Za Gaman

Za Gaman (ザ・ガマン) "The Endurance" [sic] was a Japanese television show from the 1980s. It is not particularly well known or remembered in Japan, but it became famous in other countries, particularly Britain, due to its appearance on the British television program Clive James on Television, and subsequently Tarrant on TV under the name Endurance.

The program was a version of an activity at Japanese universities, the gaman taikai or "endurance contest", similar to rag week in the UK, where students try to outdo each other in withstanding unpleasant experiences. The TV programme featured teams from "name" universities such as Keio University who were subjected to various unpleasant ordeals such as being buried up to the neck in sand or licked by reptiles. The winner was the person who endured the longest.

Short segments of the program were used in the British television shows, which humorously examined television programs from around the world. Following Clive James on Television, clips from the now-defunct show were also used in the nineties in Tarrant on TV. A very short-lived British version of the show was also created, hosted by Paul Ross, but it did not feature the extreme conditions of the original program. Only two series of the British version were produced for Challenge TV which first aired from 1997 to 1998, and it was not a success.

Gaman

Gaman (Hindi: गमन, English:Departure) is a Bollywood film released in 1978. It is the directorial debut of Muzaffar Ali, who went on to make the successful film Umrao Jaan (1981). The film deals with the issue of futility of urban migration, using the story of migrant from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai, tries to find with foothold in his new life as a taxi driver.

Film's music was by Jaidev, who won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1979 for his work and for the Song "Aap ki Yaad Aati Rahi" Chhaya Ganguly won an National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.Shahryar wrote songs for the film, most notably " Seene Mein Jalan, Aankhon Mein Toofaan", sung by Suresh Wadkar, which highlighted the alienation and busted dreams of migrant community. Ghazal-singer singer Hariharan made his playback singing debut with the film.

Plot

In order to improve their lifestyle, village near Badaun, based Ghulam Hasan (Farooq Shaikh) decides to re-locate to Bombay, on the insistence of his close friend Lalulal Tiwari (Jalal Agha). He leaves behind his ailing mother and wife (Smita Patil). Lalulal helps him get a job cleaning taxis. Ghulam subsequently learns how to drive, and is hired to drive a taxi. In spite of his best efforts, he is unable to save enough money to visit Lucknow.

Gaman (term)

Gaman (我慢) is a Japanese term of Zen Buddhist origin which means "enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity". The term is generally translated as "perseverance", "patience", tolerance, or "self-denial". A related term, gamanzuyoi (我慢強い, gaman-tsuyoi), a compound with tsuyoi (strong), means "suffering the unbearable" or having a high capacity for a kind of stoic endurance.

Gaman is variously described as a "law," a "virtue," an "ethos," a "trait," etc. It means to do one's best in distressed times and to maintain self-control and discipline.

Gaman is a teaching of Zen Buddhism.

Analysis

Gaman has been attributed to the Japanese-Americans and others held in United States' internment camps during World War II and to those affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. In the internment camps, Gaman was misperceived by non-Japanese as introverted behavior or as a lack of assertiveness or initiative rather than as a demonstration of strength in the face of difficulty or suffering.