INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN....XXIII

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..XXIII

Prof Dr Colonel K Prabhakar Rao ( retired)


(It is the outskirt of Mangalore city in Karnataka State in India. It is dark and roads are dimly lit. A Roadside Pub has glittering Board at the entrance. Its name is JING BANG PUB. Many cars are parked in the parking lot and there are hundreds of two wheelers at one side of the parking joint. Drums are heard at loud pitch. Youngsters are screaming and yelling. Colored lights are also seen flashing. Trumpets are being heard. Boys and girls are dancing hugging each other. Liquor is flowing like torrent. MK Gandhi is seen at the gate and he is accompanied by Saigal and Surendra, Saigal is carrying Harmonium)

Gandhi. Oh Bhai. Sentry baba. We want to go inside. My name is MK Gandhi. These are our tickets. These men are my close friends

Sentry. (Looks at Gandhi) Baba. What will you do there? You are so old. Can you dance? You are not dressed properly too. We will not allow any one in Dhoti and kurta and Chappals. You do not have even kurta. You are half naked

Saigal. Bhai. He is known as half naked fakir. I am called Saigal.

Sentry. Out of all of you, only one is correctly dressed.( He points to Surendra) He is very smartly dressed. Saigal sahib You are in kurta and Pajama. Better change and come. I can allow only this man in suit

Surendra. What shall we do? Should you go back?

Gandhi. Wait ( He quickly gestures like Mandrake the magician looking at himself and Saigal and immediately they get transformed into European outfit complete in Suits and with Hollywood hats and dark shoes)

Saigal. Oh Bhai Sentry sahib. Is it OK? Are we looking fine now?

Sentry. ( Looking lost)That is fine. You may go in, ( He collects the tickets)

( The trio step in and Saigal is seen playing his harmonium and singing


Babul mora…..Aaa….aaa..Naihar hi chhota hi joy
Ye… babul mora… aa…aaaa. Aain… Char kaha… aaain…More duniya….aain

(Suddenly he finds many youngsters around him doing some slow jig to his tune holding glasses of whisky.. Even girls are among them with wine glasses..Saigal does slow jig while playing on harmonium and at times whirling too)


Surendra ( Laughing) That is good Saigal Sahib. A great feat. English dance to Babul mora the Bhairavi tune.. haa… haaaa. Fine

Gandhi.( looking lost) Let me sit down at this table

( Saigal and Surendra return to the table and give company to Gandhi)

In the mean time a bar Attender arrives )

Attender. Sir. Good evening. Welcome sir. What do you like to have? Martini, Manhattan, simple red whine or Rum and hard whisky?

Saigal. Get me some Vat 69 with Soda

Surendra. I do not mind Manhattan

Gandhi. You guys know I do not drink. I want jaljeera

Attender. Sir we don’t serve it. You are the first guy who asked it. I can give you Coke

Gandhi. That is OK

(Attender vanishes and after some time returns with drinks and snacks like Kajoo and chips. Dance continues at great tempo. Boys and girls are jumping and dancing wildly holding glasses. Bobbed hair is seen flying. Mostly girls are dressed in skirts while boys are in jeans and slacks. Some elderly women are seen in saris and are also seen doing slow jig as they are unable to respond to fast beat. Boys are girls are seen hugging, pulling each other and gyrating violently)

Gandhi. What a place to come! Is this the enjoyment now days. They would get salvation if they do same thing with concentration on Rama and Krishna.

Saigal. Come on Bapu. Can we do Jig on Ramdhun? Long ago Thespian Devanand did a movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna with Zeenat Ammaan. There was a song scene with hippies singing Hare Rama hare Krishna.. It was great hit

Gandhi. Why can not they do now?

Surendra. Bapu. Times have changed. Now it is day of fast music and beat of drums. We sang songs with simple Harmonium, piano and Tabla. We gave many hits too

Gandhi. All that is not impossible. Some time ago I heard a song in which gayatri mantra was sang in a fast beat. It became popular. It is time we popularize our Hindu mantras to English tunes and even rock and roll music. We must change with time.

Surendra. True Bapu. CH Atma could sing some of his old time songs with fast beats and with guitar.( sings)

Badle Rang zamaana.. pal me hasaye.. pal me rulaye

Nahi kiska..aa…nahi kiska.. Koi tikana re…Badle

Sou sou jatan kare kyo moorakh oonche Mahal banaye

Par kismet kee ek thokar se sab mathi me mil jaayen ge… Badle

Gandhi ( Claps) That is too good. ( He finds many youngsters dancing to the tune of Surendras song)

( In the mean time there is sudden noise and many guys barge in shouting loudly and shrieking. They are Narendra, Vivek and Swamy)

Narendra .. You swine.. Sons of Bitches. Is this your culture? Are you not Indians?

Swine. Come on kick these guys. Teach them a lesson. Did you think this is America? I shall tear apart you. Bloody swine. Where is the pub guy? Show him what we are

( Some youth dancing are caught and roughed up by the intruders. Girls are seen running away from the entrance. At Entrance they are stopped by the intruders)

Narendra . You . Bitch, You want to be an Angrez. Go to England or New York. He hits the girl on the face and the girl cries loudly.

( Dozens of girls are beaten black and blue by the intruders. In the mean time a police siren is heard.. Some intruders come to Gandhi’s table)

Swami . Who are you? I have seen you some where. Yeah . Now I remember. You are looking like MK Gandhi.Are you real Gandhi? Why are you here? Is it a place to be visited by guys like you? Don’t you have some shame?

Gandhi. We came to see what happens here. We were discussing how to stop this practice

Surendra. In fact we were making the youngsters to sing our old songs and were making them to dance to our songs of course with change in music to fuse with beat

Saigal. That is true. In fact they danced to my song Babul mora… aaain…

Intruder. That is good. Keep it up. In fact in future we shall ensure that in pubs they sing Saigals or Surendras songs and Talat mahmoods Gazaals too.

Saigal Thank you very much.

( some one shouts that police was coming and all the intruders run away from there shouting Bharat Maata ki jai and down with foreign culture)

In the mean times dozens of police men barge into the pub and trying to look for the trouble makers. But they had already vanished. Police men go away taking the injured girls to the hospital in their vans. May girls have swollen faces)

Gandhi. Thank God. We are safe. Saigal and Surendra. Luckily you were not dancing with youngsters. Who are these guys disturbing the pub?

Surendra. True. These guys are some type of moral police. Some type of Indian Taliban

Saigal. Bapu. Roz Roz darke jeenese marn achha ( It is better to die than living daily under fear)..He lifts his whisky glass and gulps it all in one go and sings…

Piye ja… aur piye ja…
Zindagika ye hi hai mudda
Bothal utha.. Aur piye jaa
Socha taa hai kya… aur piyae jaa.


Gandhi ( Holds his head) Ohf, What a guy indeed. Let us go

( Surendra and Gandhi hold Saigal by hand and take him away from the pub while Saigal clings to his harmonium … singing

Aye dile bekaraar jhoom … Aye dile bekaraar jhoom …

Ab ye bahar aa gaya daure fiza chala gaya
Ishk puraad paagaya.. Husn ke mach rahee hai kyoon.. Oin

Dr K Prabhakar Rao