INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN....209

PAIN…209

Dr K Prabhakar Rao

(Gandhi, Patel and Nehru are seen boarding train for puttaparthi at Kachiguda station in Hyderabad )

Gandhi. Patel. I think we must see satya sai baba at the earliest at Puttaparthi.

Patel. True Bapu. Iam also itching to see him. In fcat we should have gone there earlier.

Gandhi. Why so.

Patel We could be late

Gnadhi. Plesae do not say that. We wish Baba lives long.

Patel. That is not in your hand.

Gandhi. Let us wish best. Ohfo this train has not even started.

Patel. Bapu. It will start at its own time. It will not start because we are inside.

Nehru. A joke indeed. Hee..hee

Gandhi. I hope you guys are not pulling my leg,

Patel. What we will get by pulling your leg?

( In the mean time a chaiwallah of railways arrives shouting Chai.. CVhai.. Coffee..Coffee)

Gandhi. Iam sure you will like a cup of tea

Patel. Sure..sure. Hello Chai wallah. Give us three cups tea

( The vendor pours tea and hands over three cups)

Gnadhi. Ohfo. Is this tea? Why this is so cold as if it is out of fridge.

Vendor. Sir I brought tea very hot. How it can be cold?

Patel. That you should know better. We shall not give money for tea. Get lost

( the tea vendor goes away cursing them)

Gandhi. Patel. You should have paid them.

Patel. Why should we? This is very common in railways. These jokers always give cold tea or coffee. I experienced several times. I lost many rupees too.

Gandhi. Patel. Plesae get in. the train is about to move.

Patel. OK , By all means…

( The trains steams out off Kachiguda station like a pregnant duck. )

Gandhi. Thank god we have started off for puttaparthi.

( The next day they get down at Puttaparthi and go out of station. There are many police personnel at the station.)

Patel. Why there are so many police guys here. We do not find so many men even in Hyderabad.

Gandhi. They must be waiting to travel by trains. Is there any police training school here?

Patel. Why bother. Let us go to babas place.

( they call an auto guy)

Gandhi. Bhai. We want to go to Babas place

Auto driver. You can not go there.

Patel. Why?

Driver. Police guys are not allowing any one to see him

Gandhi. Why?

Driver. Baba is very serious. His condition is very critical.

Gandhi. He was like that since many days. Recently they said he had improved.

Patel. We are reading all types of news in papers. Reality no one knows.

Driver. Bhai. We also do not know. The town is full of devotees. Now Police personnel are more than devotees. For each devotee there are two police men.

Gandhi. Why so? Why this drama and tamasha.? .

Patel. Many people are suspecting some foul play in all this tamasha. Some guys have gone to court demanding that real condition of Baba should be told to people.

Gandhi. Naturally. they are distressed much with this drama. The doctors are giving all types of bulletins.

( In the mean time a Fakir also arrives from somewhere. )

Gandhi. Baba . from where you have come now.

Fakir. Sab ka malik ek. I am a Fakir.

Patel. Namste Babaji. You appear a different baba.

Fakir. Iam a Fakir from shirdi.

Gandhi. It is the place of Shirdi Sai baba.

Fakir. Let us go and See Sata sai baba

(They start walking on the road when they are stopped by police people)

Inspector. You guys. Go back. You can not go any where. Go back to railway station

Gandhi. We came from Hyderabad to see Sai Baba.

Fakir. I came from Shirdi

Inspector. We are least bothered. Yu just can not go to see Baba .

Gandhi. How long like this?

Inspector. Only Baba knows

Fakir. You keep looking at us. We go from here.

Inspector. How can you do that?

Fakir. Keep looking at us

( Inspector calls a dozen of police men and get the trio and Fakir into custody. They put a big blanket over their heads and tie them up with ropes and are taken away in a vehicle to a dungeon some where in the town)

Gandhi. What happened? We are in a black hole of Calcutta.

Fakir. Ab kya Hoga. How do we escape from here?

Gandhi. I am surprised why the police and govt is keeping Babas health so secret? There must be some thing in it.

Patel. They made Puttaparthi a garrison and virtually a prison. Is this much security required. Are all the devotees criminals? Why so much of police bado bust? There must be surely some thing fishy here.

Gandhi. Even govt officials and CM and officers are making bee line here. One minister who is a doctor by herself is camping here.

Patel . After all he is Satya Sai Baba and not an ordinary man. He is very rich person. He is running a very big trust and managing billions of rupees activities. Naturally every one is interested to know what happens next.

Gandhi. Pchhh… Baba is baba. All can not be like him.

Fakir. I stay in Shirdi. That baab at Shirdi lives like a real Fakir. He had nothing with him, not even a pair of clean cothes and proper food to eat and a decent place to live. He lived in a broken Maszid. He begged around and ate. He had nothing of his own. He was a Fakir Baba . He used to say Sab ka Malik Ek.

Patel. All can not be Shridi Sai baba . He will be only one.

Fakir. Iam getting bored here. I want to go.

Patel. We are locked in a room. We can not escape. We do not have water and something to eat.

Fakir. I shall get some thing for you.

Patel. How

Fakir . Keep watching.

( Fakir walks through the iron grilled door as if he has no body and returns after some time with some food and water)

Gandhi. Oh.. … what a magic! He has walked through the door. Are you a real man.

Fakir. Are you a real man?Iam also like you.

Patel. Bhai. You are not an ordinary man. Are you sai baba of Shirdi.

Fakir. You know it better.

( In the mean time some police constables arrive and they see the trio and Fakir eating some eatables. They get upset.)

Constable. You guys. How you got food inside? Tell us

Fakir. God has given us.

Patel. Baba has given us.

Constables. Shut up guys. You appear to be crooks. I shall show you.

Patel Please show us quick if you can.

( Constables open the door and get in. The trio over power them and go out locking the police guys inside)

Patel. Let us go fast from this shady place.

Gandhi. True..

Fakir. Please do not be worried.

( They slowly escape from the place and land up at the hospital where satya sai baba is undergoing treatment. There are lakhs of police men at the hospital).

Gandhi. I think entire APO Police force is here. I think they called many battalions of Karnataka and Tamil nadu police too.

Patel. This is an over reaction from the government. They shoud have taken things normal and all things would have been normal. They are not going to achieve anything by hiding Babas condition from Public. If some thing inevitable has to happen it can not be hidden. How long they will do. They do not gain any thing. Baba I was told is kept alive by artificial means like machines. Some are saying he is clinically over. May god bless him.

Gandhi. Let us wish best for him. Mountain is being made out of mole.

Fakir. Sab ka Malik ek ( he vanishes suddenly)

Gandhi. Where is this fakir Baba? Where he has gone?

Patel. He was surely shirdi Sai baba . We are lucky to be with him.

Patel. True

Gandhi. patel. Now let us go back. The govt has made mockery of Satya Sai Baba . Time will reveal every thing. How long this tamasha will go on?

Patel. Let us go back. Enough of this drama

Gandhi. Let us not go by train.

(They suddenly vanish from the scene)

CURTAIN FALLS