INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..LV

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN.. LV
SCENE..LV

Prof Dr Colonel K Prabhakar Rao ( Retired)

( Gandhi , Nehru and Patel are seen traveling in a Government bus and they are seated behind the driver on a three seater. The bus is snaking through traffic slowly avoiding all obstacles)

Gandhi. Patel. The bus is good and is reasonably comfortable in the third world standards

Patel. True Bapu. I am happy that there are window glasses working and sliding smoothly. The bus is also moving. I feel fine.

Gandhi..heee..heee

Nehru. Bapu. Have you noticed one thing?

Nehru. Look The driver is getting instructions continuously from the co driver

Gandhi. What is so great about it ? He may be new for this route.

Patel. Bapu. At times the codriver is turning the wheel also. He is continuously telling him. Left..right.. straight, turn left, now right, slow, accelerate, change to second gear ….

Gandhi. The driver may be newly recruited and still under training.

Patel Bapu, Have you seen that the driver is wearing black goggles. I feel something fishy.

Gandhi. Come on Patel. The guy may have eye infection and wants to avoid sun light. More so it is a fashion today.

( In the mean time the bus stops at a roadside tea shop. The driver slowly opens the door and gets out feeling the handle. The codriver by this time is already at the exit and slowly takes the driver to the tea shop and makes him sit on a chair. Gandhi and Patel get puzzled. They also go to the tea shop. The co driver goes to the counter to get tea while Patel goes to the driver)

Patel. Bhai sahib. I am sorry. Have you got some infection in your eyes? I am seeing you since long. I have a good eye drops to remove infection. Can I help you?

Driver, Thanks bhahi sahib. I am blind.

(Patel listens to him and suddenly collapses shrieking on the ground. Gandhi and others run to Patel and sprinkle water on his face. Patel slowly opens his eyes and stares around with blank look.)

Patel. Where I am? Am I alive and kicking? Who are all you?

Gandhi. Patel do not worry. I am Bapu, Your Bapu. You are very much alive and kicking. What happened ?

Nehru. Patelji. Take it easy. You are iron man of India What is this? You are falling down after every two minutes,

Patel. Bapu. Do you know the bus in which we traveled just now was being driven by a blind man.

Gandhi. Oh .. Ohfo...No…eee…aaa ..aa..( He also shrieks loud and falls down on the ground. Nehru makes an attempt to hold him and fails. Gandhi falls flat with his nose down and all chairs stacked aside also fall on him and the heap of plastic chairs cover him up. Nehru also falls along with Gandhi tumbling down .)

Nehru. Bachao ( Save)..aaa.. Bapu ko.. Mera Bapu.. Mera Bapu… Mujhe bhi bachao..aa…eeee

On looker. Do not worry sir. Nothing will happen to him and you too. These are only plastic chairs and you have fallen on carpet.

( The guys around remove all chairs and sprinkle water on Gandhi and he does not get upSome one waves old news paper to give him some air. Some one whispers Narayan.. Narayan.. Narayan…Ram..Ram… Ram nam sathya hai in Gandhi’s ears thinking that Gandhi was in last moments and suddenly Gandhi gets up yawining. Nehru slowly gets up cursing the chairs and the driver).

Gandhi . aah…aahh… I am feeling weak. I need some thing too to drink.

Patel. Shall I get coke sir?

Gandhi. No…no.. I want some fresh goats milk… ee…eeee..aah…aahh

Patel. From where we can goats milk now? Strange person indeed is this Bapu.

( Patel goes out and looks around and sees a herd of sheep and goats at a distance on the roadside on a dry land. Patel runs to the place with a glass. He finds all male goats. There is only one she goat with a kid. Patel runs after the she goat. Seeing this all male goats counter Patel with heads lowered and horns pointing .Patel returns scared to Gandhi.)

Patel. Bapu. The goat milk is not available any where. What to do?

Gandhi. It is OK. I shall have some coke today.

( Gandhi is given coke and he drinks and relaxes. He sees the driver going back to the bus)

Gandhi. Oh Bhai. Please do not risk the lives of passengers. You are blind. How can you drive the bus?

Driver. Look man, initially I knew driving but I lost eye sight. However I am continuing in service with help of my friend who has retired. Every day I take him along with me.

Patel. How strange! No one has noticed you all these days.

Driver. I have managed all these days. Some guys know this and I give them money occasionally and they are happy.

Pate; Ohfo. How many years you will work like this?

Driver. At least another 15 years.

( Patel hears this and faints. Again the people around pour water on him and he wakes up. In the mean time the bus drives away with the blind driver)

Gandhi. This is too much. We must inform the Depot manager at once about this blind driver.

Patel. True

Nehru. We must do this.

(The trio catches another bus and travel to the bus depot. At the gate they are stopped by the watch man )

Watch man. Bhai. Who are you? Where are you going?

Patel. We want to see Depot manager. We have some thing to say to him

Watch man. OK. Sign in this register and I shall give you a pass.

( Watch man enters the names in the register and Gandhi gives strange address. Watch man is clueless about every thing and gives passes and they enter the depot. They go to the office of Depot manager and on the wall his name plate is fixed. Rambharose BA, it reads. Gandhi goes to PA and introduces himself to him)

PA. Welcome sir. What I can do for you? My name is Raja More and people with love call me pyare.

Gandhi. Pyare sahib, I want to see the manager

( PA informs the manager and sends the trio in. Looking at them manager is surprised )

Gandhi. Namste Rambharose sahib. May god bless you. We want to say some thing to you

Manager. By all means you can tell me. We are here to help you. But who are you. You are dressed Like father of nation Nehru and Patel.

Nehru. That is very fine. We are actually they and they are in fact we.

Manger ( Gets confused) Sir. Iam shocked after seeing you. Plesae tell me what I can do for you

Patel. Can you believe that one of your depot buses is driven by a blind driver helped by a co driver.

Maanger. That is very commendable. If he is driving without any accident it is commendable. We must get Guinness record ( Gets excited)

Gandhi. But Manager, Are you authorized to hand over bus to a blind person?

Manager. Who is he? Where did you see? Can you give the number of bus?

( Gandhi gives the number)

Manager. I shall find out and see that he is immediately removed and will take action against co driver too. But we do not have such co driver appointment unless the driver is a trainee.

Gandhi. Thanks Sahib. God bless you with promotions and good health. To day we are saved. To morrow some one may have problem. Jai Hind.

Manager. But my doubt is still there. Are you real Gandhi, Nehru and Patel? How you are alive?

Patel. ( sings doing jig)

We are in fact they
They infact are also we
Please wake up and rise
Although intelligent you may be

Manager. Good poem sir. I am also interested in writing poems some times (sings)

It is nice that you came
Although you may be fake
How can I trust that you are real
Better go and drown in a lake

Gandhi. Look Manager. We are real. We came to help the citizens and save them from blind drivers. If I see him again I shall go to Police. Better wake up

Manager. You can do any thing you like. You can not threaten me. Please go out.

Gandhi. OK We shall see.

( Gandhi and his friends go out of the Depot and start sitting Dharna ( strike) outside the gate under a tree close to the gate. In the mean time the bus with the blind driver approaches the depot. Lot of people gather there and most of them are passengers waiting around. The bus comes rash and almost climbs over the trio)


Gandhi. Eee….eee.. Bachao

Nehru.. aaa..aa.. I am hit

Patel.. Oh.ohhh.. My leg is injured

( All the people waiting around drag the driver out of the seat along with co driver and thrash them mercilessly. They also find that driver is blind. In the mean time Police come and enquire. They know that driver is blind and they arrest him with co driver and take him away promising that they would book a case against the depot manager. Gandhi cancels Dharna)

Gandhi. That is good. We have achieved some thing. Let us go now

(The trio slowly walk away singing Ramdhun)

Dr K Prabhakar Rao