INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...104

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN…….104

Dr K Prabhakar Rao


(Gandhi and Nehru are seen discussing some thing in a small poorly furnished room in heavens. Bapu is sick and coughing occasionally and saying ram...ram too)

Gandhi. Jawaharal It is long time since we got news from India. I am getting bored.
Some how I got a feeling that al is not well there and Congress is having some trouble.

Nehru. Which congress ? Your congress is dead long ago. My daughter split it many years ago. Now it is Indira Congress. My daughters congress.

Gandhi. How sad? My party that I led for decades has disappeared. (Sobs).eee…eee.. aaaa…aaa ( sings in broken voice)

Oh! my party belonging to original congress
Has gone down the slope and fell into grass
The pair of bullocks on our party flag
Eaten by the others and that is a snag.

Nehru. Bapu. That is how democracy works in India. We ourselves wanted this type of democracy. Why cry now?

Gandhi. We should not have got independence. This way. We are not worth of it. I am sure more than three fourths of the country in this way. As monkeys we just aped British systems.

Nehru. Without realizing we are a bunch of fools and selfish and down right opportunists too.

Gandhi. Well said Jawaharlal. I learnt the party comes to power on some slogans, stays for some time and suddenly falls. Why?

Nehru. It is the latest trend. Bapu, in every party back stabber will be there. It is the practice from time immemorial. Even Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Betrayal is the man’s main trait. Look Bapu at our own history. King Jayachandra betrayed Prithviraj Chauhan and Ghori won and established Muslim rule in India. Mir Jafar betrayed Nawab Sirajudduala and Clive won battle of Plassey and established English supremacy., Muslim generals betrayed Aliya Rama raya in Tallikota battle ad the Muslim armies vandalized Hami and Vijaynagar. Junior Commander Abdulla Pani betrayed Abul Hasan Kutub shah and opened a small gate of Golconda fort in the night and Aurangzeb captured Golconda. Maharaja Chatrapathi Dharma veer Sambhaji was betrayed by Shrike his close relation and Sambhaji was captured at Sangameswar fort and later hanged by Aurangzeb. Raghunath Rao betrayed and got killed Narayan Rao Peshwa at Shaniwarwada in Pune.Raghunath Rao betrayed even Madhav Rao peshwa and tried to get him killed. Young sons of Gurugobind singh were betrayed to Governor of sirhind Wazir Khan and they were bricked alive. In recent times, Naidu betrayed his mentor NTR and usurped power. In yore Vibheeshana betrayed his brother Ravana by seeking protection with Rama. Tantya Tope the Martha commander during 1857 war was betrayed by his very close friend to English men while asleep and he was later hanged. Ibrahim Kutub Shah of Golconda was given asylum by Aliya Rama Raya at Vijaynagar for 7 years and helped him to become king. Later he betrayed Rama Raya and joined Deccani sultans and waged war at Tallikota in which Rama Raya was killed.Jamshed betrayed his 92 years old father and king Sultan quli at Golconda while he was in prison and got him assassinated when kuli was praying in a mosque and jamshed became the sultan. I can quote hundreds of examples. There is no end.

Gandhi. Are we so bad?

Nehru. Yes. Really bad. What about killing of Julius ceaser by Brutus that swine who betrayed his emperor? These actions are regular. Although kings have vanished in India there are new kings now. These are elected representatives called MLA and MP (sings)

Look at the history of great nations of world
Where people are found cast in the same mould
Thuggery, mischief and cheating are the order of the day
While greatest looters are found in election fray.


Parties are found on some one’s personal charm
Vote to power by those who feel no harm
All of a sudden the chief is down the drain
While some one is ready to climb the running train

Gandhi. How bad things are there in India? I am upset. People have no morals. Do the MsLA resign from party after falling out from the leader?

Nehru. No Bapu. No one dies. Are they fools? Your days are over. The latest betrayal has occurred in Andhra Pradesh.

Gandhi. What happened there? Has some one sold Hyderabad to Pakistan?

Nehru. Not yet.

Gandhi. I was told that one film star NTR has been ruling there.

Nehru. True Bapu.. He is called NT Rama Rao. He also ruled Telugu cinema more than five decades. He did all types of roles.. People are crazy of him. He established a party called Telugu Desam to oust congress party from power. It is Indira Congress.

Gandhi. Thank god. What made him to form a party?

Nehru. Indira Congress is in the habit of changing Chief Ministers in the states at will. There is no inner party democracy. CM is forced on the state by centre.

Gandhi. How ridiculous it is?

Nehru. For you it is like that Bapu. They changed many CM and brought in Anjiah a labor leader.

Gandhi. Anjiah is from Alwyn metal works and a simple guy. I like him. He is a simpleton.

Nehru. But who wants a simple one

( In the meantime Anjiah walks in. He lays himself at the feet oif Bapu and Nehru. He gets up)

Gandhi. Anjiah. You too rued AP as CM. Good. What happened?

Anjiah. I do not know. I was a simple 6 anna cooliel in Hyderabd. I do not know the political tricks. I am very loyal to amma . That is why I was made CM. People made many jokes on me… hee…hee.


Nehru. I know that. But you must know how to rule also. You are a very simple fellow. I know that incident when you were chided by Rajiv Gandhi at the Begum pet air port.. That is the start for Telugu desam. NT Rama Rao got a clue from it.

Anjiah. I was not at fault at all. How I can be blamed?

Nehru. You are too simple and every time has been screaming that you are the most loyal servant of Mrs. Gandhi.

Anjiah. What is wrong in that? Even now I shall tell the same. I was after all 6 Anna laborer from Hyderabad. Who will make me a CM ?

Gandhi. That is OK Let us not trouble him. He is too simple. He does not know tricks of trade.

Nehru. NTR went to people shouting that Telugu pride has been badly hurt and the congress has been thrusting CM on the state at will and insult to Anjiah has been made the main issue to flare up the sentiments.

Gandhi. Then what happened?

Nehru. The PM then again thrust another CM who had no clue about politics. He was Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy who was in the musical chair and in short time handed over to NT Rama Rao who won with thumping majority. This Reddy sahib is famous for handing over governments to others. He was called Peddiah ( Big brother) in reverence.

Gandhi. Is congress devoid of leaders? AP has produced great guns sucha s Pattabhi, Ranga, Prakasam Pantulu, Sanjeeva Reddy and Vengala Rao.

( In the mean time Acharya NG Ranga walks in. He is in his usual dress with Gandhi cap. He touches feet of Gandhi and says hello to Nehru with a twisted eye.)

Gandhi. Hello NG . I am happy to see you here. You have been there for very long time. Yet you did not any post I think you never ran for it.

Ranga. Yes Bapu. Unfortunately I stated there too long to see down fall of Indian democracy. It is a dirty shit pot now. Thugs are ruling the masses. (Sings and does jig)

Bapu, You know I lived in shit pot
Yet I could not stem the rot
At last I gave up my soul
India has bee destroyed on the whole

They named Agriculture University ( ANGRAU) in Hyderabad after my name. I was usually called Rytu ( farmer) Ranga. heee..hee.. That is the only recognition I had. Let us speak less about that place.

Gandhi. That is what Jawaharlal has been saying.( sings)

What a sorry state for mother India
Where leaders pay to be blown up in media
Tons of money spent in elections to win
Wile crooked leaders watch with a grin

Ranga. Very rightly said Bapu. Can you say wrong at any point of time? Mere Bapu.You are hundred percent correct. See what happened in AP? NT Rama Rao is dumped down the drain down by his own men. The joke is that it has happened second time to him. That too when he was away from Hyderabad. First Nadendla Bhaskar Rao did and he was Brutus.

Gandhi. I think the party came to power on the charisma of NTR. Other leaders have no political identity of their own. This is all opportunistic politics. What do you say Ranga?

Ranga. How can you say wrong mere Bapu. After al you re Bapu. The beloved Bapu.

Gandhi. Hope you are not joking with me. I know that you differ with me and that is why you joined Rajaji and established Swatantra party.

Ranga. Bapu. Why do you want to take out skeletons out o cup borad?

Gandhi. There was some thing wrong in alculations. I never realsed that generations woul change. Freedom has brought itsown perils. Indians are not fot for self rule. They need some one to kick them hard all the time our country lost to outsiders always and enslaved. They were made to work well with kicks on their bottoms.

Nehru. Bapu. We definitely deserve kicks Bapu. You know, during emergency imposed by y daughter every one worked very well. Bapu. You know. Adolf Hitler never had good opinion about us. He wondered how such a large country like India could be enslaved by the Englishmen for such large and long period. When subhas went to Hitler he faced this question. Our friend Subhas took long time to convince him.

Gandhi. True. Also feel like Hitler some time. It took lot of efforts from me to mobilize Indians.

Ranga. All this has been forgotten. Leaders are running to grab power. No one wants to serve people. Andhra Pradesh that boasts of Telugu pride has done and mastered the art of Brutus.

Gandhi. They are dramatists’. They produced great actors. Even Rama Rao was a great well known actor.

Nehru. Poor NTR!. He thought all his stooges would be with him all the time. He had one man rule. After all others also have ambitions. They also wield power and thus dissidence is born.

Ranga. Does it mean that every one should be a minister? After all it is government. Not a charity show.

Gandhi. But it looks like that. All nuts bolts and jokers want to become minister. If not cabinet minister atleast junior one. If you are a minister or Chairman of a corporation atlesat, your life is made for next few generations. One will amass wealth to that extent. Where is the surety that he will get it again? Make hay while sun shines. Heee..heee…haaa…haaa… hooo…hoooo.hu

Ranga. Well said Bapu. Haa…haaa..haaa ( sings and does jig )

Indian politics is nothing but a dust bin
Where all are bus as Russian Rasputin
Leaders are busy collecting wealth in tons
And the nuts like people are busy watching eternal fun

Gandhi. Well sung and good jig. When did you learn the art of doing the jig?

Ranga. Bapu. One gets automatically in Indian politics.

Gandhi. I think we must go to AP and watch the fun there. Shall we?

Nehru and Ranga. We shall. But today we are tired. Let us make it tomorrow there.

Gandhi. Very good. I am also a bit tired. It is time for me to drink a glass of goats milk. OK . Bye friends . see you.


( Nehru and Ranga go out of the room)

CURTAIN FALLS