsberg, footnotes spoken in English. It starts to sink in — is this local poet, one of the hundreds Allen would meet in India, the missing link, marking the beginning of his transformation from taking drugs to following a spiritual path?" Google Books / Amazon / Apple iBooks
Looking for a journey to the High Ear of Poetry? What you need is a quick trip to India — through the jottings of Bob Holman! Discover the Secret of Consciousness! The Truth of Matter! The Holy Vernacular Guru! How the 60s were born, how Buddhism came to the US, and how a band of vagabond poets changed the world! ISBN: 978-1-892494-62-7
"Check out these documents emanating from a generous heart — wonderful sonorous poems — that as Allen Ginsberg would agree, ease the pain of living." — Anne Waldman