The Mont Blanc is a mountain located in the area of North-western Alps, in the Graian, in the Mont Blanc Massif, the watershed line between the Aosta Valley in Italy and Arve Valley in France, in the municipalities of Courmayeur and Chamonix.
With its 4810.02 meters high (last official measure in September 2013) is the highest mountain in the Alps, in Italy, France and in general of Europe Central, and shall be granite, bristling with spiers and ridges carved by deep valleys in which flow numerous glaciers. Shares together with Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, a place among the so-called Seven Summits of the Planet.
Viewed from the Italian, the roof of the Alps is not as flashy than the other peaks surrounding it. Unlike the great giant of the Alps, Monte Rosa , visible throughout the Po Valley north-west until the early Apennine hills , Mont Blanc appears only at the last moment on the road to Courmayeur , hidden by a myriad of satellites minor. Looking at it from the west instead is visible from far away, both from the heights of the Massif Central France, from the Vosges , from the heights of the Jura , Switzerland, Black Forest .
It is perennially snow-covered and is located in the central part of a chain of mountains that extends in length by 40 km in width from 8 to 15 km, on the territories of three different nations occupying an area of about 645 square kilometers: the Mont Blanc massif. Excluding the east wall of Monte Rosa of Macugnaga , the highest in the Alps, in this massive walls are some of the highest in the system such as the Alpine Brenva and the north of the Grandes Jorasses and are grouped forty peaks above 4,000 m, with a third of the surface at a height of not less than 3,000 m. The action of erosive agents on granite rocks formed in time sharp ridges and peaks in spire of particular beauty that recall the region mountaineers from all over the world.
While the French side descends slowly in a slope, the Italian side is made up of a steep and majestic granite wall that falls from the top to the bottom of the valleys more Ferret and Veny. On this side are the walls to climb more difficult and challenging. The inhabited places are located below the 2,800 m, while rare and difficult are the crossing points , the lowest of which is the Giant at 3359 m. Here are some emblematic peaks:
The Dente del Gigante (4,014 m) is one of the most famous peaks. It rises about 160 m above the characteristic gingiva of snow.
The Grandes Jorasses : on its summit, about 1 km long, includes a sequence of six points, five of which exceed 4,000 m.
L ' Aiguille Noire de Peuterey (3,773 m) is one of the symbols of Mont Blanc on the Italian side: it rises directly from the fields of Val Veny to 2,200 m in altitude; the top is more important than the large crest of Peuterey .
The Dôme du Goûter (4306 m). If the top part of the Grandes Jorasses is bristling with peaks, that of the Dôme du Goûter is completely flat and is the largest of all the Alps .
The Mont Dolent (3,820 m) is a pyramidal top; curiously, its summit is the meeting point of the borders of Italy, Switzerland and France.
the Chamonix Needles , between 3,000 and 3,842 m, overlooking the valley of Chamonix and represent one of the most famous landscapes of the Alps in France.
With the birth of mountaineering was born the literary genre of the mountain. The clamor raised by the conquest of the White caught in the valleys at the beginning of the ' nineteenth century poets, writers and painters. From ' England and northern Europe aristocrats traveling on the Grand Tour visited the alpine mountains, while great climbers like Albert Frederick Mummery , William Auguste Coolidge and Edward Whymper climbed peaks on peaks then writing books in which they told their businesses. The romantic English fell in love with the Alps. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote a hymn to the Mont Blanc and Percy Bysshe Shelley , after admiring the mountain said: "I never knew, I never imagined what they were before the mountains," and wrote Mont Blanc , one of the his most famous poems.
A La Palud , near Courmayeur, begins the path of the Mont Blanc cable car. In just under an hour you can reach Chamonix, in France, completely bypassing the chain of the Alps . Conceived initially for mainly military purposes, it was opened in the summer of 1947 and is divided into six different sections: from La Palud you reach the Pavillon Monte Frety at an altitude 2,175 m; then continue to get to Torino refuge at Colle del Gigante at an altitude of 3,330 m (nearly 2,000 meters in eleven minutes); It continues the Colle del Gigante to Punta Helbronner at an altitude of 3,462 m from where you can enjoy a view over the ' Alps from the summit of Mont Blanc to the Giant's Tooth , the famous " 4000 "d ' Europe as the Matterhorn , the Monte Rosa , the Grivola , the Gran Paradiso . Continuing from Punta Helbronner continue towards the ' Aiguille du Midi , the highest point at an altitude of 3,842 m; from the Aiguille du Midi you can go down to the Plan de l'Aiguille at 2,137 m, to finally arrive at Chamonix. The cable car was completed in the sixties , and presents some unique technical solutions, such as pylon suspended.
From 2011 are in place renovation of the entire Italian is: is planned to build a new station of departure and the elimination of the one at the Rifugio Torino, in addition to replacing the existing cabins with the most modern and secure.
Another lesser-known aspect of the Mont Blanc is to study and research. Inside the mountain are in fact very important laboratories managed by ' Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics of the CNR (National Research Centre) in Turin , working in collaboration with the ' INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) of Frascati ( Rome ) and the ' University of Milan . In these laboratories conducting research on cosmic rays and served as the prototype for two more famous laboratories: one under the Gran Sasso , in the Apennines central, built later, and the laboratory operated by CERN in Geneva that studies the elementary particles .
In the past he tried to build also on top. In 1891 , the French scientist Pierre Janssen , worked to build an observation center on the summit, hoping to perform optimally measures and research on the solar spectrum . The lack of a solid foundation and continuous movements of the ice cap on the summit, led in 1906 scientists to abandon it, having become unsafe. In 1890 , on the French side, at an altitude of 4,365 m, the botanist and meteorologist Joseph Vallot built a chalet workshop to multidisciplinary vocation, including the ' astronomy : the Vallot Observatory.
The tunnel of the Mont Blanc tunnel is a highway that connects Courmayeur -Mont-Blanc in Valle d'Aosta (Italy) to Chamonix in Haute Savoie (France). It was jointly built between Italy and France. Construction work began in 1957 and ended in 1965, the year of the opening. It consists of a unique gallery in two-way traffic and is one of the major streets of transalpine transport. Its length is 11.6 km and the longest part remains in French territory: 7,640 m, with 3,960 m in Italy. L ' altitude is 1,381 m on the Italian side, at the foot of the Brenva glacier , and reaches to the middle tunnel 1,395 m, to descend to 1,271 m on the French side, at the foot of the Bossons glacier . The road surface of the tunnel is not horizontal, but of concave form to facilitate the outflow of the water.
Compared to the frontier, the tunnel passes just below the vertical ( the aplomb ) de l ' Aiguille du Midi , where the thickness of granite coverage reaches 2,480 m, measure record for the motorway tunnels and stations. Its height is 4.35 m and its width of 8 m (2x3,5 m to the lanes and 2x0.5 m of side passage). The doubling of the tunnel, already designed, it was never implemented due to the opposition of the inhabitants of the valleys concerned, concerned about an excessive increase in the movement of trucks and the resulting pollution. The tunnel was opened July 19, 1965 and its management, on a parity basis, is divided between two operating companies: the Italian SITMB (Italian Society for the Mont Blanc tunnel), created on 1 September 1957 and the French ATMB ( Autoroutes et tunnels du Mont-Blanc), created on April 30 1958 . He stayed for a long time the longest motorway tunnel in the world. From 1965 to 2004 there have passed 45 million vehicles with a daily average of 17,745.
The environment of Mont Blanc, for its size and for its historical importance, being a destination for explorers and mountaineers from the late eighteenth century, gave a great impetus to the emergence of the profession of mountain guide . Here born the first company of guides:
the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix , born 24 July 1821 , was the first company of guides in the world. May 9, 1823 by a poster of the Chamber of Deputies of Turin, the King of Sardinia, Carlo Felice of Savoy , he made official his creation.
the Mountain Guides Courmayeur Company , founded in 1850 , was the first company of guides Italian and the second in the world after that of Chamonix. Its historic headquarters became in 1929 a museum: the Duke of Abruzzi Alpine Museum where important relics are collected from shipments not only in the Mont Blanc massif but also in Tibet , in ' Himalaya , in Africa , in India . Guides distinguished themselves during the first attempts to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, starting from Courmayeur, but also during the climbing on Matterhorn where they were protagonists with Jean-Antoine Carrel and Jean-Joseph Maquignaz .
This section describes the main climbing routes of Mont Blanc.
The normal routes are four:
the way of the Grands Mulets north, 2,500 meters of altitude and difficulty PD. The first ascent of the route of the Grands Mulets and the ridge of the Bosses was completed July 29, 1859 by E. Headland, GC Hodgkinson, C. Hudson and GC Joad with Melchior Anderegg , François Couttet and two other guides.
the normal route the French north-west, 2,450 meters of altitude and difficulty PD. The first ascent of this street, from ' Aiguille du Goûter up the hill to the Dome, was completed September 17, 1784 by Jean François and Marie Couttet Cuidet. [58] The full ascension to the Aiguille du Goûter, the Dôme du Goûter and crest of Bosses was completed only July 18, 1861, more than seventy years later, by Leslie Stephen and Francis Fox Tuckett with guides Melchior Anderegg , Johann-Josef Bennen and Peter Perren.
the Trois Mont Blanc via the north-east, 1,700 meters of altitude and difficulty PD +. The first ascent was completed August 13, 1863 by Robert William Head with guide Julien Grange, Adolphe Orset and Jean-Marie Perrod.
the Italian normal route to the southwest, 3,210 meters of altitude and difficulty PD +. The route has been covered for the first time down on 1 August 1890 by Luigi Graselli, John Bonin and Achille Ratti , the future Pope Pius XI , with guides Joseph Gadin and Alexis Proment. The climbers had risen from the Sperone Tournette .
South side (Frêney-Brouillard)
The ridge integral Peuterey
Ridges
Peuterey ridge - 14-16 August 1893 - First ascent of Emile Rey , Christian Klucker, César Ollier, Paul Güssfeldt. [67] The very top of the crest of Peuterey, one over the Grand Pilier d'Angle , had already been climbed by James Eccles , Michel-Clement and Alphonse Payot in 1877, coming from the couloir Eccles .
Brouillard ridge - 18-20 July 1901 - First ascent of Giuseppe Gugliermina , Giovanni Battista Gugliermina and Joseph Brocherel.
Innominata ridge - 19-20 August 1920 - First ascent of Adolphe Rey and Henri Rey , Adolf Aufdenblatten, SL Courtald and EG Oliver, 800 m IV / D.
Cresta Integrale of Peuterey - 24-26 July 1953 - First ascent of Richard Hechtel and Günther Kittelmann.
Side Brouillard
The slope of the Brouillard
Via Bonatti-Oggioni the Red Pillar - 5-6 July 1959 - First ascent of Walter Bonatti and Andrea Oggioni , 400 m / TD +.
Hypercouloir Brouillard - 13-14 May 1982 - First ascent of Patrick Gabarrou and Pierre-Alain Steiner , 700 m V / 6 [72]
Direttissima Gabarrou-Long the Red Pillar - 28-29 July 1983 - First ascent of Patrick Gabarrou and Alexis Long , 400 m / ED +.
Hypergoulotte - April 20, 1984 - First ascent of Benoît Grison and Lionel Mailly, 400 m V / 6 +.
Cascade of Notre Dame - 14-15 October 1984 - First ascent of Patrick Gabarrou and François Marsigny , 700 m V / 6.
Innominette - July 9, 1985 - First ascent of Patrick Gabarrou and Alexis Long, 700 m V / 5.
Classical modern to Pillar left - 1 August 2011 - First ascent of Hervé Barmasse , Iker Pou and Eneko Pou, 300 m / 6c.
Side of Frêney
The upper side of Frêney with clearly illustrated the pylons of Frêney, from left: South Pylon , the Central Pillar and the Pylon North . The Hidden Pilone is instead less marked between South and Central.
Couloir Eccles and the top of the crest of Peuterey - 30-31 July 1877 - First ascent of James Eccles , Michel-Clement and Alphonse Payot (first ascent of Mont Blanc from the south).
Via Bollini-Gervasutti to Pilone North Frêney - August 13, 1940 - First ascent of Gervasutti Giusto and Paolo Bollini of Predosa, 700 m / TD.
Via Bonington (or classical pathway ) to the Central Pillar of Frêney - 27-29 August 1961 - First ascent of Chris Bonington , Ian Clough, Jan Djugloz and Don Whillans, 500 m / TD +.
Via Frost-Harlin at Pilone's Hidden Frêney - 1-2 August 1963 - First ascent of Tom Frost and John Harlin , 300 m / ED.
Via Seigneur-Dubost to Pilone Southern Frêney - 25-26 July 1972 - First ascent of Yannick Seigneur and Louis Dubost. This is the first complete ascent of the South Pylon, formerly rose only partially.
Great couloir of Frêney - July 30, 1974 - First ascent of Guy Albert, Jean Afanasieff, and Olivier Jean Blanchard Challéat, 850 m III / D.
Waterfall Freney - September 3, 1980 - First ascent of Gian Carlo Grassi , Marco Bernardi and Renzo Luzi, 100 m IV / 5 +. It is a waterfall of 80 meters, starting at 4,500 m. Is the direct output of the Great couloir Frêney .
Via Jöri Bardill the Central Pillar of Frêney - 10-12 August 1982 - First ascent of Michel Piola , Pierre-Alain Steiner and Jöri Bardill, 500 m / ED 6c. It is a direct route via the rising edge of the left of the Central Pillar.
Frêneysie Pascal - 20-21 April 1984 - First ascent of François and Patrick Gabarrou Marsigny, 700 m VI / 6. The road climbs along the gully to the right of the Central Pillar .
Abominette - April 25, 1984 - First ascent of Patrick Gabarrou, Christophe Profit and Sylviane Tavernier, 700 m IV / 3. The route climbs the far left side of the Frêney, between the crest Innominata and Pilone South . It is the path of least difficult side. [86]
Fantomastic - 4-5 April 1985 - First ascent of François and Patrick Gabarrou Marsigny, 700 m V / 6. The route climbs along the couloir between the South Pylon and Pilone Hidden .
Jean-Chri to Pilone's Hidden Frêney - 2007 - First ascent of Patrick and Christophe Gabarrou Dumarest of a second off the Pylon Hidden, 800 m / 7a + A1.
East slope (Brenva) [ change | edit wikitext ]
The east side, the Brenva
Sperone Brenva - July 15, 1865 - First ascent of Adolphus Warburton Moore , George Spencer Mathews, Frank Walker, Horace Walker and guides Jakob Anderegg and Melchior Anderegg , 800 m IV / 1, 4c.
6 August 1933 - First solo of Leopoldo Gasparotto .
February 26, 1956 - First winter Couzy Jean and André Vialatte.
Via the Red Sentinel - 1-2 September 1927 - First ascent of Thomas Graham Brown and Francis Sydney Smythe , 1300 m V / D.
March 9, 1961 - First winter Walter Bonatti and Gigi Panei .
Via Major - 6-7 August 1928 - First ascent of Thomas Graham Brown and Sidney Francis Smythe, 1300 m V / 2 4b.
September 13, 1959 - First solo Walter Bonatti.
Via della Poire - August 5, 1933 - First ascent of Thomas Graham Brown, Alexander Graven and Alfred Aufdenblatten, 1300 m V / 1 4c.
September 13, 1959 - First of solitary Carlo Mauri .
8-9 February 1965 - First winter Alessio Ollier, Attilio Ollier and Franco Salluard
The south-west
Cogs of Tournette - July 2, 1872 - First ascent of Thomas Stuart Kennedy , Jean-Antoine Carrel and Johann Fischer, 1000 m III / AD 3c.
Couloir Greloz-Roch - August 9, 1946 - First ascent of Robert Gréloz , André Roch and Ruedi Schmid, 1100 m IV / AD.
Descents in ski
Saudan Couloir - June 25, 1973 - First descent of Sylvain Saudan . Is the first descent of the southwest slope of Mont Blanc.
Brenva spur and variant Güssfeldt - June 30, 1973 - First descent of Heini Holzer .
Great Brenva couloir - April 28, 1978 - First descent of Toni Valeruz in 35 minutes. The ascent was made by helicopter.
Via Major - September 7, 1979 - First descent of Stefano De Benedetti . Uphill and downhill walk is accompanied by Gianni Comino .
Couloir Greloz-Roch - September 1980 - First descent of Stefano De Benedetti.
Great couloir of Frêney - July 1981 - First descent of Stefano De Benedetti.
Innominata ridge - June 11, 1986 - First descent of Stefano De Benedetti.
Shelters [ change | edit wikitext ]
The shelters and camps used for climbing Mont Blanc are:
Bivouac Brenva , 3,060 m
Bivouac Alberico Corrado - Luigi Borgna , also said the Fourche bivouac , 3,674 m
Bivouac Marco Crippa , 3840 m
Giuseppe Lampugnani bivouac , also told Eccles bivouac , 3,860 m
Vallot hut , 4,362 m
Refuge des Cosmiques , 3,613 m
Francesco Gonella refuge , 3071 m
Refuge Goûter , 3,817 m
Refuge of Grands Mulets , 3,051 m
Monzino Refuge , 2.590 m
Quintino Sella Refuge , 3371 m
Aviation
11 February 1914 : Agénor Parmelin is the first aviator to fly over the White Group.
1955 : Jean Moine is the first pilot to land on top with a helicopter (a Bell 47 G).
23 June 1960 : the ' aviator Henri Giraud landed on the summit of Mont Blanc on a " track "Long just 30 m.
1973 : the first takeoff from the summit in gliding was made by Rudy Kishazy .
1982 : the first flight in paragliding was made by Roger Fillon .
1 July 1986 : Dominique Jacquet and Jean-Pascal Oron are the first to land with a parachute on the summit.
The first record of the rise and fall of Courmayeur was established in 1995 in 6 hours 45 minutes and 24 seconds from Italian Fabio Meraldi . The path has a development of about 52 kilometers and a vertical drop of 3,800 meters. That record was beaten July 16, 2015 by the athlete Italian mountain running Marco De Gasperi , who completed the same route of Meraldi ( Via the Italian, starting from Courmayeur and continuing for the Piton des Anglais ) in 6 hours 43 minutes and 52 seconds.
The record entry and exit from Chamonix was established on July 11, 2013 4 hours 57 minutes and 40 seconds by the Spaniard Kilian Jornet i Burgada . Started from the church of Chamonix at 4:46, Jornet took 3 hours and 33 minutes to climb and 1 hour and 24 minutes for the descent. The path has a development of 30 km and a vertical drop of 3,800 meters. Jornet has lowered the previous record of 13 minutes the Swiss Pierre-André Gobet that stood for 23 years: 21 July 1990 Gobet had made the ascent and descent in 5 hours 10 minutes and 14 seconds.
The record of ascent and ski descent from Chamonix was established May 14, 2013 in 5 hours and 5 minutes from the French Mathéo Jacquemoud . Jacquemoud lowered to 10 minutes the previous record of Stéphane Brosse and Pierre Gignoux , the May 30, 2003 were getting on and off from Chamonix on skis, in tandem, in 5 hours, 15 minutes and 47 seconds.
The September 18, 2012 the Spaniard Kilian Jornet i Burgada has made solo crossing of Mont Blanc for Innominata ridge in 8 hours and 42 minutes. Party from Courmayeur at 3:53, came to the summit of Mont Blanc in 6 hours and 17 minutes and then reached Chamonix in 2 hours and 19 minutes. The path has a development of 42 km.
The first ever winter ascent was completed on January 31 1876 by Miss I. Stratton, Jean Charlet, Sylvain Couttet, for Grand Mulets and the ridge of the Bosses .
The first winter crossing was completed on January 5th 1887 by Alexander, Corradino, Erminio and Vittorio Sella , Emile Rey , Jean Joseph , and Daniel Baptiste Maquignaz, and two carriers. They went up the road of Rocher de la Tournette and descended from Grand Mulets day.
After some attempts at reconnaissance made with the Alpine Guide Jean-Laurent Jordaney since 1784, the first ascent was made by Jacques Balmat (24 years old, crystal-digger) and by Michel Gabriel Paccard , (29 years old, general practitioner ), both of Chamonix. Enterprise were urged by the scientist Horace-Benedict de Saussure , who used to observe the summit from his home in Geneva . It was De Saussure to promise in 1760 a prize of three guineas to anyone who had climbed. They spent 26 years before his dream came true. The company had been preceded by some surveys, one of which Balmat was lost and was forced to spend the night in the snow, then eventuality considered dangerous, such as to leave no hope, because of the temperature.
The rise was followed constantly with the telescope by Baron Prussian Adolf Von Gersdorff that from a hill above the village of Chamonix followed step by step movements write it down in a journal [24] . According to reports, at some stage of the climb Balmat wanted to go back because deeply concerned about the health of the daughter of a few days. Paccard, that he was not aware, convinced him to pursue [24] . They reached the summit on August 8, 1786 at 18:23, passing between the Rochers Rouges, Paccard and was the first to step on the snow on top after fourteen and a half hours before departure. Remained there for 34 minutes, the time to carry out surveys on the atmospheric pressure , the barometer of Torricelli , confirming theories of Florin Perier (brother of Blaise Pascal ), a century before, the exponential reduction of pressure to grow ' altitude. The measurements also served for the first rough measurement of the height of the peak, but was greatly overestimated. At 18:57 and departed after four hours they reached the hut from which that morning had gone. They spent the night and returned to Chamonix at 8 am where Balmat learned the news of the death of his daughter the day before confirming his foreboding.
After paying the promised prize, De Saussure also wanted to reach the top. It was Balmat to arrange shipment and prepare two shelters for overnight stays. On August 13, 1787 , accompanied by personal servant and 17 guides carrying food, beverages, ladders, a bed, a stove and a science laboratory (hygrometers, barometers, thermometers), the Geneva scientists crowned his dream. Even the King of Sardinia , Victor Amadeus III of Savoy , proud for the company of his subject, he recognized in Balmat a cash prize and the right to postpone to name the nickname "said Mont Blanc." Paccard, because of jealousy and envy was soon forgotten by everyone. Geneva was the writer Marc Théodore Bourrit to defame and discredit him and to insist on attributing to his companion all the credit of the company, even if the same Balmat, in a sworn statement, published in the Journal of Lausanne said the opposite. The report that Paccard prepared for the press in his defense was never published and it was all useless against the smear campaign. For a long time, for the scientific world, de Saussurre will be the first conqueror of Mont Blanc by Balmat who was guiding. Only after the discovery of the diary of Baron A. Von Gersdorff the early twentieth century and then of other documents still, the record will be permanently recognized Paccard.
An ancient document edited in Latin dating from 1091 is about a Rupes that Chamonix was called Alba and Alba Rupes was a name of Mont Blanc, a name that varied many times over the centuries. In fact we have news of the denomination Says or SCEZ Blans in 1319 ; in 1532 of Mont Sainct Bernard ; Glaciales Montes in 1581 ; Mont Malay , Mont Malet or Maudite Mountains between 1606 and 1743 , but also La Glacière , Les Glacières or Les Glassières between 1741 and 1743. Clearly visible from Geneva, in this city was known as both Mountains Maudite that as the Mont Maudit , and that name was shown on a map on the territories around Lake Geneva, published in Amsterdam in 1606 by the Geneva cartographer Jacques Goulart (1580-1622), while the actual name appeared in French for the first time in England in 1744 on a map published in London. At that time the entire mountain was located in the middle of the possessions of the mainland of the Kingdom of Sardinia and the sovereigns of the House of Savoy , the future king of Italy, for centuries they were the rightful owners until the sale of Savoy to France in 1861 .
Millions of years later (as already mentioned, from 70 million years is still evolving) the Alpine orogeny lifted this intrusion of granite forming of fractures formed in which cracks and fissures. The formation of mineral crystals is the result of an injection d ' mineralized water in these slots. The process of growth of the crystals within the fissures is not yet fully known. For this reason, the Mont Blanc is also known as mineralogical resort and its slopes come a lot of minerals different, especially quartz rock and fluorite pink considered the best. A witness to a past of exploitation of mineral resources in the massif, on the Italian side are two more ancient mines of argentiferous galena and sphalerite , abandoned long ago. One was known in antiquity as the Trou des Romains and really seems that its exploitation has started in Roman times; the other, the mine of Miage was abandoned in the ' nineteenth century , and is located at 3,500 m in height, with the entrance directly from the cliff face, at the foot of Tete Carre .
Nawab (Raghubir Yadav) is an artist, the greatest Indian writer, each book is awaited by millions of readers as a revelation. However, his latest creation dating back five years, the public is impatient and Editor more. So that the latter holds a press conference to announce that Nawab will embark on writing a new novel but a small detail obscures the table: our writer is sick, he suffers Page syndrome white.
But the same evening of the press conference, the young sister of Nawab celebrated his engagement. And in an instant, as in a dream, dressed all in white, a lovely young woman (Tabu) appears before Nawab. Who is she? Is this a dream? Is it inspiration as expected? Virgin, pure, white thus appears the muse Meenaxi before the eyes of the Nawab writer, but also the progress of his new novel state.
Here the triple starting point of this story, because it is not only the starting point of the film, but also, within it, the beginning of the inspiration of the writer (and its three stories), and finally, by a mirror effect, this is the beginning of the analysis by the director of the process of artistic creation. Indeed, the main theme of the film Meenaxi lies not in a love story, in a struggle against oppression or survival ... no, because our young director (performing here in nearly 80 years his second feature fiction) is not the first comer, he is indeed one of the greatest, if not the greatest Indian painter. And when that gentleman, this artist, decides to do - create - a film he just interested in artistic creation in itself: how it arises, how does it materializes, what constraints on the creator, what happens to the work once it is completed?
The reflection will take the form of a triptych that tells us, through the same character (Meenaxi), three stories set each in a different city. However, it is not three different stories, nor of the same story from three different angles ... it is actually a single history that extends to three key moments of the creative process, and is told not by Nawab, the writer who created the character of Meenaxi, the heroine of his next novel, but by MF Hussain, the director, who created Nawab. To better understand the film and MF Hussain thus its reflection on the creation, one must understand the three levels on which the director plays, 3 Meenaxis.
Meenaxi film, media reflection of its director and creator MF Hussain Meenaxi the muse, the director has placed as if by magic on the road to Nawab, the character Meenaxi novel created by Nawab. Also, follow the thinking that prints MF Hussain scheme his film to grasp the content. In the first part the director we shared the pangs of creation and obligations of the artists, that it either public that expects a result or financial constraints that jeopardize the principle of artistic creation (eg the publisher imposes a press conference to announce a work whose creation has not initiated, or who twice put a gun under the nose of the writer.
As painter he is also, MF Hussain opposes the fundamentals, basic, such as black and white (outfits Tabu), man and woman, the creator and his muse, the creator and his creation ... The action is then distributed between Nawab Meenaxi and the imaginary muse that MF Hussain will create Nawab to help find the inspiration, but also Meenaxi the character of his novel ... because the writer does not want a story, but a character that give life. This phase addresses the how and why of creation, if it is deeper at the beginning of Film, punctually return throughout the film, like a thread, a cement between each step, every city, every Meenaxi.
The second stage is much more colorful, more vivid ... creation to take shape. Nawab gave texture to his character and can make her adventures in the beautiful fortress city of Rajasthan. Meenaxi, the character in the novel who Nawab gave life, will take a prominent place on the screen, at the expense of its creator that the director deliberately indents. So, there is no opposition, creation , reflection, but a character, a work that lives ... this interval is intended lighter, more entertaining.
Also in his logic MF Hussain draws a third and final part of both darker, dreary colors (a palette of gray tones) and more tragic (we will repeat a piece inspired drama of Jeanne d ' Arc). This atmosphere is necessary to sketch the killing of the work of Nawab, Meenaxi. In fact, we are also closer to reality. For example, Meenaxi work to live and precisely Meenaxi, the character of the novel, creating the Nawab writer wants to emancipate itself from it in order to live his own life, that a priori denied the writer who wants to make it go away otherwise it will be destroyed question of death, but we are here in a Hindu conception: creation is destroyed before giving way to a re-creation.
So in the film, Meenaxi is annihilated, but to better make room for Maria: the first two phases of Meenaxi is here embodied by MF Hussain in a character that is the equal of the writer and not its mere creation hence the possibility of a physical meeting between Nawab Meenaxi and the character and not the muse the creator and his creation are at the same level because these are only the incarnations of the reflection of MF Hussain . Therefore, where Nawab refused life Meenaxi, MF Hussain gave him a second chance.
The work reborn independent, autonomous and out of control of its creator, like Meenaxi who reborn in Prague in Maria now refuses any interference by Nawab in his new existence and decides to live for itself, by itself. The death in question is the death of the work for its creator, since the work once unveiled to the public ceases to exist and its author to be his thing, but will find its own existence, for his own life and the public. the work will continue to live even beyond its creator. This last part allows to MF Hussain to question the relationship between a creator and his creation.
Beyond these three stages of life, of creation, the film remains rooted in reality represented by the engagement that form the prologue and epilogue of the film and the reflection of MF Hussain. But all this is it real or is it just a figment of the imagination of Nawab and reflection of MF Hussain? The question is asked by MF Hussain himself, who invites the viewer to reflection in the latest stage during the meeting between Nawab and the young woman all dressed in white who happens to be Meenaxi: the two characters meet on a huge and symbolic question mark, as the crowd has disappeared, as in a dream world, idealized. And indeed, the viewer appropriates the film acquires in this way its own autonomy, life ... the buckle is fastened.
Let those who, reading the previous lines, fear of embarking on a metaphysical adventure or boring pseudo-intellectual reflections rest assured: if Meenaxi plays with your mind, it is nonetheless a film that will delight all your sense. And because MF Hussain depicts an admittedly complex history, but of impeccable plastic. The photo is beautiful and in perfect harmony with the themes, each step being considered as a table, with its history, its themes, its colors, its own dynamic. Everything is designed in detail, whether the frame , the outstanding work done on the light or the color palette (for both sets as for costumes), one feels touched inspired the painter spent behind the camera.
Thus, in some scenes the symbolism overrides the reality is particularly true of sung and danced scenes, where the pleasure of the eyes and ears are one, the magnificent percussion playing of AR Rahman of seduction. The festivities, and this is the case to say, since we are invited to an engagement, are started by Noor-Un-Ala-Noor sublime qawwali, the author of the lyrics is MF Hussain him -even. And it is not by chance that it was during this interpretation unfrozen, born from the emotion of the singer, as Nawab met his muse, born emotion MF Hussain.
The poetry continues with a picture layout more symbolic, abstract: If Rang Hai offers us an explosion of rhythms, colors and wildlife played by fully costumed and made-up extras, giving a surreal poetic but listed on the scene, Yeh Rishta its lulls us sweet melody and we literally opened the doors of the imagination of MF Hussain. In short, beautiful songs, catchy percussion, staged and original choreography, mesmerizing, that fit well in the film except perhaps Chinnamma Chilikkamma, a beautiful song, which one wonders, however, what is the point in the plot, especially as there appears Meenaxi not even.
To give life to his thinking, the director called on major players such as beginners actors. At any king, all honor ... begin the presentations by the Creator: Raghubir Yadav (we could see among others in Salaam Bombay !, Bandit Queen , Dil Se or Lagaan ) interprets very credibly Nawab, a somewhat disconnected writer of living material things alone in his world, in the midst of his books, and look (Mao collar jacket and glasses) strangely reminiscent of another artist, creator, but in the world of music this time. Sir Elton John.
The key character in the film, Meenaxi, is played by the gorgeous and talented Tabu especially in view Kandukondain Kandukondain and Chandni Bar. Natural resplendent in Jaisalmer and Prague, it nevertheless seems less at ease, at least natural scenes located in Hyderabad, at least in those where it interprets the Muse, a difference of game that can seem strange in the same film, to Unless it is deliberate suggesting that the muse that meets the writer does not exist but is the fruit of his imagination.
The question remains open also in the final stage. As for the other actors Raghubir Yadav and Tabu being almost ubiquitous in the display and moreover perfect in their roles, they outshine other actors and that's without regrets regarding Kunnal Kapoor who plays without credibility Kaameshwar, the fictional character lovers Meenaxi.
This is keeping in mind both the three levels of history and the three stages of the creative process, the film Meenaxi take its full extent, all its interest, otherwise the viewer will face varnishes a work to the remarkable but sealed plastic, which can then him seem incoherent or dehumanized.
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