IN TO THE PAST WITH PAIN...111 ( Part II)

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...111 ( Part II )


Dr K Prabhakar Rao

Gandhi. Rajiv. What is this Bofors issue? Every one claims that you made money in this scam.

Rajiv. Bapu. Please do not believe them. I am the grandson of Nehru and son of Indira.

Gandhi. Now days I lost trust in all. Till now nothing is clear. Olof Palme, the PM of Sweden was killed. I do not know why? (Note… When this article was written ,Bofors issue was hot topic and Rajiv was not absolved. All types of stories were in circulation)

Gandhi. Time only will tell. Any how money was lost. People were cheated. What a shame to politicians! People’s money is being swindled. How correct was Churchill when he said India would be taken over by cheats, crooks and scoundrels. How true he was ! What a fore thought. At that time, all Indians abused him in filthiest words… Oh God save this nation from swindlers, jokers, cheats, crooks and hypocrites.

(Gandhi gets excited and coughs loudly. He beats his chest and cries.. Mera Bharat.. Mera Bharat.. Oh Maaa ise Bacho.. Sab badmasho se.. aaa..eee..waaa… oooo… He struggles to take breath. His chest heaves up and down)


In the distance great singer Surendra nath BALLB is heard singing

Bhool jaaa..Bhool jaaa
Bhoola jaa. Jo Dekhataa hai
Jo hai dekha bhool jaa
Yaad rakh kar kya karega
Ye Tamasha Bhool jaa
Khwab kee roodad par
Kaisee Khushee kaisa Malal
Apni haalat par ye hasna
Our rona bhool jaa ( From Film Vishwas 1943)


(The deep and pathetic voice puts Gandhi off and he screams loudly waving hands wildly. Gandhi screams… Bacho mujhe (Save me)..Is Mulk ko kya ho gaya ( what happened to this country?).. Khaliya badmasho ne. ( therascals have eaten). lootliya cchorone (The thieves have burgled). Hadap liya dakuone ne..eee..eee (Swallowed by the dacoits)…)

(Rajiv holds Bapu firmly in chair and wipes tears. He gives him water and Gandhi drinks. He slowly gets composed. He still is seen crying)

In the distance kavi Pradeep is heard singing

Pinjreke Panchi re…ye.ye.ye
Tera dard na jaane koi
Tera dard na jane koi
Baahar se khaa mosh rahe too
Bheethar bheethar roire..ye…ye
Bheethar bheethar roire..
Tera dard na jaane koi
Tera dard na jaane koi
Kahana sake too apni kahani
Koyee bhi Panchee kya zindgaani re
Vidhine teri kathalikhee..eee
Aasumein kalam duboye
Tera dard na jaane kpoi
Pinjre ke panchi re…ye..ye..ye

( Gandhi hearing the sad song gets upset and picks up a near by drinking glass and hammers his own head crying.. let me die…let me die.. I ca not see more…)

Rajiv. ( holds to Gandhi) Bapu. Please control yourself. You can not do everything. This is a changing time. Even my mom said corruption is a world phenomenon. We have to live with it.

Subhas. What a way of consoling and what he can do.

Gandhi ( coughs) Oh mera Bharat Mata. What you have done to my country? What type of leaders you gave to my country? You have not been fair to us. I do not know which side we are sliding. ( sings)

Let not my country go down the drain
While the people feel perils of pain
Neighboring enemies trouble as rain
While the leaders watch and are in gain


Subhas, Bapu. We are surely sliding into a shit pot. Be sure ( sings)

Oh My Bapu why are you crying?
Didn’t you know when dying?
All the troubles you have been buying
What is the use by now crying?

Gandhi. Oh Subhash, Do not be so harsh. I know that I made a blunder by ditching Vallabh bhai Patel and making Jawaharlal as the PM. I do not know why I fell to the Nehru lobby? ( he wipes tears with a khadi hanky )

( The door opens and Patel walks in )

Patel. Hello Subhas, Namaste Bapu. Nice to see you guys here. I heard Bapu has some thing to say.

Subhash. Bapu says that he should have made you PM .

Patel. What can I say? I was the iron man of India. I got rid of all kings and princes from India. Otherwise how India could be amalgamated?

Subhas. I am happy that you were ruthless with them, particularly with the Nizam of Hyderabad, the wicked and clever guy.

Patel. Do you know that the Nawab dared to declare independence?

Bose. For this he got hammered. How he dared to take on Indian army? How foolish he was. How he dreamt of defeating Indian army? This Nawab did not even have Tanks .

Patel. It was Kasim Razvi and PM Liakat ali who poisoned Nizam. Nizam by himself I think was not bad.

Subhas. Kasim Razvi means the Razakar leader. The crooked Razakar. Isn’t it?

Patel. Yes. The crooked guy paid for it. But for accomplishing all this what I got?

Bose. You got Bharat ratna. Of course you were dead already. You hardly lived after independence

Patel. You were lucky. You died eve earlier before we got independence.. you mentioned about Bharat Ratna what I will do this. It is not worth even to scarpe my tongue. I was given because some one was given.

Gandhi. I do not know why they forgot my wife Kasturba. She was a great woman. Silently suffered my doings. Ee..eee..ee. she also deserved Bharat ratna.

Subhas. The funniest part is that I was also given Bharat ratna. There is a limit to mockery. I am very happy that my Geramndaughter refused to accept it. Who are they to give me Bharat Ratna?

Patel. Why can’t they give to Asoka, Hanuman, Lord Buddha, Mahavir, Krishan, rama, they also deserved more than us.. If secularism was the problem they could have given to Akbar, cotton Arthur, Brown, Mountbatten.

Bose. Bapu. Even gallatry awards follow a definite pattern to plase a section of people. Do you know Japanese army does not give any awards Ever one is expected to give out best. In army there is a rat race for PVSM, AVSM, VSM. AGeneral has toi be given atlesat an AVSM for surviving so long without getting court martialled.

Gandhi. it is better to talk less. More you talk about them more you get trapped in a stinking pot… Forget it. I am happy that they did not give me Bharat Ratna. I was scared

Patel. They are capable of it.

Gnadhi. Why I should be scared of. In India army is a holy cow. Better talk less about them

Bose. Why should I e scared of them? Forces that run after material comfortswill surely decay over a period of time.

Patel. True.

Bose. Yet the forces should not be downgraded. I heard the Chief of army staff is much below a leader in protocol and equivalent status.In India army and police are at blows.

( In the mea time Ghost of Field Marshall Cariappa walks in.Cariappa salutes Subhas and shakes hands with him.)

Bose. How are you Marshal? I am very happy to meet you ater a long time. I am also happy that you have been elevated to the rank of Field Marshal.

Cariappa. But when ? I was bout to go to my grave. Manekshaw got it at proper time. He was able to walk and receive it. I think I was given a looly pop as given to a sulking kid.

Bose. How sad?

Cariappa . ( sings)

What a sad state for army in India?
Where they are always shy of media
They struggle serving a rickety nation
All the time fighting for free ration

Ok all of you. Bye. Namste Bapu see you. Bye Subhas

( Cariappa leaves the hall to the Marshal music)

Bose. Gen Nawaz. I think we have spent lot of time here and made them wise. Let us go.

( Bose and Gen nawaz walk of goose stepping to the music of INA)
Gandhi. Patel. Have you seen Bose. He has not change a bit. He is same as he was in 1939.

Patel Bapu. Subhas is a true soldier unlike our politicians always politicking and cheating and making money in scams and posing clean and pious. They speak as if a devil recites Bible.

Gandhi. Patel I shall ask you one thing. Be frank in your reply. Luckily I died in 1948. Had I lived more what would have been the result?

Patel. It is very simple. As a mater of fact, I think most of the leaders were getting frustrated with your actions. Most of them who were after power must be happy that you died. They were greatly relieved. You still commanded great respect in public and you could have used the tool of fasting and Satyagraha if they acted funny. So they were greatly relieved when they learnt that you died. I am sure in private they most have celebrated too.. I am sure about it. The world was changing. If you had lived more, you would have become another Jayaprakash narain. Better you died and really died. ( sings and does jig)

Bapu you died and it was good
All the leaders were relieved and at ease
Many were smiling behind the curtains
And at last they thought they had peace

Your policies were frustrating
And they thought you became a crank
Please do not get upset Bapu
This I am telling being frank

Bapu I shall give one example. You know the great singer actor KL saigal

Gandhi. Who does not know him? His film Devdas was a big hit. I saw it.

Patel. Saigal died in 1946. With him the great typical tradition of saigal style also faded out. Mukesh copied saigal for some years. Surendra and CH Atma sang in the old tradition and continued into fifties. By 1950 the English tunes and music invaded Indian cinema in a big way. The down fall started in a big way. See today. Where is the music? Some cock and bull and stupid words to suit the beat are made. Lyrics are written and it becomes the sing. The crack - pots jump and shake to these tunes and are given awards too. Luckily Saigal died in correct time .Otherwise he would have become highly frustrated and I fear he would have cut his throat vexed up. You also would have been in similar fate. You were already 79 years old when Godse shot you. At best, you would have lived for few more years.

Gandhi. So you say that I must be happy that I died in 1948. How sad it is?

Patel. Bapu. Please do not feel bad. I am sorry that you did not understand people. Once we had freedom the rat race already started. Like wolves they were after power. There are some people who wrote memoirs and had no courage to publish them. They sealed memoirs in a box with a letter stating that it should be opened after their death. What type of people these nuts are? No names. While they were alive they occupied high posts. They had no courage when they were alive.

Gandhi. all these years I was under illusions. I am happy that you opened my eyes. I know how to live now.

(Gandhi coughs vigorously and swoons while in the distance great singer actor

Surendranath BALLB is heard singing)

Mujhko jeene kaa bahana milgaya
Mujhko jeene kaa bahana milgaya

Tum mile goya zamana mil gayaa
Mujhko jeene ka bahanaa mil gaya

Tujhko chitwan Mubarak mera dil
Masth karn ko nishaaa mil gaya
Mujh ko jeene ka bahana milgaya ( from Film Garib 1942)


CURTAIN FALLS