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