INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN.....139

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..139

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(It is the parliament and Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen sitting in public gallery. They are keenly watching at others.)

Gandhi. Jawaharlal. You are the expert in these tricks of the house. You were PM for nearly 16 years.

Nehru. Yes Bapu. I was the PM of this great nation for such a long period.

Patel. Heee…heeee. I am happy that I died in 1950 immediately after India was declared a republic.

Gandhi. Why are you so happy Patel? You were a true soldier of freedom fighting.

Patel. By this time Bapu, You must have learnt the lesson.

Gandhi. What is there to learn for me? I am a simple soul.

Patel. You will soon know it.

(Below, proceedings are being conducted. There are many Members of parliament in the hall. There is a great commotion all of a sudden. Every one is standing and many are shouting. Some are seen running around. Marshalls too are running around. Two guys are seen gesticulating at each other, biting teeth with rolled up sleeves ferociously. In the gallery also every one is standing and making efforts to have a glimpse of the show going on. All theonlookers in gallery are clapping and laughing)

Gandhi. Patel. What is happening? Few minutes ago all was quiet.

Patel. We do not know when things go bad here. Tensions are high. Tempers are also high. Personal scores are also settled here.

Gandhi. That is OK. Find out what is the problem. Look down and try to know.

(Patel goes to the front and peeps down and returns.)

Patel. Bapu. Two guys are fighting. They a re holding collars of each other and are at blows. Their shirts are torn too.

Gandhi. Are the guys who are fighting some security personnel?

Patel. No Bapu. They are the elected representatives of people. They are like boxers. One guy lost two teeth.

Gandhi. How about the other one?

Patel. He broke his hand

( On the floor still there is no peace. All are shouting)

Gandhi. Patel. Shall we go down and try to help them?

Patel. No bapu. We have no access to them. Only security guys can go there.

Gandhi. Then we must turn into security guys. Let us go.

(The trio immediately turn into dress of security and land up in the hall. They go near the MsP who are still exchanging blows)

Gandhi ( Catching one MP at the waist) Bhai. Please control yourself. Why are you fighting?

MP1. Leave me. Us kaa khoon peejawunga ( I shall drink his blood) Kya samajh ta hai. Badmaash kainka.. suwwar kaa bacha. ( What is he thinking? Rascal…)( son of a pig)

Gandhi. Please cool down sir. This is not proper for you. You are an MP. All are looking at you.

MP1. h kya hua ( so what)? Kya my chudiyaa pahen ke bhaittoo ( should I wear bangles and sit down?) Wo badmash mujhe gaali detahai.( That rascal is abusing me)

Security. Sir ,please have control on self.

( Patel in the mean time holds the other MP who is struggling to free himself)

MP2. Leave me (chod do). My us ka haddi passli kardoonga. ( I shall break his bones and shall pundthemtodust) Use tare dikha doonga( I shall show him stars)

Patel. No sir. You should not use such language. You are all respected MP.

MP2. Bhaad me jaiye sab( Let al these be washed away in flood) Us lafange ne ganda gaali deta hai aur sunte rahhoon ( that guy has abused me in foul language and should I listen? ).Kya samajha tha hai mujhe.( What hethinks ofme) Kya mai uska naukar hoon ( Am I his servent?). Uska sar kuchal doonga. ( I shall smash his headunder my fot) Usse mer baaremein patha naheen ( He does not know about me). My mera area mein bada khoonkar goonda hoon.( I am a big criminal in my area).

Patel. All this is oK sir. Yet you must not fight. Whole world is watching us. They shall laugh at us.

( In the mean time the MP1 loosens himself and falls on MP2. Both exchange blows violently and roll on ground. Speaker, PM and other senior MPs gather around them. MO1 bites off ear of MP 2. He screams loudly

MP2. Haye. Maardiya mujhe is harramine ( I am killed b this rascal)

PM. Ohfo. What type of guys are there in parliament?

Speaker .As we sow so we reap. You got the ready answer sir.

PM. I do not know how these guys got party tickets? They appear to be just street fighters.

Speaker. Sir you have seen only a small show today.
Luckily you are present here today. Now imagine my fate in this hall every time I am here. I keep my fingers crossed.

PM. Some thing is required to be done. Send these characters out from the hall and ask them to resign. They are not fit for this post.

Speaker. I will try that. It may be difficult. Very soon they will tender apology.

PM . I am going. Do something. Whole world is laughing at us.

(The two MPs are taken away by Marshalls and they are suspended for the entire session of the year, The marshals see some new security guys in the hall ( these are Gandhi, Nehru and Patel. They go to the trio)

Marshal. Who are you. Areyou real security guys. You appear to be new. I have not seen you earlier.

Patel. We are newly posted.

Marshal. By whom?

Patel. That is beyond your comprehension.

Marshal. What does this mean? Show your Identity cards.

Gandhi. we do not have. Wedo not needalso.

Marshal. Why? How do we know who you are.

Gandhi. We are they and they are we.

Marshal. What does this mean?

Patel. Things are very clear. We are they what you think. They are also we, what should be.Do you want to see them or we, or we or they. Tell us soon.

Marshal. . eee….eee….ee….. Iam done. Some thing is happening in my brain.

Patel. Take it easy.

(Suddenly the trio turns into Gandhi, Patel and Nehru. The Marshals are shocked. They pounce on the trio to catch them. They are unable to catch them as they do not have physical bodies. Seeing this confusion some senior leaders and speaker arrive along with PM who just returns)

PM. Who are you guys? Why you are dressed as our national leaders. Who gave permission to enter parliament hall?

Gandhi. Look PM sahib. We do not need any permission from any quarters.

PM. Why? How can you enter without permission into parliament hall? Is it a street assembly and show?

Gandhi. Then what? Have you seen what was going on here? Howit cn bedifferent from a street show?

Speaker. Such things are nothing to do with you.

Patel. Why? Are you not accountable to people? Have not people elected you guys to parliament in good faith? Are people not paying taxes?

Nehru. Look . speaker sahib. Today’s tamasha is great national a shame. It is greater shame that defeat at the hands of Chinese army in 1962. and attack on Bombay 26/11.

PM. Sh. Shut up. You are exceeding limits. First tell me who you are? Why are you dressed in Nehru’s dress? Whom you are trying to fool?

Gandhi. look Mr. PM. Kindly note that you represent peoples aspirations. That is why you are here. If you can not control your MPs in the parliament how they can be controlled in their places? In the history of Indian parliament this is the first time that MPs physically came to blows on the floor of the house. Wehat type of dignified conduct is this? What answer you can give.

PM. I need not answer you. You are a fake Gandhi. Even if real Gandhi comes here , he can not do any thing. This is a change world. Gandhis days were over long ago. Even Nehrus days are over.


Patel.. You are puppets of some one. You sing to tunes kept ready from time to time. You have no power of our own. Heee…heeee..haaa…haaa..hooo..hooo

Gandhi. How sad! Look Mr. PM. Know that I am real Gandhi. We have come to watch you guys on the floor. It is disgusting and causing great shame that we got you guys freedom. Even sir Winston Churchill former PM of UK warned that India would be in the hands of shady characters and nuts. How true it is today!

( Suddenly Churchill with hat appears and dances singing. Clouds of smoke emanates from his pipe)

Churchill (sings)

I warned you guys long ago
That your country would become a joke
Nasty guys would rule your land
Better get out and drink a adulterated Indian coke

Criminals are being given party tickets
They win by money and land up here
They fight each other as if in a slum
Growling at each other as a wild bear

( Churchill vanishes when Marshals try to catch him)

Speaker. You guys are misbehaving here. Better I put you behind bars for violating security at parliament.

Patel. Better do that fast before we vanish.

PM. How dare you challenge us! Now count bars behind locked doors.

Gandhi. Heee..heee

Patel. Haaa… haaa. Come and catch us( He raises hands and dances and sings)

Come come and catch us
Catch us oh nuts if you can
You will lie flat on the mat
And roll like a dirty broken can

Speaker. Come on Marshals
catch these guys. These are mere tricksters claiming to be real Gandhi,
Nehru and Patel. They breached our security.

Patel. Look Gentlemen . this is not first time that your
security was breached. Some time ago Pak terrorists breached your security and
came into Parliament complex in a
car. You could not settle the case till today.
How can you look after the country when you can not look after the
parliament security. You have seen what happened in Bomaby on 26 september.
Handful of pak terrorists butchered guys
on streets and created mayhem. They were
no doubt killed. But how it could take place? Then you wanted Pak ISI chief to fly to India and
bow to you and say sorry. In which world you are living? How did you
expect that the guy would fly to you. You guys
have made a joke of yourselves.
Any how you are cooking your own goose.
Better learn atlesat now before it is too late.

Speaker. Is it enough and over? Now take from us. Marshals go.

( All the Marshals
fall on the trio with great speed
from behind. They stumble on them as they have no bodies and fall flat on the ground amidst the furniture
breaking their teeth, noses arms
and legs. They shout Mar Gaya, Bacho,
Bacho. They take speaker and PM
also with them. Suddenly lights go off
and sky gets dark. No one knows where he is. Some cats also that were hiding
jump over them in confusion. Every where
shouts and shrieks are there.)

Patel. Bapu. Come on let us go. Enough for today

Nehru. OK Bapu. Let us go. Army may be called in.

Gandhi. Let us go.

( the trio vanishes singing Ramdhun )

CURTAIN FALLS

INTOTHE PAST WITH PAIN....138

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN…138

Dr K Prabhakar Rao


( It is Washington DC in USA and American President Barak Obama and General Washington are seen sipping tea in the sprawling lawns of White house. Both are
immaculately dressed. General Washington is in his full uniform while Obama is
sporting a black suit. There are armed guards around taking positions at vantage positions.
There are some machine gun posts too.)

Washington. Mr. President. Hope you are very comfortable now. You had some initial hiccups after the elections.

Obama. That usually people have. Iwas new to this position. But I knew I would do well.

Washington. In very short span you got theNobel Prize too. That was a great surprise for most of us.

Obama. Thanks you sir. (within himself) Thank god he did not say he got a shock.

Washington. Heee…heeee..heeee

Obama.hooo..hooo…hooo

Washington. What is the problem at the old WTC site. I learnt there is some problem.

Obama. Sir. If we think there is a problem, it will be there. If we thinkthat there si no problem nothing willbe there.

Washington. MrObama, You are a practical guy.

Obama. Hee…Heee…heeee

(In the mean time a sentry arrives and smartly salutes)

Sentry. Good evening Sir, There is a gentleman outside and he wants to see the President.

Obama. Who he can be? I do not have any appointment today.

Sentry. Sir .What are the orders for me?

Obama. Please wait for some time.

Washington. Can any one walk-in into white house gate and ask to be let in.

Obama. Strange indeed. Any how we have to be careful.

Washington. True. He could be an AlQaeda man.

Obama.( looks at sentry) Is he bearded and looks very rough?

Sentry. No sir. He is clean shaven and ill clad. Does not look like modern man

Washington. It is better you describe him more.

Sentry. Sir. He thin, frail, weak and looks like a skeleton moving. He is dark and bald and wears round glasses f past century. He has no teeth and has shrunken face. He wraps a cloth over his chest and is wearing chappals, a watch hangs at his waist and he is armed with a long stick. There are two more guys with him. They are reasonably well dressed. They appear to be the yes masters of this old man,

Washington. Yeah… I got him. He is MK Gandhi. Other two guys are his flunkies Nehru and Patel. They are always with him clapping al the time..

Obama. Yeah. He came here earlier once

Washington. Not once, but any times he came here. He means no harm. Let us call him.

Obama. Sentry. Plesae allow themin with all respects.

( sentry sautés smartly and goesout and outside he meets Gandhi)

Gandhi. What happened? You have taken lot of time. Are they not there?

Sentry. Who?

Gandhi. Those who are supposed to be there.

Sentry. Sir . How do you know who will be there inside?

Patel. Look. These are beyond your comprehension. ( sings)

They are those who should be there
And they know who they are
we know very well who they are all
to know all the secrets is a bar


Sentry. Ohfo.. What guys are these..(Pulls his hair in disgust and later composes himself) Sir You can go inside.

Gandhi. Thanks dear.

( suddenly he sees a She goat behind Nehru and is surprised)

Sentry. What is this animal? This is new to this country.

Nehru. This is a mini cow and we call it Goat mother.

Sentry. But you can not take this inside

Patel. This is part of us. We can not live without it. Rather I can not live without it.

Sentry. We have strict rules to not allow animals inside White House.

Nehru. We are helpless. (Goat bleats loudly may. may…may..)
Sentry. Sir I have to get permission again

(He goes inside and salutes smartly)

Washington. What happened? Where are they?

Sentry. Sir. They are very much there. The problem is that they have a goat with them and they want to bring it inside.

Washington. Strange guys indeed. What they are doing with a goat?

Obama. Any how we shall see. Look
sentry. Please allow goat also inside.

(Sentry salutes and goes out and
meets Gandhi)

Sentry. Look gentlemen. Now you may go inside with goat. But leave the stick here.

Gandhi. I can not walk without stick.

Sentry. But this is weapon.

Patel. Look Mr. Sentry, Does this look like a rifle to you? You are very strange.

Sentry. Sir. It is not me. You are all strange guys. Plesae go inside

(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel get in along with the goat while the sentry holds his head)

Gandhi. Good evening gentleman. This is Gandhi again here. This time I am not alone. I have Nehru and Patel with me. Oh sorry. This goat is also with me

(Gandhi ties the goat to a post available there in the garden)

Washington (rises). hello Mr. Gandhi. Welcome. We are pleased to see you here.

Obama. Welcome Mr. Gandhi. We are happy to be with you this evening.

Gandhi. Thanks. Gentlemen. We are honored.

( All are seated)

Washington. Let us get to business. Mr. Gandhi. What is the matter? All the way you came to us.

Gandhi. Nothing great sir. I learnt there is some problem at the site of former WTC.

Obama. Yeah .But how you are concerned with it? This is not your country.

Gandhi. Not really sir, but we stand for peace everywhere. We may be of some help to you.

Washington. At the former site of WTC, Muslims want to build mosque. Many Americans are against the proposal.

Obama. What can be wrong in it? I do not understand. If a mosque is built aQaeda will not bomb it in future

Patel. Please excuse me sir for speaking in between. Then you may build mosques everywhere near all great centers.

Obama( Looks angrily) My intention is not that infact. I wanted to buy some peace internally.

Gandhi. Obama sir. You are large hearted in a thin body. Muslims have bombed WTC earlier and why you want to be very considerate to them? Hats off to you.

Obama. Hee,,,heeee..heee

Gandhi. look sir. In India too I gave all concessions to Muslims. They partitioned India. Even then I opted India to be a secular nation.

Patel . All the guys voted for Pakistan. But most of them are with us and many art trying to create one more Pakistan.

Washington. Heee…heee. You guys had no forethought. What you have done like that?

Gandhi. For me they are like my two eyes.

Washington. That is your problem. How you are going to help us solve problem?

Gandhi. I shall go around and spread my message.( sings)

Raghupathi Raaghava Raaja raam
Pateetha paawana seetha raam
Eeswar aalh tero naam
Sabaki sanmathi de Bhagwan..

( Nehru and Patel clap also singing Ramdhun while Washington and Obama strangely look at them)

Obama. Better you be there where
you are. This is not India.
Every guy has a gun here.

Washington. Some guy may put bullets into you at ay time.

Obama. In India some one waited till1948 so long to do that. Here things are different. People are trigger happy. They will finish you off in no time

Gandhi. Iam not scared.

Obama. But we are scared that you will disturb the system. We already have many problems with Afghan war and Iran Iraq problem.

Washington. We can not allow you to create more problems to us.

Gandhi. That means you are not sincere in solving problems peacefully.

Obama. Did I say that Mr. Gandhi?

( In the mean time Goat bleats loudly)

Obama. Mr Gandhi. Your pet is feeling upset. It may be hungry. It is not eating any leaf too.

Patel. This is an Indian goat. It can not eat American leaves.

(In the mean time a bearer brings tea trolley and serves hot tea to all. Gandhi takes black tea in a cup and asks Patel to get some goat’s milk. Patel goes to the goat and milks it and collects milk in a glass and gives to Gandhi. Gandhi makes tea with goat’s milk and sips. Washington and Obama strangely and queerly look at them)

Obama. Mr.Gandhi. you are really great.

Gandhi. Thanks sir. Iam honored.

Washington. Hats off to people of India. They are
also great people.

Gandhi. ( In low tone whispers to Patel) I hope they are not
sarcastic

Pate I think they are. They are amused with goat and your tea.

Gandhi. What is wrong in that?

Patel. Nothing wrong for us. But they are not happy. I think better we go.

Nehru. True Bapu. Our mission is not successful

Gandhi. Ok Mr. Obama sir and Washington sir, We take leave of you. Please solve your
problem yourself.

Obama. That is better said.

( Gandhi and his friends get up an thank Obama and Washington and are about to leave)

Washington. Mr. Gandhi. How about your goat? You have forgotten it.

Gandhi. I want to present it to you.

Obama. Ohfo. No. We can not take care of it. Please take it with you (Goat bleats)

Gandhi. OK , as you wish sir.

( The trio along with goat say bye and go out of White House)

Obama. Ohfo. We are saved today.

Washington. True. Now let us enjoy our
evening.

(CURTAIN FALLS)

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN......137

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN…137
Dr K Prabhakar Rao


(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen sitting in Public garden in Hyderabad. Gandhi is in poor state of health and appears suffering from weakness. Nehru and Patel are fine and kicking.)

Gandhi.. eee…eeee..aaa… hai.. haye. What happened to me? I have become very weak.

Nehru. Please take rest Bapu. You will be soon better.

Patel. Bapu. Forget about India for some time. We have done enough for this country. It is their country now. We can not change them a bit.

Gandhi eee…eeee..aaa… Have I brought freedom to this country to see this day?

Patel. Who says you brought freedom to India? Plesae don’t be under any illusion.

Nehru. Patel. Be fair. Then who brought freedom to India?

Patel. You guys are living in some false illusions. No one is thinking that you brought freedom to India

Gandhi. eee..eeee… That is unfair. Eee.eee

Patel. Bapu. By crying you can not change opinion of people.

Gandhi. Then who brought freedom if not us? Has Mohammed Ali Jinnah brought it?

Patel. The Englishmen left us disgusted much. When a well is about to dry, all frogs try to run away. India was also like that at that time. They thought India was no more worth holding on. There was not much to loot further either. I am happy that they left some thing for past and present leaders to loot. They could not dig and take India to England. I heard now many political leaders are doing that. They have started work from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and digging everything away and selling off to foreign countries. They are worst than grave diggers.

Gandhi. Do you guys believe this story?

Patel. Bapu. Why do you call this a story? Many believe that the Englishmen were unnerved after Subhas’s activities along with INA. World War II has destroyed their potential as a great global power. They lost nerve after Naval mutiny.

Gandhi.eee…eeee.. Then why call me father of nation?


Patel. Bapu in 1947 Subhas was not seen. All thought that he was dead. Many were happy too and must have celebrated behind curtains over a rink and chicken tikkas and kabab. Till date nothing is known. They have to make some one great. You were the automatic choice. Neither me, not Jawaharlal could be made because you were alive.

Gandhi. Was it my mistake that I did not die? Any how I died soon in 1948. Godse took me away…eeee..e..eeeee… It is paining much (Holds his chest over the bullet holes)

Patel. Bapu, I did not mean like that. Father of nation is not a transferable title. If some one is made father of nation, he remains permanently whether some one likes or not. All decisions were in the hands of Congress party then. Subhas deviated from the path of congress when he created forward block and when he left India to associate himself with Hitler of Germany. He was written off then and there. All the subsequent tear shedding is just an eye wash. These are crocodile tears. In heart and heart guys are very happy that he disappeared.

Nehru. We had no choice then. Bapu had to be made. He was an automatic choice. A man from congress party only could be made father of nation.

Patel. That means only congress party can father a nation. I was sure that congress party will make Jawaharlal as uncle of the nation.

Nehru. I hope you did not expect to become cha-cha of nation.

Patel. I was saved. Probably you would have loved. Any how you got the name Cha-cha Nehru. You used to pick up kids here and there while on visits and soon were washing hands at the earliest instant with antiseptic Dettol fluid.

Gandhi. heee..heee..haa..haa.. What a joke!

(Suddenly Gandhi falls down shivering and soon he develops convulsions. Many people gather around him. Patel and Nehru sit beside him and try to comfort him)

Nehru. I think Bapu should be shifted to some hospital soon or he may get very serious.

On looker. My name is Hari Om. Why delay things? Let us take him to a hospital. There is a government hospital close by.

Patel. Let us take him.

( Hari Om has an old car and the people around help to lift Gandhi into car and the car proceeds to a government hospital quickly. On the way, the car is stuck at a crossing. Traffic is halted)

Nehru. Ohfo. What happened now? Why car has halted?

Hari Om. I think some VIP is about to pass through this point. The police have halted traffic for him.

Nehru. Is it because the VIP car driver can not drive in traffic?

Gandhi (opening eyes feebly) Bhai. The driver may be used to drive on empty roads.

Patel. Hee..heeee.( Laughs) Bapu. You have sense of joke even in this pathetic condition.

Gandhi.( In weak tone) I am born with that sense.

Patel. There is no doubt. You know many jokes.

Gandhi. (In weak tone). I am happy you did not call me a joker.

Nehru. Who could be the VIP?

Patel. It must be Chief Minister surely. They are crazy of
such things. You know Rosiah never thought he would become a CM. It is a life’s chance. YSR’s death was a boon to him. He can not win election. In YSR Govt he was not even given a ticket for elections. He was made MLC. Then he was made a minister. Luck has pushed him into CM’s chair. Usually such guys are said to have a double spiral on their head amidst hair.

Nehru.hee..hee.. But he is completely bald. How spirals can be formed.

Patel. Even on bald head very small hair will be there that can be felt and not seen. Please look at my head. I have no double spiral.

Nehru. Is it so? Then Bapu also must be having one like that. He became father of nation Let us see his head.

( Nehru looks at Gandhi’s head and feels it)

Nehru. I can not make out anything.

Patel. Never mind. By the by Bapu is appears slightly better. This traffic jam will take some more time to clear. What shall we do?

(In the mean time, suddenly the VIP car screams past and soon traffic clears up. Hari Om drives the car quickly to hospital. Once the car enters gate, Gandhi again becomes sick and is seen shivering. The car halts at entrance and Patel and others pull out Gandhi from car and carry him inside. They are stopped by an attender at the entrance)

Attender., Hey . Where are you going? The out patient time is over.

Patel. This is emergency case

Attender. I see.( He takes Patel to a side) Please give me hundred rupees. I shall allow and also will take him to the doctor

Patel. If not what will you do?

Attender. You will never get admission and doctor will not see you.

Ptatel. I do not carry money with me.

Attender. Take from others.

( Patel goes to Hari Om and explains. Hari Om gives Rs 50 to the attender and he is happy. The attender takes them inside and Gandhi is made to sit in a chair)

Atender. Please wait here. I shall tell duty doctor about your case.

( In the mean time some stray dogs arrive in group and one black dog comes to Gandhi and looks at him and wags tail)

Gandhi. Hello.eee…eee… How are you doggy? I do not have anything to give you.

Dog. Bow. Wow.. eee.eeee…kooo…koooo.oohhh..ooooh

Nehru. Sha.. Sha .. Go away..sha

Dog. Grrr.. Grr ( It bites Nehru suddenly on the thigh and runs away along with other dogs)

Nehru. Eee…eeee… Mar gaya (I am dead)

( In the mean time, the doctor arrives and sees Nehru in pain. He learns that he was bitten by a dog)

Doctor. Please do not mind. We know that dog. Its name is Heera. It bites one every day. We take it lightly.

Nehru.Doctor . Please save me. Please give me anti Rabies injections.

Doctor. We shall see that later on. Now let me take care of this old man.

( He goes to Gandhi and checks pulse. He opens eye lids with finger and looks at them)

Doctor. He appears very weak and famished. Iam sure he has not eaten for many days.

Patel. No Doctor. He has been eating regularly.he drinks goat milk in gallons. His constitution is like that.

Doctor. Are you the doctor? I did not ask your opinion.

Patel. Luckily I am not one.

( Doctor angrily stares at Patel)

Doctor. Then please keep quiet.( sings)

I am here the great boss
Do not think that I am an ass
I shall throw you out from here
Kindly behave oh my dear

Patel.( Gets angry) ( sings)

Do not think you are great
You have a face like a kitchen sooty plate
You behave and treat this guy
Or else like a fish I shall fry

Nehru. Patel , please cool down. We have to get things done coolly.

(Doctor examines Gandhi and scratches head)

Doctor. I am sure this old man needs brain surgery .I suspect a clot in his brain.

Patel. Is it he or you?

Doctor. What do you mean? I am the doctor here.

Patel. Come on Doctor. Do you have experience in such surgeries? You are a just kid.

Doctor. I have. I learnt these while studying medicine.

Patel. Where did you study? What was your EAMCET rank when got admitted.

Doctor. I studied at a private Medical College in Hyderabad. I had zero rank in EAMCET examination. Still I got seat.heee…heeee. Do you know> I get salary here even if I do not treat people.

Patel.eee….ee..eeee….. Did they teach you these things like brain surgery?

Doctor. We were taught using plastic models and charts. What is there in surgery? Just cut the guy where we want. If he survives well and good. Otherwise God blesses him. Any how his representatives will sign a bond before operation. Why are you asking me all these things? I have MBBS degree.shall I show it?


Patel. Not required.

(Gandhi hears conversation. He looks at the doctor. He suddenly gets up and sits on the bed)

Gandhi. Yeah…Yeah.. Hip Hip Hurray… Patel. I am fine. Let us go.

Patel. What a miracle!

( Patel looks at doctor)
]
Patel. Doctor. I think you have some mystic heeling powers. Bapu has seen your face and he was cured. No brain surgery is required for him.

Doctor. I don’t have any such powers. I am a normal man like you.

Gandhi. ( looking at Doctor) eee…eeee… Patel. Let us go. The moment I saw the doctor I am cured. Otherwise he would have operated on my brain thinking it like a plastic brain. In his medical college he had no training on real brains of dead bodies. He was trained on plastic models. Eee…. Save me from him.

Doctor. Look old man. I am a doctor with MBBS qualification.


Gandhi. That every one gets now if pays up in lakhs of rupees. Leave me. I want to live with normal brain.. eee..eeee Bacho( save me). Thoda kuch akkal raha gaya hai mujhe (I have retained some brains now)


( Gandhi jumps out of the cot and runs to the doctor while doctor is after him. Some stray dogs that have come back also run after Gandhi shouting bow…bow..wow…bow)

Doctor. Come on old man. Do not run away. I shall treat you well.


Gandhi. No.. No.. Not me.

( Gandhi jumps through window and on the street lands on a roadside bitch that raises huge hue and cry shouting bow…bow.. wow.. wow)

Gandhi. eeee.. eeee Where I have landed?

Bitch. You bloody man. Iam Anita the street mongrel. Can’t you see through your eyes? You have glasses too. I am much hurt. Bow. Bow, bow.. Wow. Wow

Gandhi. Sorry madam Bitch. Plesae excuse me. I was scared of the doctor in this hospital

( In the mean time Patel and Nehru also arrive and join Gandhi)

Patel. Bapu. Bach Gaye (We are saved) May god bless people from that doctor. Let us run from here

( Hari om picks up all in his waiting car and drives away while Doctor shouts at them angrily)


CURTAIN FALLS

KNOW SURENDRANATH, BALLB, ( SURENDRA) Great Actor singer

Surendranath BALLB was the matinee idol of masses during 1936 to
late fiftees. He was born in 1910 at Batla village in Punjab. He wanted to become a
lawer and came to Bombay but landed in films.His friends in fact wanted
him to join films much impressed with his personality and voice. It
came out true. Mahboob Khan the famous director who was hunting for a
hero cum singer to counter Saigal in the field saw Surendra 6 ft tall very handsome with good voice and acapable singer
at a function and immediately grabbed him. Rest is history. He entered
Hindi filmdom when KL Saigal was at the peak. New theaters of Calcutta
turnedout box office hits one after the other with KL Saigal the famous
singer and Surendra was BA LLB in those days became a boon to Bombay filmdom. His first movie was
Deccan queen. With Surendra entering Bombay films, great void was
filled and soon he made a place for himself. His song Birhaki aag lagi
more man mein from Deccan Queen , a Parady of Saigals Balam aye baso mere
ma mein.. became successful followed by Tumne Mujhko prem sikhaya with
Bibbo from film Manmohan . His musicals Lal haveli, Bhartruhari,
Gramaphone singer, Garib,Jawani,Village girl, Vishwas, jagirdar , Vishkanya, Aurat, earned
him laurels.He had the patronage of great music director Anil Biswas.
He rendered songs under great music directors such as Naushad, K datta,
Ram gangulay, Khem chnad prakash and sD Burman. His duet with Noorjehan from Anmol
Ghadi was the eternal hit of all times. There has been no song greater
than this till date. Film after film followed and Surendra thrilled audience with
his songs. He was called saigal of Bombay. Yet he had his own style of
acting and singing.His haunting melodies such as Tera jahha aabad hai..Kyo yaad aarahe hai guzre hue zamane, Ab koun hai mera.. Kyo man dhoonde premnadee ka a kinaara..Ab raat gayee re beet re..Bhanwara,, madhban me mat jaa.. re, Mujh ko jeenekaa bahhana mil gaya,,Kahe akela dolat baadal mohe bhi sang le jaa, Teri yaad ka deepak jalta hai.. din raatmere deewane mein have no parallels other than saigals certain songs.

His songs from Elan ( ek barphir se aaja… aayeen me ek chadsi surat
nazar aayee ( with Ameer bai karnataki)… Tera jahan aabad hai.), Anokhi
Ada ( Jalena kyo parwana.. bade bhole bhale hai..kyo usne dil diya..
withShamshad..) can not be forgotten. He sang excellent duets with
Geetha dutt in Maya maschindra. Chupke Chupke.. and Kamal ( Kahneko
tayyar magar kaise kahe ham..) and Meri Kahani ( Bul bul ko mila phool,
Wada karke kisise na aana….. solo ..Dil tadap kar rah gaya . No one can
forget his duet with Suriah from 1857..(. Teri Nazar mein…Solo… Pehli
mulakhat…).Prem nagar ki aur chale hain with, Khursheed from Majdhar
and duets from Ali Baba ( Ham aur tum aur ye khushi with wahida bano).
His soft soothing voice is gods gift to him.

However, he had no song in musical hit film Baiju Bawara in which
he portrayed Tansen the great classical singer. It is generally
believed that Music director Naushad did not cater for a song in this
film for Surendra. Surendra stated about this in an interview over TV
that was telecast many years ago that I saw.
Surendra stated that
he never claimed himself as a classical singer and sang light musicals.
However no doubt Surendra was deeply hurt. Then slowly he no doubt
withdrew from the field. Although he sang in few more films and acted
such as in Gawaiah in which he gave best songs under Ram Ganguly. His
song Teri Yad ka deepak... was much preferred to Talats version in the
film. Then we find that Surendra concentrated on acting and acted in
many socials that was the trend in those days. The music lovers lost
the chance of hearing golden voice of Surendra. However in rare
appearance Surendra gave play back in Pati patni with Mannadey in 1964.
this was last time he held microphone.Surendra continued to act in character roles till he passed away in 1987 after acomplished life leaving his immortal songs for all of us.

The filmi music too changed. There was no poetry in songs. It was
complete cacophony with western music dominating the field. Trash was poured in
the albums as songs. The songs were high pitched with shrieks ( ex aayyayo karoo my kya ssooku..) with cock and bull
instruments making more din than useful effects. Mukesh and Talat had
their share of few good songs for some time. Gentlemen like Surendra
probably abstained from the degenerated Hindi film music.In fact the word music is apology for them. mUsic directors had to cater for degenerated public taste and Films aremere commercial and they too degenerated. Fe male singers song obscene songs for dance music and people who had lost all wisdom appreciated them. Real music disappered. Talat too
followed soon and shut his doors to Hindi cinema music. In fact Talat
refused to sing later and withdrew from the arena. The present
generation does not know who was great Surendra. It is not their fault. At
various musical forums Surendra was forgotten. They were ill informed
and ignorant too. The present and past generation from sixties only
know Rafi, Mukesh, talat, Mahendra kapoor , Manna dey etc. Saigal and
Surendra, KC dey, Pahadi sanyal, are unknown to them. It is generally
believed that big trees kill small trees and do not allow other trees
to grow. Similar things happened in Hindi filmdom. Memory of great
singers was literally killed by the never ending domination by some over rated shriek singers who turned out trash in the modern cinema as dance songs in
bulk. Quality disappeared long ago. Money making was the only aim. Even Rafi took to songs that were more or
less shouting and yelling and braying than rendering of any poetry and singing from soul that surendra did. Kishore sang all types of
songs and captured entire industry and taste of movie goers too
dwindled. There was no class. Degradation was complete. . Surendra
lives in the hearts of music lovers who care for good music, values and
good poetry.

THE GOLDEN VOICE OF KUNDALAL SAIGAL… IT INFLUENCED MANY

THE GOLDEN VOICE OF KUNDALAL SAIGAL… IT INFLUENCED MANY
Dr K Prabhakar Rao


Kundan lal Saigal popularly know as KL Saigal is an house hold name in India, . An artiste with gifted voice from the gods made the entire nation swoon to his songs and even after more than 60 years after his passing away his memories haunt the music lovers in Indi. He was gifted with golden voice and he rendered songs from his heart. He enthralled millions of people in this country who were fortunate to see him in flesh and blood. Without any doubt he was the father of Indian film music. He had the greatest ability to render any type o song with utmost ease . He renderedGhazals, geets,Bhajans, Duets, solos, Thumris, Khayals, Nursery rhymes, story telling, love songs and classical numbers. Particularly his sad numbers took the people by storm and have struck the hearts of music lovers very deeply. He was a gifted actor. With his acting and singing abilities he could easily identify himself with the characters he was enacting. And it was this reason that resulted in his greatest success. He was born at Julundhar of Punjabi 1906 and from childhood days was interested in music His father put a tutor in music for his brother. however Saigal could effortlessly learn Music without any coaching while his brother probably struggled. He was greatly gifted and without guidance he could master everything without guide.
He had no formal coaching in classical music , Yet he was a expert in identifying all Raagas. When he grew up he took to selling type writers. He worked in railways as a clerk.The artist inside craved for something fferent. He move to Calcuta where he got a break in movies. The cinema passed into talkies from silent era. The directors were in search for talented actor singers. Play back singing still did not arrive. Saigal was tall, handsome and was dignified. Late PC Sircar spotted him at a function and immediately grabbed him There was no looking back for him. Film after film roled ut with great success. Street singer, Bhagat surdas, Chandidas, Dhop chaon,Mysister, Karwan Hayat, Zindagi, Lagan,Kurikshetra, Dev das, Tansen were made that brought great glory to Saigal. He then moved to Bombay and the filmdom welcomed him with open hands. Some of the great movies such as Shah jahan, Dushman, Bhanwara, were made. Saigal enjoyed popularity more than a Prime minister.
Saigal rendered songs under distinguished music directors, such as,Naushad Ali, Pankaj Mullick, .He rendered great Ghazals of immortal poet Mirza Ghalib with utmost ability and in his in his memorable style. Saiga with greatest emotions sang the immortal song Jab dil hee toot gaya hum jeeke kya karenge stirring souls of every one. The great songs from Shah jahan film were, Aye dile bekaraar jhoom, Jab dil he toot gaya, Chaah Barbad kare gee hame maalum na tha., Karleejie jannatke nazaare, Roohi Roohi were great hits and people were swept under feet. The song Diya jalo from Tansen, was based on obscure raga Deepak and became great hit. His songs from Bhagat surdas were soul stirring. His songs Kaheko radd machhayee…Hath gai zo. Kaali ghata.. Koyee manushy kitna hi buraho….my sothey bhag jaga doonga.. were great hits. .Bhajan bhajamato gaawat siri Giridhaari ,, naina heen koraaha dikhaprabhu, from Bhagat soordas made people shed tears. His light song chupo na chupo naa,and Do naina matwale. from Mysister .are much enjoyable. His song Haye kis buth ki mohabbat mey giraftaar hue.. from was a haunting melody from my sister and Toot gaye sab sapne mere,…milneka din aagaya ( with surayya)…. preet mien…usee mast nazar ( with suraiah).. from film Parwana his last film ( 1946) were great songs. Songs ek bangle bane nyara ( From President) and Babul mora ( street singer)Aye katbe Takdeer( from Street singer) of course had no parallels.

Saigal dominated filmdom for nearly 16 years and passed away in 1946 at Julundhar after illness. With this India and the world of Music lost the greatest contributor. He died young at 40 yeras and his premature death is attributed to excessive consumption of alcohol.. Reasons for this are best known to him. Great actor singer Surendrantah BALLB ( Surenra) and Pahadi Sanyal were his contemporaries and Surendranath ( surendra) although joined filmdom in 1936 with Deccan queen ( Three years after Saigal joined) carved a unflinchable place for himself inspite of stiff competition from Saigal. He was called Bombay’s Saigal while KLSaigal was based at Calcutta. Surendra reigned supreme for many years even after saigal’s death and continued to act and sing as a Hero till 1954 ( film Gawaiah) with great success. He shifted to character roles in a changed atmosphere subseqently. Surendra gave many immortal solo songs and duets .His immortal songs . Kyo yad aarahe hai.. (1946 Anmol Ghadi) , Tera jahan aabad hai. from Elaan ( 1948), Ek baar phirse aaja.. From Elan (1948), Jalena kyo parwana from Anokhi ada ( 1948), kyo man doondhe premanadee ka kinara ( From Lal Haveli 1944) and the great immortal song Teri yaad ka deepak jalta hai from film Gawaiah ( 1954) are mistaken for Saigals songs. Many confuse Surendra with Saigal. Such were the influences. Pahari sanyal mostly confined to Bengali cinema and passed away later on.CH Atma who copied KL Sagal continued to sing for some films and he sang many geeths, bhajans, Ghazals and private songs in his own style copying Saigal. CH Atma gave immortal songs … Rowu main saagarke kinare,…Ek sitaara, Tumko apni.zindageeka, from Nagina ( 1951) that are mistaken for Saigal. He had a place for himself. He kept saigal tradition up till he died Mukesh who initially imitated Saigaland with his famous song.. Dil Jalat hai. Tho jaln de.. from Pehli nazar became successful. Most of his earlier songs had great influene of Saigal sahib. Later he found his own style. Mukesh’s duet songs. Jaa parwane jaa ( Rajputani with Hamida bano).. Badariya barsai gayee,, ( From Moorthi along with Khurshid nad Hamida bano) and song Dil hi bijha hua…( From Nirdosh) reflect saigal influence on Mukesh. Even Mohammed rafi had great admiration for him and he was very greatly happy when he sang one line with KL saigal in the song..Roohee…roohi… mere sapno kee rani….. from Film Shahjehan. Thus all earlier singers had Saigal influence. Some of the songs of GM Durrani the famous singer also have Saigal influence. Cat call and shriek Singers like Kishore kumar and much glorified Lata mangeshkar too claim saigal influence on them although there is hardly any song to that effect. Thus we see that KL Saigal had great influence on many singers in the past and many built careers over his style.

It is a shame that such a great son of India was not bestowed with any national honor while useless nuts and clots are being awarded various honors one after the other. These are mostly politically based awards to please some one. Many do not deserve any thing. KL Saigal needs no award from the cockeyed rulers. He along with great Surendra, CH Atma, Pahadi sanyal, GM Durrani always stays in the hearts of music lovers eternally. It is most unlikely that such great singers will again tread this earth. The downfall of Hindi film music is compete.

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN.....136

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN.136
Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen walking on a streets some wherein Delhi in the old and congested areas of old city. At a road crossing they see a statue enclosed in a cloth wrapped around and tied with thick strings. Every thing including the pedestal is enclosed. The trio appears curious.)

Patel. Bapu. Have you seen this statue it is so huge It is almost 10 stories high. What it could be?

Gandhi. Iam also surprised. What it could be? It can not be my statue. whole thing look slike a pyramid with a figure at the top.

Patel. Bapu. Indians have stopped erecting statues of you, Nehru and me long ago. They are not even maintaining the existing ones. Do you know there is a statue of you in Secunderabad in MG Road . It was earlier called James street. The statue remains neglected eve on the independence day while Chief Minister takes salute 200 yard away at parade ground and in his speech exhorts people to follow Gandhi. These are hypocrites of Ist order. They want Gandhi’s name to catch votes. ( Sings and does jig)

Look there are many jokers who rule us
Who recite Gandhi’s sermons day and night
Back at office I am sure to the hilt
These guys swindle the state as their birth right

Gandhi. True Patel. Well sung. How well you sai the truth!

(In the mean time, a large van arrives with some municipal workers accompanied by police constables. The constables are fully armed with rifles, steel helmets and bullet proof jackets. They are looking like armored knights of yore. A curious crowd also collects in the mean time)

Gandhi. Patel. look, some guys have come. I am sure they will open out the cloth around the statue. I am sure some unveiling ceremony will be there now.

Patel. Looks so Bapu. I am sure you are right.

Gandhi. I am always right.

( In the mean time a convoy of cars arrives and it halts near the statue. From the first VIP car gets down a person clad in Sherwani and Rumi Topi and he is sporting a beard. He is the chief guest for the function. The police men greet him by bowing. Some local leaders who are in the crowd also pay greetings to him. The inspector of police Chamcha Singh goes and salutes him)

Chamcha singh. Sahib It is time you unveil the statue.

Chief Guest. Sure. Sure.. I am always available for these activities. There is no other work for me. I am specialized in inaugurations. Heee..Heeee

Chamcha singh. Haaa.haaa…Haa

Chief Guest .Let us go and do our job

( He goes to the statue The Municipal workers in the meantime prepare for unveiling the statue. The Chief Guest slowly pulls a string handed out by the leader of the municipal party and the cloth unwraps and falls down completely unveiling the statue. All the people clap loudly while the chief guest acknowledges the appreciation by waving hand. Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are wonder struck at seeing the statue.)

Gandhi What type of statue is this? Is it a modern art? People have gone crazy

Patel. Bapu. This is not modern art. The entire base of statue in the form of a great pyramid is made up of human skulls. On top of it, there is a man sitting on a throne.

Nehru. What does that represent? Does this mean victory over evil?

Gandhi. Patel. Does it depict what Jawaharlal has said?

Patel. I am sorry Bapu. This is a clear depiction of Mughal emperor Baber sitting on a mound of Skulls after the battle of Khanwa. He defeated Ran Sangram Singh in that battle. He assumed the title Ghazi meaning Protector of faith after this act.

Gandhi. Why such statue should be erected? I do not know who sanctioned this?

Nehru. Bapu, Probably the secular ( ?) government of India has sanctioned erecting Baber’s statue at some place in Delhi, he being the founder of Mughal empire. After all they have to satisfy minorities.

Gandhi. But this is something crazy. It depicts him a most cruel and fundamentalist person. I know that he was a man of letters and wrote his biography too.

Patel. He was known as brave and enterprising. But the guys want to see him as Ghazi.

Gandhi. I do not approve this statue. This can cause tensions in society.

Patel. I am happy that the statue of Mohd Ghaznavi or Ghori has not been erected at some place.

Gandhi. That would be bad.

Patel. Bapu. This is something not acceptable and we must protest. This statue must go.

Nehru. What you can do?

Gandhi. We shall undergo fast unto death.

Patel. There will be scores of guys who like to see us die. Our skulls also will be added under this statue.

Gandhi Ohfo. No. Please do not say that.

( Gandhi goes to the Chief Guest an speaks to him_

Gandhi. Look gentle man. Is it appropriate to erect this evil statue in public place?

Chief Guest. What is wrong in this?

Gandhi. It is depicting Baber sitting on skull throne .

Chief guest. Sorry. It is not like that . This shows victory over evil

Patel. Look Sahib. This is clearly Baber shown sitting on skull throne. What are you trying to convey in society. Is this to be displayed in a secular country?

Chief Guest. Look friend. A sculpture can give different meaning to different people.It is as simple as that. Plesae do not make a fuss about it.

Patel. Sorry. You are trying to glorify Baber who was killer and destroyer of temples in India. We want this statue to be removed.

Chief guest. How can you do that? The police will prevent such attempts. This statue has been approved by the administration as well.

Patel. We do not any thing. This one is very offensive.

Chiefguest.Lump it. You can do whatever you like. I am going ( looks at Police) Inspector plesae take care of this statue and these men also. I am going.

( Chief Guest drives away in his convoy while Gandhi, Patel shout slogans against him. Inspector approaches Gandhi.)

Chamcha singh. Look old man. Enough of this drama. Please go away. This statue will remain. Plesae go away before we do some thing.

Gandhi.Look Inspector. Can’t you see this statue as that of Baber sitting on heap of skulls.

Chamcha singh. I do not know any thing. I have to maintain public order. If you create problems I have to arrest you guys.

Patel. Are you arresting us. What for? .Is it for being patriotic? Yeah I remember the song;
Oh sachhe phansi chaddewitche
Aur jhoota mauj udaave..
Kya my jhoota boliya. Koina… aa.. aaahu aanhu ( From Jagterahoby Mohd Rafi)

Chamcha singh. Shut up. Now run away from here. By the by why are you dressed like Gandhi and Patel

Patel. What do you mean? We are they and they are we.

Chamcha singh. ( screams)eee..eee.. stop this. I am getting mad. What is this we are they and they are we.

Gandhi. Plesae know we are Gandhi and Patel in real. Also know that you can not do any thing to us. Your weapons can not kill us.

Chamcha singh. I shall show. I shal crush you with my truck.

Patel. Plesae go ahead

( Inspector sits in the truck and orders the driver to drive fast and ride over the trio. The trio gathers in front of the statue laughing. The truck races fast and tries to climb over the trio who in the last minute move away from the statue to a place of safety. Helpless the truck dashes against the statue and the statue crumbles down in spilt of second. Every one is shocked. The river and Inspector are crushed in the collision and their spirits vanish into sky. The trio jubilantly raise slogans)

Patel Jai. Bharat Mataaki Jai.. Jo hamse takraye ga Wo mittime miljayehga

Gandhi. Bolo Swatantra Bharat ki jai.

Nehru. Bapu .Let us go away from here before another police party arrives.

Patel Jawahar. You are always a scared guy.

Gandhi. Patel. Pesea do not trouble him. Let us go.

( The trio walks away singing Ramdhun)

CURTAIN FALLS

CONSTITUTION NEEDS OVERHAUL

CONSTITUTION NEEDS OVERHAUL

Dr K Prabhakar Rao


Indian constitution drafted by the constitution assembly and approved by the leaders on behalf of this nation has out lived its utility and needs thorough overhaul if not scrapping all together. When equipment needs too many repairs that is not cost effective, it is generally scrapped. Similarly when the equipment is outdated and does not satisfy the requirements of the latest needs is also weeded out as outdated. In some cases such items are retained in museums too. Indian constitution is no different. It is no doubt out dated, written with short sight, accepted in hurry and amended N no. of times for circumventing the obstacles enroute. It is time it is sent to a museum to be stored along with ancient scriptures written on palm leaves. The correct place for it is the Library established at Tanjore by the great illustrious Maratha ruler Sharabhoji II who was the king of Tanjavur kingdom and a great person who patronized arts and literature. He was a man of letters. The dynasty was founded by Venkoji, step brother of great Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj who established Hindu empire in Maharashtra in 17 century.
The Indian leaders have not left any stone unturned since the granting of independence by the Englishmen in exploiting the people through caste, creed, language, regional feelings and religion. The leaders can be counted on fingers who cared for national spirit and remained loyal to national well being. Gone are the old days where there was some national spirit. Usually the names of Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are narrated and pushed down throats of kids at school who belonged to this category. Name of subhas Chandra Bose is safely forgotten. The constitutional assembly framed something in black and white so that the people could practice some civilized form of governing. They took good things from practicing democracies and probably that was the best they could do in the available time. On the other front, they did not anticipate and foresee the degradation that would be engulfing the Indian leadership in the coming years. In fact the power hungry leaders who hastened the declaration of independence by short cuts were waiting like vultures at the dying animal eager to devour into bits of bones as soon as the spirit left the animal. Whatever little morals were left soon vanished after Gandhi’s death and after Shastris death every thing was bizarre and was free for all. Every one wanted power by hook or crook Dynastic succession of Nehru family drove the last nail in the coffin of Indian democracy. It has remained a name sake democracy while every thing centered on a nucleus wielding power by virtue of family name. Although MK Gandhi led congress party to freedom, the spirit disappeared after his death and name of Gandhi remained only for exploitation of masses. Sanjeeva Reddy, Atulya Ghosh, Nijaingappa, Morarji Desai , SK Patil, Krishna Kant, Chadrasekhar parted ways with congress due to politicking and Indira Gandhi was instrumental in destroying the democratic functioning in the country. . Under her leadership, factional feuds, regional hatred, and bickering, degradation of moral values in politics have come to stay and became part and parcel of Indian democracy. From then onwards, there was no looking back. Destruction of democratic system was complete. Indians have mastered the art of politicking without national interest and the country has been reduced to the state of political chaos although India claims that it is a mature democracy in the world on par with any western country. These are disgusting comparisons.
Where does the mistake lie for today’s situation? Obviously the fall in public standards, hunger for power, and lack of moral values in all walks of life are the root causes for the downfall. Senior citizens claimed that Gandhi warned after independence that blind practice of purely western methods would spell doom to the country and he even recommended dissolution of Congress party and probably he knew the power hungry jackals waiting at the grave. If these were true, then credit must go to Gandhi for the fore thought and for the warning he gave. However Gandhi was already becoming an embarrassment for the rulers. His advice went over deaf ears. Alas! The poor old man was sent to heavens with a pistol shot probably to a great relief to most of the leadership who might thought that Gandhi was a pain in the neck and a sore at wrong place and that his role was over. Nehru who wielded much clout in masses carried on the burden till 1964 not before completely bungling the Kashmir and Chinese affairs. The nation has been gifted the eternal sores to bleed like Kashmir and Chinese Problem by his much glorified vision. With Shastris death all was over. It became free for all. A new era was unleashed with Indira Gandhi donning the mantle and she soon imposed emergency with the help of a puppet President. Mushrooming of alternate parties became a trend to capture power. The first Janata government was successful in throwing out congress rule. But the ambition of Morarji Desai and Charan Singh and Raj Narain ruined the new government and she returned to power. She being a great manipulator projected and boosted up Sant Bhiderwale in Punjab and soon the devil tried to devour the master. The result was military action on Golden Temple and subsequent killing of Mrs. Gandhi by her guards. Massacres of Sikhs around Delhi was the outcome soon with generating of bad blood between the communities. Even today, the culprits are not punished and the trials became a joke on the nation. Akalidal established its grip over Punjab. Release of Mandal report by PM VP singh divided the society very seriously and boosted the caste politics. This gave birth to Bahujans and kanshirams who soon entrenched themselves in society. Caste divisions in society became complete.

In south India, Tamils always tried to maintain their identity and refused to merge. Periyar Ramaswamy naikar in the early years after independence even threatened secession from Indian union over imposition of Hindi and threatened that he would establish a separate Tamil country. The leadership in Delhi hurriedly backtracked. Tamils alienated from congress party. Local parties such as DMK and AIDMK came up and Congress was vanquished and thrown out lock stock and barrel. Identity crisis resulted in mushrooming of local and regional parties throughout India. North Eastern States became a head ache with increase in terrorist actions for creation of separate home lands for Bodos, Gurkhas, Nagas, Hill tribes. Demands for separate states came up in Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh. All these are at the cost of national spirit. In AP, Telugu Desam party captured power and sent Congress party on wild goose chase for nearly two decades However congress party returned to power recently owing to the political mistakes of the party.

Bharatayeea Janata Party although came to power could not continue for very long and soon Congree returned to power. Rajiv Gandhi became a victim of LTTE after his unwise attempt of interfering in Lankan political scene. He was also blamed for Bofors scam. Although he has been absolved some time ago after his death, skeletons are obviously hidden in Delhi’s cupboards. Some day they might roll out. The Govt of PV Narsimha Rao did balancing act after for five years. During last elections although BJP reasonably did well, Congress party formed government at center with support of nuts and bolts. BJP however has become national party and posing a great challenge to the congress. However BJP is still seen as a Hindutva party and all other parties including Communists gang up to keep it out of power. To shed the image BJP also has wooed the minorities and with this its credibility as a party that would strive for Hinduism has been affected. Probably this is one of the reason for its failure to capture power at enter. Muslims abet their philosophy to a very great extent. Congress has succeeded playing minority card in this direction. The smaller parties have not overcome their narrow outlook and are tied down by their outdated ideologies, narrow anticipated gains than national outlook. Their life’s ambition appears to keep BJP out of power They became slaves for dynasties and wait patiently for small morsels of food and bits of bread thrown at them by the Congress party. A person like Somanth Chatterjee who donned Communism for decades stuck to his chair and was expelled by the party. Obviously he was after chair and perks and these were greater than party ideology for him. The regional parties that win few seats in center play murky games and there is a necessity of keeping them out of center.

In Western countries, the society is not divided on caste basis and people are literate. In India elections are won on dynastic faith, past laurels, caste, creed, religion, regional feelings Linguistic ideologies and all other extraneous considerations. Too many parties are not allowed. If regional parties can not be banned at center, they should be banned from participating in forming the government. Only national parties must be allowed to vote at center in forming government. Caste based parties should be banned along with communal parties. Those who preach sedition should be promptly banned from contesting for any place and should be tried for treason. Their dirty acts can be stopped by such methods. The ideal system is to have two party democracy as recommended by Dr Abdul Kalam, the illustrious past President for which obviously he was not given second term. The constitution must be changed to cater for this requirement and all useless people must be prevented from contesting. Any one with criminal record should be shown the gate. Those facing serious prosecution charges should be banned till he is cleared. The post of PM or President should not be held for more than two terms in his life time and no ministerial post including PM and President should be accessible to a person of foreign birth. He has to be a citizen by virtue of birth in India. It is being practiced in western nations too. Unless such provisions are made future of India would-be at stake. Future of India is in our hands and no outside country would help us in solving our problems. The nation should be rescued from the hands of power hungry jackals who are devoid of national spirit and taking the country to its destruction in coming years. This has to be done through changing the constitution. This is a naked truth.

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...135

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..135

Dr K Prabhakar Rao


(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen walking in hot day on the streets of Hyderabad. They are tired and appear exhausted. Nehru is seen holding hand of Gandhi while Patel is holding Bapus stick.)

Nehru. Patel, the day is very hot. Absolutely there is no respite today.

Patel. True brother. Like corruption in India the heat is also never ending.

Nehru. Why the talk of corruption now? I think we must take some rest somewhere. Bapu is getting completely exhausted.

Patel. Sure. There is a big park close by. We shall go there. Hold Bapu tight. He might fall down.

(Suddenly a car whizzes past them with horn screaming loud. They are caught in surprise.)

Gandhi. eee…eeee… eee.. What is this? Have I been run over by the car?

Patel. Not yet Bapu. But if we keep walking like this on this road surely we will be run over. The guys driving cars have no basic ethics in this city. Let us be more careful. There is no point blaming them. They are born like that.

Nehru. Don’t they have driving licenses?

Patel. They would be having. Many go without it. They manage to learn on the main streets and Gallis ( bylanes), purchase a car and land upon the main road. Their learning is on the main roads.

Nehru. Horrible indeed.

( In the mean time, a motorcyclist comes from wrong side, looses balance and falls down hitting Patel in the process. Patel falls down. The motorcyclist gets up. His name is Razak)

Razak.Hey budde( oldman) Dikta Nahee ky (Can’t you see?) Are you blind?

Patel. ( Gets up) Look Mr. You came from wrong side and you are unable to control the bike. Why are you blaming me?

Razak. Kya bolathai bey ( What are you talking?)Chamdee uttaar dooga( I shall skin you)

Patel. Are you a butcher? Behave yourself. First you were wrong and mose over your fighting with us. How arrogant you are?

Razak. Ye baat hai ( So it is it). Dikhangua tumko my kya hoon ( I shall show what I am ?) Dekh loonga tumko (I shall see you) Namoona banadoonmga ( I shall make model out of you). Tum mujhe nahhe jaante (You do not know me). My iss ilake ka dada hoo. ( I am the rogue of this area)

Nehru. What will you show? Tera sar ( Your head) You clown. Run away from here.

( Razak suddenly draws out a knife from his shirt and shows to Patel)

Razak. Have you seen this? My bahat Khoon kiya isse ( I have killed many with this)

Patel.Come on. Put that in your pocket. Or else I shall chew you.

( Razak Jumps on Patel and tries to stab him and Patel very smartly catches his hand and twists the arm and gives a punch on his face and Razak fals down. The knife is flung far away. Patel goes to him and pulls up Razak holding his collar and rains blows on him. Nehru also rushes there holding Bapus stick and hammers Razak with it. Razak yells)

Gandhi. Jawaharlal and Patel. Please pardon him. We have pardoning them all these years. We are not going to loose much.

Patel. Look Mr Razak. We are leaving you only because Bapu has requested us.You guys have not learnt lessons. Bada dada banne ayya ( guy hascome claiming to be a pehalwan) Otherwise we would have shown stars to you. Run from here. Bewakoof kainka ( idiot)

( Razak lifts bike and drags it out to a side and starts by kicking the lever. He soon drives fast without looking back .There is no trace of any police man. Nehru lifts up the knife and throws it into a drain )

Pate. Ohfo. The guy has hit my leg. It is paining although I am iron man of India. (Sings)

I am the iron man of this nation
Where poor go without ration
Jokers drive on the roads
Their faces are like dirty toads

That fool has hit me with his bike
Yet has the courage to argue and blame
Such guys are danger to the society
And should be permanently made lame

Gandhi. Patel. Please leave him. Let us go fast to the park

(They walk fast on the road. Patel is still limping)

Gandhi. Patel. I think you should see a doctor soon

Nehru. True . Patel. Let us see a medical practitioner before you develop serious problem

Patel. Thanks dear for your concern. I am moved very much.

( On the roadside they find many shops displaying the boards of clinics)

Gandhi. Let us go to one of these doctors. He will treat Pate soon

(They go near a clinic and look at the board).

Nehru. Look Patel. The doctors name is written as M Dharmaraj. His qualification is MBBS. He must be good

Patel. Jawahar. Next to it in very small letters it is also written Homeo in brackets. The name is also not appealing.

Nehru. But there is no degree like that. Let us see the next guy.

( They go to next clinic and look at the board)

Gandhi. RMP is written next to his name. His name is Jeevan Saathi.

Patel Bapu. There are many Institutions in north India who give these certificates RMP to guys who pay up. You can also get one. Bapu. Eee..eeee.. My leg is paining..eeee..aaa..

Nehru. Patel. You are a iron man of India. Remember it.

Gandhi. Look Patel. The next board is showing the name as Dr Arogyanand BHMS. He is also a Homeo guy. Let us see more.

Nehru. The next board is showing the name as Dr Dhanwanthri BAMS

Patel. Oh fo. I am tired. Let us see next

Nehru. yeah.This guy next is Dr Jeevandan MBBS . He has written the name of the University also. Thanks god. Let us go to him.

Patel. Bapu. we have to be careful with them also. No a days students with zero marks in entrance test are also given MBBS seat. What they can learn and whom they can treat?
Gandhi. True. It is also dangerous to go to them. We can not believe by seeing degrees. Meritorious students are very few in these colleges. Less said is better about Medical education in this state. Many are just quacks and do not know any thing.

Patel. Bapu. I am scared. I can not go to them . I may become lame after going to them.

Gandhi. In that case let us go back to our place I shall rub your leg with hot goats milk mixed with neem powder. You will be fine in few hours

Patel. That is very fine Bapu. I trust you more than these quacks. Let us go

( The trio walk slow into distance singing Ramdhun)

BHONGIR, THE MAGNIFICIENT HILL FORT OF TELUGU PEOPLE… A PEEP INTO HISTORY

BHONGIR, THE MAGNIFICIENT HILL FORT OF TELUGU
PEOPLE… A PEEP INTO HISTORY

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

Andhra Pradesh has a distinguished past and has played great part in the cultural and political history of India. The distant region of Telangana which once formed part of Nizams dominion has rich historical past and Telangana is dotted with many forts ( Now mostly in neglected state) . These remind us about the valor of Telugu people in bye gone days. In Telangana ancient forts exist at Warangal, Golconda, Tatikonda, Ramgiri, Ghanapur, Pangal, Medak, Shhpur Zafar gadh, Devarkonda, Rachkonda, Khammam, Nirmal ( French forts and Battis garh), Jagityal, Koilakonda, Nizamabad, Gadwal, Bhongir occupies a special place among them. Some of these forts are awesome and visitors are wonder struck at their grandeur, structural skills, planning and in execution by our past craftsmen. Bhongir is one such fort that is awesome and inspiring to all. It stands next only to Golconda and Warangal.

Bhongir town is at a distance of 40 km from state capital Hyderabad and the main railway line passes through the town, all trains proceeding to Calcutta, Delhi, Madras ( Chennai) pass through the town It is Mandal( Taluq) Head quarters and is an important revenue Mandal. Many engineering colleges have come up around Bhongir and the town is rapidly growing as the suburb of Hyderabad city. The fort is now located in the heart of town due to al round development. It is built over a large egg shaped rock towering to an height of … meters. The entire rock appears as a single piece in a plain ground. Surrounding areas are at height and the fort appears low from a distance. But as one goes closer the fort rapidly rises into sky. The fort walls are very massive and the ramparts and walls at the lower level appear to be not very ancient while the fort walls at the top are no doubt very old. The lower fort is well built with neatly chiseled granite stones with ports for using muskets. Obviously the fort was modified over the centuries of occupation. The fort has seen many ups and downs and passed through many hands. Kakateeya kings, Naika kings, Rachakonda kings and Muslims ruled over the fort in its long history
No historical records are available about the fort. People claim that it is about 300o years old and this can not be believed The fort was built by ancient Hindu king Bhuvaniaka Malludu a Chalukya king from Kalyani. It is evident by a Ganesh idol on fort. As per locals, Malik Kafir the general of Allauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi ( 13-14 century) conquered this fort with very great difficulty. There are interesting legends over origin of the fort. During the ancient times a dynamic Hindu king wanted to construct a fort and was in search of a suitable place. He selected hills of Rayagiri and took up construction over the hills. Some of the remains of the walls can be seen on these hills. A local shepherd approached the officials who were supervising the construction and mocked at their wisdom for choosing the site and he felt that it would be impossible to defend the fort in case the enemy occupied neighboring greater heights. The officials were greatly impressed and surprised at his wisdom and took him to the king. The King was too impressed and said to the shepherd that he would be greatly rewarded if a suitable site was shown to him. The shepherd put a condition that the new fort should be named after him and his wife and the king agreed. The shepherds name was Bhoniah and his wife was Giremma
The shepherds usually have very good knowledge of the hills and forests, terrain ad plants and animals as they wander in these areas. Bhoniah left after taking some time from the king. At this time the rocky hill at Bhongir at present was completely covered by a very large wildreeper ad the rock was not seen from outside. The root of the creeper was in a village away from the hill. Entire area was completely surrounded by thick forests and it was not visible. The shepherd promptly cut off the large root of the creeper and soon it dried up.. In few days it was put to fire by the shepherd and the creeper was reduced to ashes and the imposing rocky hill was exposed in all its glory. He went to the king and brought him to the site and the king was immensely thrilled at the site and soon he ordered the officials to plan and build a fort covering the rocky hill. It was soon completed and was named after the shepherd couple as Bhonagiri. He also constructed a town near the bae of the fort with a temple dedicated to Bhoneswara and some runs of the templecanbe seen at the village outskirts.. The town is also called Bhuvana giri . Some peopleclaim that the fort and the town are named after the king Bhuvanika Malludu ( A Kalyani Chalukya) who built themi the past. Bhongir fort that isplayes magnificent construction much before the onstruction of Rajasthani hil forts. Its steep sides are impregnable.

The fort has seen many battles, fall and rise of dynasties. . It has seen fluctuating fortunes, defeats and victories in its long history and was a witness to the flourishing and falling of man dynasties. It formed the eastern border for Bahmani sultans at the time of Alauddin Bahman Shah the founder of Bahmani kingdom. They ruled at Gulbarga and later at Bidar. Kappayya naika the dare devil Hindu king at Warangal rued over Bhongir province too when he controlled entire Telangana after Pratapa Rudra II of Kakateeya dynasty. It was later controlled by Velama kings of Rachakonda who fought relentless wars with Kapayya, Redy Kings at Kondaveedu and with Vijayanagar Rays with the help of Bahmani sultans. Finally Velama kings lost everything to Bahmani sultans after 100 years of rule. The fort then passed over to Kutubshahi kings of Golconda. It went over to Mughals during the reign of Aurangzeb and then came under Asafia rulers at Hyderabad till Nizam 7 acceded to Indian union in 1948 after police action and defeat of Hyderabad army and blood thirsty and rapist Razakars . It was mostly under some Qiladar The fort is not famous for any sculptural splendor. It was mostly of military importance. Once it was captured by Muslims it literally lost all its Hindu orientation and these effects can be seen today. There are few buildings on top of the hill that have lost all Hindu orientation. At present, the office of a Govt TV and communication department with it's tower is located at the top of hill. A pond of fresh water exists on top that is always full of water. Wild life such as snakes, monitor lizards, monkeys, Boa constrictors and Hyenas, are found on the hill apart from occasional Panthers and bears too.

Bhongir fort is also mentioned in the daring acts of chivalry of Sarvai Papadu who rose during the later days of Mughal EmperorAurangzeb. Although he was born a Goud, a toddy tapper ,he soon became ambitious and collected arms, horses and men and attacked Mughal provinces in Telangana and defeated the chieftains. He controlled major portion of Telangana and ruled. He built forts at shahpuram, Tatikonda and controlled areas of Karimnagar,Warangal, Jangaon, Kolanupaka and other areas He was terror to Muslim chieftains.. He grew very bold and conquered Bhongir and Warangal and it is also said that for a short while he occupied Golconda too. However he was betrayed by some of his men while asleep to the Mughal army and he committed suicide and he preferred death to dishonor. Some state that he was beheaded and his head was hung to Golconda fort gate. He deeds are sung as ballads in Telangana.

The fort is neglected as usual by the state govt and people watch with despair as the ancient fort slowly gets rotten. The Govt claims it has no funds to spend. It is high time they do something and preserve Telugu heritage. The Fort should be developed as tourist attraction. We may not construct ( being incapable) such forts and therefore we must preserve them for future generations. Sadly the governments have no time for these things and they are busy in never ending politicking and misrule while the leaders are busy in money making activities and indulging in various scams.

INTO THEPAST WITH PAIN..134

INTO THEPAST WITH PAIN.. 134
Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(In a park in heavens some persons are seen chatting. It is the park meant for dignitaries and they are all well dressed. They are Chatrapathi Shivaji, Sambhaji Raje, Subhas Chandra Bose ( In full INA uniform), Sri Krishna deva raya , Rana Pratap and Velu Thambi. Shivaji Maharaj, Sambhaji Raje Maharaj, Rana Pratap and Krishna raya are on throne like seats while others are also sitting on magnificent chairs. Many are standing around with folded hands)

Pratap. Friends. I am happy to meet all of you here. We belong to different eras. But all of us are here together.

Subhas.Yes your highness Maharana Pratap. In fact I am very thrilled to be with you. As a matter of fact I belong to the modern era and much junior to you.

Shivaji Maharaj. Look Mr. Netaji. We know your achievements. Here no one is less and no one is very great. We all have done our duties to the mother land.

Subhas. Thank you your highness for your kind words. I am obliged sir.

Shivaji. I learnt that our mother land is in great trouble these days. Sambhaji raje told me that some elements are trying to divide the nation again.

Rana Pratap. True dear friend Chatrapathiji. The sad part is that the country was divided in 1947.

Shivaji. It was done after I left the world and after nearly 250 years. If I was there ,I would have skinned the people who were responsible for such thing, Jai Bhavani.( Shivaji in tempo partly draws his sword Bhavani from scabbard and pushes it back with strong click.

Pratap. How sad! Have we struggled our lives to see our land in this shape? Shame to the people who brought the nation to this state.

Subhas. Your highness. In fact I struggled in the great World War II to get India freedom by armed struggle. But luck did not favor me. Japanese surrendered after Atom bambs were dropped on their country by USA. My dreams were shattered. I had still hopes and plans.

Pratap. At times it happens. You must be knowing the battle at Haldi Ghat with Akbars forces. It was a very serious fight and I almost killed Prince Salim who later became Emperor Jahangir.

Subhas. If you were successful history of India probably would have been different.


I know it sir. Some of the Rajput Chieftains were siding with Akbar and were in their service. They sold themselves like Man Singh.

Rana Pratap. There were many. If all Rajputs were united, Akbar would have run away to Kabul or Persia. Akbar would have turned mad if I succeeded in killing Salim who was on an elephant.

Sambhaji Raje. Such things happen history. I never thought that I would be betrayed by my brother in law to Mughals.

Subhas. Your highness. Such Gaddars are therein India to day. They were plenty in past in all eras. Hindus basically lost every where due to the disunity and others won using treachery and deceit. Gaddars however helped them to maximum extent.

Raya. Gentlemen. All of you have spoken very well. You have fought valiantly against Muslim oppression and the Englishmen too at later stage in modern times. I am very happy that Shivaji Maharaj hastaken the responsibility of defeating the designs of Aurangzeb to convert Hidustan into an Islamic state. My empire defended south India for nearly 300 years. We fought tooth and nail with Bahamni bigots at Gulbaraga and Bidar.Later we fought five Deccani sultans.

Shivaji.I agree with you sir. I got great inspiration from your life. I took over from where you left and ruled with sword in my hand.

Velu Tambi. Dear friends. We struggled against foreign oppression. But at every stage our own countrymen betrayed us. It is shameful indeed. I think things are not different even today. Any numbers of traitors are there.

Pratap. I do not know when this land would be free of these traitors.

Velu Thambi. Probably we have to be reborn to free the land from the traitors and enemies.

Shivaji. That is very true I appreciate your thoughts.

( From the people who are watching them suddenly emerge Gandhi, Nehru and patel. They see Subhas sitting very close to Shivaji Maharaj. They are surprised)

Patel.Hoi, Subhas. How come you are here? Are you taking part in some drama

Gandhi. Hello Subhas .I find all historical characters here. What is this drama being enacted?

Subhas. This is not drama. We are real.

( Subhas gets up and introduces the trio)

Subhas. Dear friends. These guys are my friends and once colleagues while I was in congress party in India.

Pratap. What is this congress party.

Subhas. It is large group of people who are committed to some thought.

Shivaji Maharaj. I see. That is good.

Subhas. ( Showing Gandhi) He is mohandas Karam chand Gandhi, He is titled as Father of Indian nation. The next man in Achkan is Jawaharlal Nehru and is also titled Pandit ( Learned). The next man is Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the former Deputy PM of India

Pratap. What is this PM?

Subhas. PM is something like Chief Wazir.

( Gandhi, Nehru and Patel wish the dignitaries saying Namaste.

Shivaji Maharaj. Kindly be seated and offers seats to them and they sit down

Gandhi. I am very happy to meet great people of past.

Rana Pratap. Thanks dear. Mr Subhas said You fathered India. How was it. During our time also Bharatvarsha was there. What is the new thing you have done?

Gandhi. I have not done any thing sir. People called me so.

Pratap. Were they crazy? When you did not create Bharat why they should call you father of India.?

Gandhi. What answer can I give sir? I led the freedom struggle and the Englishmen finally granted freedom to India.

Subhas. That is his back ground. The other two are his staunch followers and occupied post of PM and Deputy PM after getting freedom .

Velu Thambi. Mr Subhasji, You were also with them for some time.

Subhas. Yes initially and later parted ways . I was hounded out of Congress. The trouble started when I won presidentship of Congress party and defeated Gandhis candidate Pattabhi Seetha Ramiah. It was the turning point in my career. Never mind sir. I became wise. I realized that the only way to win freedom was not by begging the Englishmen, but using sword.

Shivaji Maharaj. That was manly indeed. I appreciate your courage and sacrifice.Jai Bhavani.

Pratap. Jai Bhavani.I also appreciates Sambhaji’s efforts It was full of spirit and was manly too.

Raya. Nevertheless we appreciate Gandhi’s sacrifice and his final sacrifice too although India got divided.

Gandhi. Thank you sir for appreciation. I was not responsible for partition although many accuse me for leading to the vision.

Pratap. I feel bad because you guys have accepted the division while we fought for a different cause. My ancestor Rana Sanga fought Baber after his victory at Panipat ant Khanwa.

Velu Thambi. What is the use of this freedom with truncated nation?

Nehru. Some thing was better than nothing. Already freedom struggle got prolonged. Every one was getting impatient.

Velu Thambi. Say rather getting impatient for not gaining power.

Nehru. Sir. We were not after power.

Velu Thambi. In that case you should have refused to become the PM.You happily jumped into the seat.

Nehru. I think I was best suited as per Bapu.

Shivaji Maharaj. Who is this new guy bapu?.

Gandhi. It is me. I am also called Bapu fondly by my admirers.

Pratap. But everyone thought Patel was better suited. We heard he was tough.

Patel. Look Gentlemen. I was very much suited. But I was sidelined by Bapu. To console me I was given Deputy Pm s post.

Nehru. You should be happy for that. At least you got that. Be happy for that and thank Bapu.

Shivaji. Look Gentlemen. Please do not fight here. You fought enough when you were alive. At least be nice here.

Subhas. I am sure these guys got relieved after my disappearance after world war II in1945.I never surfaced any where.

Velu Thambi. Mr subhas were you really killed in an air crash after World War II.

Subhas. Sir. Kindly pardon me. I can reveal it.

Shivaji. We know that there is a great suspense about your vanishing after the WW II.Your opponents were happy I think that a great obstacle was removed on their way to power. We know that you would have been voted to power if you surfaced after independence of Bharat and this gentleman Nehru would have been sent on wild goose chase for life.

Subhas. What can I say.

Pratap.I also know that the government appointed may commissions one after the other and no on could prove that you died in air crash after WW II. As per records there was no air crash on that day.

Velu Thambi. Many believe that you were in Russian prison and some believe that you were deprived of your life by the British agents clandestinely after capture. There are no proofs today for all these rumors.

Subhas. Please leave me alone. Sir , At appropriate moment I shall let the world know.

Shivaji. Mr Subhas. This is very strange. You are a very bold person. What prevents you from telling truth?

Subhas. Your highness I shall reveal when time comes.

Raya. Does all this means you did not die in air crash? It looks like that.

Subhas. Your highness, I can not say anything now.

Raya. That is OK. I shall not press this issue.

Shivaji.. Friends. There is certainly some secret in disappearance of Subhas after WW II and some thing is definitely being hidden. Any how Subhas is not immortal and he has to leave word some day. So he is with us. The only issue is whether he died in accident, or done away with or died natural death after aging over. Probably truth will come out one day. Look M Gandhi and Nehruji. One day truth will come out and every ones roll will be exposed.

Gandhi. There is nothing to fear for us.

Raya. Then it is fine. Let us wait and see. Gentlemen. It is already late. We shall meet some other day.

Shivaji Maharaj.That is fine. Jai Bhavani

( All shout loudly Jai Bhavani raising their swords except Gandhi , Nehru and Patel. They have no swords. All walk away )

CURTAIN FALLS

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..129. PART I

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN..129.. PART I

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen sitting in a room enjoying a cup of tea. The tea is very hot and Gandhi pours tea I saucer ad is seen blowing air on to tea to cool it and sips slowly.)

Nehru. Bapu. Pouring in saucer is not the correct way.

Patel. Then what for saucer is provided?

Nehru. It is to collect any spill over.

Gandhi. Jawaharlal. Is pouring in saucer and drinking from it considered impolite?

Nehru. I did not say that. But it looks odd no doubt.

Patel. Look Jawahar. Bapu has also graduated from England. You are not the only guy to study in England. He knows what is he doing very well..

Gandhi. It is over. I drank all tea. ( He lifts his hands and yawns loudly) Yeah….Yeah..ooo….ooo..aa….aaah

Patel. What next Bapu? You appears to be very energetic than ever.

Gandhi. Sure. I am itching to lead salt Satyagraha again at Dandy.

Patel Heee…Heeee

Nehru. What is there to laugh?

Patel. Nothing special. I am only laughing at Bapu’s new plans.

Gandhi. Bhai. Now let us go for a long walk.

Patel. That is fine.

( All of them step out and start walking on the street. Slowly they enter a posh area in heavens where streets are wide with mansions. It is named kings enclave)

Gandhi. It looks we have entered a posh area.

Patel. Yes Bapu. Here all kings and emperors who ruled in India and deserved heavens live.

Gandhi. That is good. It is a posh area.

Patel. This is something like MLA colony in Hyderabad. Near Jubilee hills. All the top guys although engaged in corruption, mischief, politicking, Hera feri ( mischief), getting involved in scams and land grabbing stay there. There may be some good guys. But they would be very few.

Gandhi. I see, good guys are always there. That is why the world is going on.

(Gandhi finds a sheet of news paper on the road side and picks it up. He reads the head lines)

Gandhi. Ohfo! What a tragedy!

Pate. Bapu, what is it?

Gandhi. It is printed that at Tirumala shrine, the jewels presented by the erstwhile Emperor Sri Krishna deva Raya to Balaji are missing. Some say they were melted long ago and converted to gold.

Nehru. Could it be true? Some one must be trying to fan trouble.

Patel. It could be very well true. Any thing is possible in India. The guys in every department are corrupt, crazy, and outright shady. This is not the time for good people to survive in India.

Gandhi. Patel. You appear to be highly biased.

Patel. Bapu, you are mistaken. I am straight forward and down to earth. I am not that type of guy who earns bread by flattery.

Gandhi. Ok, Ok, Relax. But this is something not acceptable. I think we must go to Tirumala and know what exactly happened.

( The trio sees a very well dressed person riding a horse and approaching them. The rider approaches them, halts and gets down. He is dressed in full royal attire with a jeweled sword at his waist. )

Rider. Look gentlemen. I am Sri Krishna deva Raya, the former emperor of Vijayanagar in south India. Who are you? Why are you walking on this road? This is a VIP enclave.

Gandhi. Namste sir. I am MK Gandhi known as father of Indian nation. These guys are Nehru and Patel my associates.

Raya. Strange. Did you give birth to India? Then where we all lived in our days? You know, we lived and struggled in India.

Patel. True sir. Great changes have taken place in India after you left this world. Sir , do you know 500 years have passed since you left India. Bahmani sultans have vanished. Your empire too vanished. Maraths grew and vanished. Mughals have disappeared. Englishmen occupied India, ruled and they also left not before wrecking the country.

Raya I know that. ( He looks at the news paper in Gandhi’s hands)

Raya. What is it in your hands?

Patel. This is called news paper. Important happenings in the world are printed here every day.

Gandhi. The latest news is that the jewels presented by you to Lord Balaji in Tirumala have vanished and no one knows where they have gone

Raya. Oh! No. How can it happen? Have Bahmani attacked Tirumala?

Gandhi. No sir. Bahmani disappeared long ago.

Patel. Bahmanis have disappeared. But their descendents are still there around.

Raya. This is not acceptable. I must go and check at Tirumala.

Gandhi. In fact we were planning to go there.

Raya. Let us go there.

Patel. Raya sir , oh, the mighty one. Please change your dress and accompany us. That would be better.

Raya. That is very good idea. In fact during my time, I used to go around like that.

(The trio and Raya arrive at Tirumala. Raya looks imposing in the company of the trio who look shriveled, sick and tired and weak.)is dressed as a common man with turban. But still he has royal glow on his face and

CONTINUED

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...129..PART II

SCENE..129
PART II


( At Tirumala , the trio and Raya watch a crowd demonstrating in front of TTD office . Crowd is shouting at pitch of voice. They are led by Satyam, Raja, and Narsimha and Yadgiri)

Narsimha. Down with TTD Officers, They have swindled Balajis jewels

Yadgiri. Where are Rayas jewels? Who has played mischief ? Catch them. Put them behind bars, shoe them in public..hooooo

(The trio and Raya slowly make way into the crowd and watch. In the mean time some officers of TTD come out of the office to pacify the crowd)


Officer, Please be quiet. We are making all efforts to find.

Narsimha. What you can do? You have already swindled.

Officer. We have checked the accounts. 40 years ago the jewels were melted and made into gold.

Yadgiri. With whose permission it was done? Is it your pops property?

Officer. I can not answer for what has been done 40 years ago.

Narsimha. Some one also said they were not melted. There is no such record. Then where are they?

Officer. Only Balaji knows.

Yadgiri. Hooo…hooo…hooo. Go back. You swindler or I shall send you to Balaji.

Officer. Come on. Behave yourself.

Narsimha. Who should behave? Is it you or me?

( Gandhi slowly emerges out of crowd along with others, Ray a is also there)

Gandhi.Hey, Officer. Do not try to escape. You were paid fat salaries to look after Baajis assets.Is this has been done in return?

Officer. I have not done any thing.

Gandhi. Some time ago one priest took away Gods jewels and mortgaged for his personal benefits. He was caught by Police. What type of guys are here. Is the gods property in swindlers hands? Shame. Are you not humans. Don’t you have fear of god/

Narsimha. They are shameless. They are prepared to do any thing to swindle. There is no check on them. You swindlers. Shame on you. May god kick you and throw in hell for all time.


( Raya emerges out from the crowd)

Raya. Look guy. What has been done to my jewels?

Officer. Are they your jewels? Are you mad?

Raya. They are mine. I presented to Balaji.

Officer. You appear to be mad guy.

Raya. No I am perfectly fine. You are only mad. You want to know who I am.

Officer. Who are you.? Ypu must be a crank. Mad guy devoid of balance.

( Raya shrieks loudly and suddenly there is a flash and raya is transformed into regal attire along with his kingly sword at his belt and he is seated on his royal horse. All are shocked)

Raya. You swine. Now know who I am. I am the kannada Raya Rama Ramana Moou raya ganda.
I am The emperor of great Vijay nagar. I presented many jewels, gold ornaments to Balaji during my visits. All the records are available as Sasanalu ( Inscriptions). You jokers of first order. Can’t you look after gods jewels? What for you are here. Why you are being paid? Is it for swindling? Is there no control over you guys? Who is your ruler?. I shall sack that guy. What are they doing. Even the Bahmani sultans did not steal them after I left the world. They were safe. Are you worst than those guys? Don’t you have shame to mismanage Gods property? It is disgusting to see you guys.

Officer. Enough of it you imposter. Are you Krishna deva Raya? What you are talking. Are you mad and insane. Raya died long ago. His empire also vanished. Do you think we are fools to believe you. You are a trickster. I shall inform police. They will take care of you.

Raya. ( looking at Gandhi) What is this police?

Gandhi. Police means Rakshaka Bhatas of your time. They are responsible to look after law and order in the state.


Raya. What they will do?

Gandhi. they may take into custody and pout in prison.

Raya. I see. How dare they would be to pout Raya in prison. Ask them to come . I shall show what I am.

Gandhi. Sir . Please go slow. The world has greatly changed. The police has weapons. Pistols, rifles and AK 47 to kill people.

Raya. Is police meant to kill people here.

Patel. Not only here . Every where in world they are there to kill people if required while looking after law and order.

Raya. How sad? We have side tracked from the main issue. Hey officer, Where are my jewels. Show me the accounts and show them.

Officer. I am not obliged to show them.

Raya. Why?

Officer. I am not answerable to every tom Dick and Harry.

Raya Am I no one. How dare. I shall show.( Raya draws his sword fro scabbard)

(The officer greatly scared runs away from the spot followed by his clerks)

( in the mean time a police party arrives in a van with screaming siren. From it get down scores of armed jawans along with a pot bellied Inspector)

Inspector. What is happening? Who are you guys? Who is this guy on Horse? Horses are not allowed on Tirumala.

Raya. I am Krishna Deva Raya of Vijay nagar. We are asking the officers about Balaji jewels.

Inspector. There is police to do that job.

Raya. If so why this happened?

Inspector. Police investigates only after crime takes place.

Raya. Haa..haaa. Very good. Don’t you have any methods to prevent such mischief?.

Inspector. This is none of your business.

Raya. It is very much our business. I gave such costly jewels 500 years ago and you guys can not even take care of it. They were safe during medieval times during wars and even during the rule of Englishmen who are said to have plundered India. They were safe even after my empire vanished. But you guys have plundered in fact. What a shame indeed!

Inspector. Enough of these discussions. You guys disperse from here in five minutes.

Raya. Or else what you will do?

Inspector. First of all you are holding a long sword that is against law. You are creating disturbance and even threatening govt officers. I may have to arrest you.

Raya. That you can never do.

Gandhi. Inspector. Please do not take sides. You know that these guys have swindled Balaji jewels.Why don’t you arrest them.

Inspector. That the government will do. I am here to prevent violence.

Gnadhi. There is no violence here

Inspector. Why this person is holding a big sword

Gandhi. He is the great king Krishna Deva raya of vijaya nagar who presented jewels to Balaji.

Inspector. How it is possible. He was dead long ago. I know history. By the by you look like Gandhi.Are you from a drama company?

Pate. We are real persons. Wake up Inspector. Learn to respect elders.

Inspector. Enough of this. Please disperse. Or else I have to use force.

Raya. We also know how to use force.( He claps)

( Suddenly thousand cavalry armed men appear at the scene all well armed with Swords, lances, Helmets and even sporting ancient portugese rifles. Inspector and police personnel who in few dozens run away looking at the Vijaynagar army)

Officer ( Falls at the feet of Raya) Sir. Plesea spare me. I have three chidren and all of them are young. I have not done ay thing for Balajis jewels. I am only the spokes men. Real men involved are different. We are trying to find out. Plesae spare me. Plesae do not kill me

Raya. It is ok. I shall watch the investigation. If I find out the guys I shall skin them alive. Go away you fool.



(The officer runs away)

Raya. Mr Gandhi. Let us go back.. We shall give them time. If some guys had swindled many years ago, one day they will be in heavens or hell. I shall catch them and skin them. Let us go for present

Gandhi. That is fine. Patel and Jawaharlal. Let us go.
(Raya claps and entire Army of Vijaynagar vanishes. Raya, Gandhi, Patel and Nehru too vanish)
CURTAIN FALLS