INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN....154

INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...154

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen at a road side shop near Dhoolpet in old city of Hyderabad. The are is very dirty, crowded and filthy)

Gandhi. Patel. We have come first time to this place.

Patel. True Bapu.

Gandhi. What is the place called?

Patel. I heard this area is called Dhool pet

Gandhi. Dhool means dust, Peta means a small village. That means this area is known as place of dust. It is absolutely correct and it is living to expectations.

Patel. Hee..heee. Usually areas are named after their characteristics. This place is a notorious place in Hyderabad.

Gandhi. Why so?

Patel. Bapu. All shady characters live here. This is an adda ( Center) of dadas, pehilwans, smugglers, illicit liquor brewers, cheats and rowdy sheeters.

Nehru. I heard this area is called illicit distillery of Hyderabad.

Gandhi. That means illicit liquor is brewed here.

Patel. True Bapu. It is a cottage industry here.

Gandhi. I always wanted cottage industries to thrive. I heard this place is also famous for making Ganesh statues.

Patel. True Bapu. But how did you know this?

Gandhi. That is why I am Mahatma.

Patel. Come on Bapu. Are you called Mahatma for knowing Dhool pet? People would laugh at this.

Nehru.( Within himself)What is ridiculous talk is going on here!

Patel. Jawaharlal . Did you say anything?

Nehru. No..No.. Relax.

Patel. If you have some thing, be brave and say loudly.

( In the mean time a police van arrives and from it many constables, some armed jump out. An Inspector Khoonkar khan and excise superintendent Zalim singh also gets down from the vehicle. There are some women constables holding Lathis)

Inspector. Look constables. I shall give you exactly twenty minutes. You must search this area and destroy illicit liquor Bhttis ( Plants for brewing). Don’t spare any one. Shoe them. Kick them, Drag them from houses, beat them black and blue, break their pots, destroy the drums. Create panic among them. Make an example out of every one. They should know that we are Zalim singh the excise superintendent and khoonkar khan the Police Ameen sahib ( Inspector)

( All the constables run into the shacks into the area and soon there is utter chaos. People are beaten. Pots are broken, Drums are rolled on ground. Country liquor flows on streets. Many on lookers run with small tumblers and collect country liquor from road and run

Gandhi. Sh…sh.. How bad this is. Is it India?

Patel. Bapu. This is our India, Your India, India for which you got independence. I am sorry you did not get independence to this state. This is Hyderabad . It was the capital of Hyderabad princely state of Nizam 7 and also the land of Razakars and its leader Kasim Razvi. I got this liberated this after you died with the help of Indian army. You can not take credit for this.

Gandhi. I see.

Nehru. There is nothing to see Bapu. Bapu, Patel got it done without my knowledge.

Patel. Otherwise this would have been another Pakistan.

Gandhi. All these things are over. These are past things. Now Hyderabad is part of India and it has merged with India.

Patel. Thanks Bapu. You did not say it acceded to India like Omar Abdullah, the kid CM of Kashmir

Gandhi. Why drag that guy now here. Let him be happy there..I hope he is still the CM.

Patel. Yeah. He is still there thoroughly bungling the state.

Gandhi. Poor Kashmiris. I pity them.

(Suddenly there is great commotion and the people from Dhool pet attack the excise and police constables. They pelt stones at police and excise men. There are heaps of stones already kept at various places as if for use. The police men conduct lathi charge on them. Many are injured. Skulls of some are broken, Some guys break their hands and feet. Scores are seen fallen and shouting for help. There is no ambulance nearby and police guys are seen dragging the injured to roadside. Women constables drag women by hair. In the process many are injured.Sarees and blouses are torn to shreds. Yet women are dragged on the roads.Women are seen wailing and they throw choicest abuses at police and excise men. Constables beat the fallen guys mercilessly.

Constable Ramlal. Mar saale. Sharab banata hai. Sabak sikhwoonga tujh ko. Yaad rakhega zindaghibar.( Die, bloody fellow. You make liquor. I shall teach a lesson to you. You shall remember for the rest of life)

Dastagir ( Injured) Bhai chod do hame. Phir nahee karoonga (Please leave me. I shall not repaeat)

( Constables roundup the trouble makers and they are pushed into vans . They suddenly see Gandhi, Nehru and Patel under a tree slightly away from the place. Inspector sends two constables with orders to bring them. The trio go with constables to Police Inspector)

Inspector. Who are you guys? What are you doing here? What work you have here?From where you have come? What are your names? With whose permission you are here? What is your address?

Gandhi. Sir, Which question we should answer?We do not have any work. We came to see this place. Just like that

Inspector. You guys look and act funny. Are you beggars. You are well dressed like Gandhi, Nehru and patel. How much money you make per day?

Patel. We are not beggars. We are real

Inspector. Hee..heee Good joke indeed.

Nehru. It is not joke. We are real

Zaalim singh.Poor guys . Look to be mentally affected

Gandhi. We are perfectly sound. Probably we are better mentally alert than you guys.

Zaalim singh. How dare you talk like this! I shall show what I am? Is this the way you speak to police people? ( Sings and does jig)

You bloody old man with bald head
I shall wrench you and take out lead
What you think of me the police man
I shall smash you like a plastic can

Gandhi. Not required. Why are you loosing temper. Loosing temper is not good for your health. You may get soon heart attack

Zaalim singh. Me ! Do I get Heart attack. Hee..heee.. I have seen enough of guys. I shall get you heart attack. Come close. Where is your heart. Show me.

( Gandhi is pushed by a constable close to the Inspector. Inspector tries to touch heart of Gandhi)

Inspector. Come on show me your heart.

Gandhi. It is there. Touch it.

( Inspector pushes his hand into chest of Gandhi and it goes through and through.Gandhi has no body)

Inspector. Sh.. Why are you hiding

( He gets worried and looks into Gandhi’s face and Gandhi displays his skull)

Inspector. Eee…eee,, Bhoot.. Bhoot

( He faints and gets convulsions. He wildly shakes his limbs while all assemble and look at him)

Constable Ram lal. What you have done to our sahib, You bloody old man. Take this

( He swings a lathi at Gandhi and lathi just passes through body of Gandhi. Ram laal looks at Gandhi and patel. They show their skeletons to him)

Ramlaal. Eee.,..eeee.. Bhoot Bhoot Margaya

( Ram lal faints and vomits froth from mouth)

Looking at these things the excise commissioner runs away from the scene and diusapperas into byelanes of Dhoolppet. People chase him in lanes. The policevan is quickly driven away at high speed)

Patel. What type of people are these? Unnecessarily they confronted us. We had nothing to do with them.

Gandhi. True. They overdo things. Where was the necessity to be so brutal on these poor people and women? They could have achieved better results by handling it firmly with lesser force. What is the use? After few days same thing will start here. Same brewing will be there. Actual problem is poverty and lack of opportunities for livelihood. This government will never learn. They must educate people and develop area. Only force will not work. I do not know when these guy will learn. May god bless them with some wisdom.

Patel True Bapu. Let us go

Nehru. Bapu. Let us go. I am feeling guiddy

Gandhi. OK

( The trio walks away singing Ramdhun)


CURTAIN FALLS