New York University
Then Dad found a job that would prove to be his greatest
calling — Professor of Film at New York University's
brand new Faculty of Film. It was 1968. Once again we
packed ourselves into the VW Van and drove off to New
York. Actually, we moved to Westport, Connecticut, which
is a short train ride from Grand Central Station. Dad
became a weekend commuter. He had a 'pad' in the city
where he stayed with a friend.
We all went off to school, which was pretty jarring
after rural Quebec. The schools there were excellent
but the other kids were really preppie and very rich.
My big brother Alex had a hard time there. He did not
fit in. His clothes were different and he couldn't play
football very well. I think Westport really hurt Alex.
Nick became a 'jock' so he made friends pretty quickly.
I was athletic so I could choose my friends too. Alex
wasn't so lucky.
During this time the Vietnam War was raging. Mom encouraged
Alex to go to Washington and participate in the war
moratoriums. NYU was in the thick of the Sixties Revolution.
Dad grew long sideburns. In the summers he went regularly
to India and Europe. The staff at NYU called him the
"Groovy Professor". We didn't see much of him. While
making this film I learned that Dad was hired as a Chief
Consultant for the Indian Films Division for three years.
He also acted as consultant to UNESCO to create a film
institute in Poona focused on documentary production,
and he taught a 6 week scriptwriting course there.
In 1970, my parents independently produced four very
well known Indian music films on Classical Musicians
of North India: Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Bhimsen
Joshi, and Vijay Raghav Rao, as well as a film about
the Dalai Lama. |