Wednesday, June 26, 2013
PAINTINGS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
PAINTINGS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
PAINTIN AND CARTOONS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
Saturday, June 15, 2013
PAINTINGS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...294
INTO
THE PAST WITH PAIN…294
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are in Delhi and are chitchatting in a park at
Rajghat. From distance black marble
Samadhi memorial of Gandhi can be seen. Gandhi looks at it and sighs )
Patel. Bapu. What happened.? You look upset.
Gandhi. Do you see
from here the memorial with black marble
Patel. Yeah. That is your grave.
Nehru. Patel. Do not call it a grave. It is a memorial. Bapu
was a Hindu. He was cremated and not buried. Samadhi was not built for him. It is only a memorial.
Patel. Oh I am sorry Panditji. After all I am not that
learned man like you. You were known as Panditji.
Nehru. Please do not be sarcastic..
Gandhi. Look. People
fondly call their leaders with many titles. I was called Bapu. Patel was called
Sardar. Jawahar was called Pandit, Rajen Prasad was called Babu. Bose was
called Netaji. Azad was called Moulana, What is wrong in that.
Patel. There is nothing.
Gandhi. That is fine.
( Suddenly the hear
some commotion on the road. A crowd is passing over the road shouting
slogans. Down down Advani down down..
Modiji ki jai ho.. Modiji ki jai ho…
Down with Advani)
Gandhi. Arre. What is this tamasha? Why guys are after
Advani. What he has done. Poor guy. He is a Ram bhakt too. Has he stopped
singing Ramdhun?
Patel. I shall find out Bapu soon.
( Patel runs to the
gate and talks to some people and returns)
Gandhi. What happened. Why they are after that poor guy?
Patel. Bapu. Advaniji was against nomination of Modiji as
the haed of the campaign committee for BJP in next elections.
Gandhi. I see. But why he was like that?
Patel. Bapu. Advani is the senior most leader in BJP. He
nourished the party. He was no 2 after Bajpaiji. He has his own ambitions. He
failed to become the PM till now. Modi is too junior to him. Obviously as BJP
has chances to win in next elections with congress party in shambles, he is
getting jittery with coming up of Modiji.
Gandhi. I understand his problem.. But old guys graciously
must give way to the young.
Patel, Saying is easy Bapu.
Who will do that?
Gandhi. I am one.
Once we got freedom did I run for any post?
Patel. Bapu. You were great guy. All are not like you.
Gandhi. I understand. Look Patel. Do you think Modi will
become the next PM.
Patel. Why not? Stars are in his favor. Congress party is in
doldrums. It is a sinking boat with a shattered captain. He does not know which
way to steer, How to steer and when to
steer. He looks like an dumb helpless guy. I feel sorry for him.
Gandhi. But what he can do? His hands are tied behind and
lips are locked.
Patel. Bapu. I shall
tell you one thing. Id you do not use your limbs for too long they become
useless. I know a Sadhu at Mathura
who has been standing still at Yamuna
ghat with a raised hands for the last twenty years. Now his hands has become
like a rod in raised position and it can
not move. Similarly this guy too
would have become useless by this
time as he was inactive for so long ,
all most 10 years.
Gandhi. That is his fate. I heard he is dreaming for another
tenure in the chair.
Patel. Let him dream. Modiji almost on it.
Gandhi. I think whole
nation wants Modi as the PM. They are fed up of these congress guys with scams
and daily tamasha going on.
Patel. Then what?
Gandhi. I think you are the strong supporter of Modi.
Patel. Any sensible guy would be.
Gandhi. But Rahul is also dreaming for it with his mom pushing at it. It will be now or never.
Patel. Bapu. He is no match for Modi. He has no base, except
that he is being propped up. Wherever he led his party he goofed up. They lost
miserably. Youth I India
want Modi. They sing Jai ho Modi..
Gandhi. Advaniji is unable to swallow the change. In front
of his own eyes, his dreans are being shattered. Rajnathji has nominated Modi
as the chief of campaign. It will be difficult for Advani to forget this.
Patel. Bapu. You also went through such things in past. I
know the situation when Netaji won the
President ship of Congress at Tripura in 1939. He won against your
Pattabhiramayya. You were much upset and you expressed it too. Advaniji is also
in same situation. You did not cooperate with Bose. Finally he resigned and
said bye bye..
Gandhi. Patel. Are
you mocking at me ?
Patel. How can I do
that? I am frank. You were no different. It is a human trait.
Nehru. Patel. Why do you find faults with Bapu?
Patel. I am not doing
any such things. I am only telling truths. Kabir said ( sings )
Bura na dekhan my chala
Bura na miliya koi
Jab dil my khojoo
apna
Mujhse bura na koi
Gandhi. Well said. You were frank to tell straight on my
face. I like it.
Nehru. Bapu. It is getting late. This is a grave yard, I am
scared of ghosts. I herad that ghosts of
all dead congress leaders roam here after sunset. I am scared bapu. Let us go.
Patel. Haa.. Haa. Haa.. What a guy you are? Hee..hee,,hee
Gandhi. Let us go.
( The trio walks away )
CURTAIN FALLAS
JHAKAR BAI of JHANSI AND HER BRAVERY NEEDS RECOGNITION IN 1857 WAR
JHAKAR BAI of JHANSI AND HER BRAVERY NEEDS RECOGNITION IN
1857 WAR
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
The war of 1857 is called as Ist war of Independence although dubbed as sepoy mutiny by Europeans. It was the result of various causes during the consolidation of East India Company. Scores lost lives on both sides on battle field and also subsequently . It was mostly taken up by the princely states that were antagonized by the policies of the company. Many heroes and heroines who fought valiantly and contributed to the war went unnoticed in the recorded history. Jhalkar bai is one among them. She was neither a princess nor from any zaminadr family. She was very simple y birth. This could be a reason for neglecting her contribution by the historians.
The legend of Jhalkaribai remains in the popular memory of Bundelkhand over centuries. Her life and especially the incident of her fighting with the East India Company army on the front in disguise, continues to be sung in various Bundeli folklores. Her bravery along with her identity as a Dalit has helped to create a sense of pride and cultural unity in Dalits in North India.
Recently the name of Jhalkaribai, along with others, has played a crucial role in the political landscape of North India, especially of Uttar Pradesh. Taking advantage of her popular image, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the leading Dalit-based party in India, projected Jhalkaribai as one of the symbols of Dalit pride and honour. Efforts were taken in research and find facts about her life and propagating them to the masses. Emphasis was given to portraying her as a historical heroine of the bahujans (i.e. masses).
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After the death of her mother when she was very young, her father raised her like a boy. She was trained in horse-riding and using weapons. Consistent with the social conditions of those days, she could not have a formal education, but soon became well-trained as a warrior. She garnered notoriety in her region when she killed a leopard in the forest with a stick she used to herd cattle.
Jhalkaribai bore an uncanny resemblance to Rani (queen) Laxmibai. She married an artilleryman, Puran Singh, from the artillery unit of Rani Laxmibai. Jhalkaribai was introduced to the queen by Puran Singh. She joined women's army, headed by Rani Laxmibai. After joining the army, she gained further expertise in all aspects of warfareDuring the Rebellion of 1857, General Hugh Rose stormed Jhansi with a large army on April 3, 1858. The queen was not in position to face such a big army and as planned with the rebels she has to join them at Kalpi. Jhalkaribai made a suggestion to the queen that she would go on the front in disguise as the queen and the queen should escape out of the fort On the night of April 4, the queen escaped from the fort and left for Kalpi. At the same time, Jhalkaribai set out for General Rose's camp in disguise as the queen and declared herself to be the queen Laxmibai. This led to a confusion that continued for a week and she was released only after it was revealed that she was not the queen but a common soldier.
Very little, if any, information is available about later days of Jhalkaribai. Some sources state that she was killed during the battle of Jhansi; others state that she was released by General Rose and thereafter lived until 1890. She was Laxmibai's most favourite soldier & warrior.
Very few references are found about Jhalkaribai in the contemporary records. The diary of General Hugh Rose, who was the general of the company army, and commissioner's gazetteer has no mention of Jhalkaribai. However, Vishnubhat Godse, a contemporary Marathi traveller who travelled in North India during the rebellion and was the court priest of Jhansi during this period mentioned her in his travelogue, though he mentioned her as a maid. One could find no references of Jhalkaribai or her bravery in early historiography. In pre-independence India, British historiographers like Kaye and Malleson or Thompson and Garratt made no mention of Jhalkaribai. Even the Indian authors ignored her feat. Savarkar neglected her in his The Indian War of Independence and Nehru did not mention her in his Discovery of India.[12] Majumdar, Raychaudhuri, and Datta did not specify the deed of Jhalkaribai though they noted that the queen Laxmibai escaped out of the Jhansi fort on the night of April 4, 1858 and left for Kalpi as Sir Hugh Rose "stormed" in Jhansi on April 3.The name of Jhalkaribai appeared in the printed history after the Independence of India in 1947. First reference of her story in this period is found in a novel Jhansi ki Rani written in 1951 by B.L. Varma, who created a subplot in his novel about Jhalkaribai for which he interviewed Jhalkaribai's grandson. He addressed Jhalkaribai as Korin and an ordinary soldier in Laxmibai's army. Another novel where we can find mention of Jhalkaribai was written in the same year by Ram Chandra Heran in his Bundeli novel Maati. Heran depicted her as "chivalrous and a valiant martyr The first biography of Jhalkaribai was written in 1964 by Bhawani Shankar Visharad, a Dalit intellectual, with the help of Varma's novel and his research from the oral narratives of the lower caste people living in the vicinity of Jhansi.
As a result of Bahujan Samaj Party's policy of social mobilization, several booklets, dramas, and songs have been composed by Dalit activists, politicians, and writers narrating the story of Jhalkaribai. Efforts have been made to rewrite the history and place Jhalkaribai at an equal footing of Laxmibai. Since the 1990s, the story of Jhalkaribai has acquired a political dimension and her image is being reconstructed with the demands of social situation.
The image of Jhalkaribai has risen to a significant place in North India in the recent years. The socio-political importance of the story of Jhalkaribai to create social awareness and a sense of pride in the Dalits has been successfully recognized and used by political parties like Bahujan Samaj Party. The death anniversary of Jhalkaribai is celebrated as Shahid Diwas (Martyr Day) by various Dalit organizations every year.
The story of Jhalkaribai is utilized not only by the Dalits. The movement to create a separate Bundelkhand state has also use the legend of Jhalkaribai to create the Bundeli identity The Government of India's Post and Telegraph department has also issued a postal stamp depicting Jhalkaribai. . The name of the lady Jhalkar bai is more being glorified to propagate self interests and caste based partisan politics in modern India thereby dividing the society further and deeper. She definitely needs to be recognized for her bravery and contribution free of any caste factor.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
SANGOLI RAYANNA THE ARMY CHIEF OF KITTUR.. BRAVE SON OF KARNATAKA AND INDIA
SANGOLI RAYANNA THE ARMY CHIEF OF KITTUR....... BRAVE SON OF
KARNATAKA AND INDIA
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
Sangolli Rayanna (15 August 1798 – 26 January 1831) has gone down the annals of Indian history as a very brave warrior who fought the East India Company with great determination till his death. Rayanna was born on 15th Aug 1798. He was the army chief of the Kingdom of Kittur ruled at the time by Rani Chennamma and fought the British East India Company till his death. Rayanna belonged to Kuruba caste.
The East India Company promulgated that the kingdoms without a recognized successor would be annexed. Kittur was being ruled by Shivalinga Raja and Rani Chennamma was his valiant queen. They had a son but he died young.Shivalinga Raja also died soon without any further issue. Therefore the royalty adopted a boy and this was not accepted by the company and demanded that the kingdom be handed over to them. However When the British wanted to annex the kingdom to their empire in 1824, the queen of Kittur, Rani Chennamma, refused to secede her kingdom. Chennamma fought the British bitterly and defeated them - causing huge damage - and killed Collector Thackeray of Dhrawar who led the attack. Two British officers were also taken as prisoners. The British renewed their attack with further reinforcements and cannons and annexed the kingdom of Chennamma in 1824. The British arrested Rani Chennamma and Veeramma and imprisoned them at Bylahongal fort, where Chennamma died in 1829.
Sangolli Rayanna also participated in the 1824 Kittur war and was arrested by the British, who released him later. He continued to fight the British and wanted to install adopted son Shivalingappa as the ruler of Kittur. He mobilised local people and started a guerilla type war against the British He and his "army" moved from place to place, burnt government offices, waylaid British troops and plundered treasuries Most of his land was confiscated and what remained of it was heavily taxed. He taxed the landlords and built up an army from the masses. Rayanna is considered by many historians to be the pioneer of guerilla warfare in India much before Tantya Tope of 1857 war. The British troops could not defeat him in open battle. Hence, by treachery, he was caught in April 1830 and tried by the British; and sentenced to death. Shivalingappa, the boy who was supposed to be the new ruler, was also arrested by the British. Rayanna was executed by hanging to death from a Banyan tree about 4 kilometers from Nandagad in Belgaum district on 26th Jan 1831. It is an irony that we celebrate Republic Day on the same day . He was helped by Gajaveera a Siddi warrior in his rebellion. Ryanna's mortal remains were buried near Nandagad. Legend says that a close associate of Rayanna planted a Banyan sapling on his grave. Unlike the usual 6 foot grave, Rayanna's grave is 8 feet long because Rayanna was tall - more than 7 feet. The tree is fully grown and stands to this day. An Ashoka Stambha was installed near the tree. A small temple in the name of Sangolli Rayanna was constructed at Sangolli village, in which stands a statue of Rayanna flanked by two wooden weights used for body building. One of the wooden weights is original, i.e., it was used by Rayanna himself for body building. A community hall, built in commemoration of Rayanna at Sangolli serves the villagers of Sangolli .
It is a fact that Indian history books are silent on the valiant deeds and contributions of Rayanna and Kittur war as whole and are side lined. Infact contributions of South Indian heroes in Indian history and freedom movement goes unnoticed by historians. Contributiosn of Velu thambi of Travancore Cochin, Veerapandya Katta Bomman of tamil nadu are not known to most of the Indians. How shameful it is!
Friday, June 7, 2013
INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...293
INTO THE PAST WITH
PAIN…293
Dr K
Prabhakar Rao
(Gandhi, Patel and Nehru are seen wandering on the secretariat road in Hyderabad. They
appear relaxed and dressed in their
usual attire. )
Gandhi. Patel. It is long since we came to this city. Last
time we were here, there was great turmoil in the city. We now see more police
men than people on streets. This looks like Police state.
Patel. True Bapu, It was the time when Telangana agitation was
active.
Gandhi. Now all is quiet. Is the movement for separate state
dead?
Patel. No Bapu. It is not dead. It is still there. Only
thing is that all are tired of it including the leaders.
Gandhi. I see that
these leaders are not serious about achieving the state. Otherwise, it will not
be like this. Has any one gone on fast up too death? Has any leader
died for the cause?
Patel. None Bapu. Of course Prof Jay Shankar the architect
of the movement passed away due to natural causes. All leaders are scared. They
want power in the new state. Only thing is that they threaten often that
will go on fast. In past they did this
Tamasha only to break it soon saying
that it is better to live to achieve than dying.
Gandhi. Haa..haa.. hoo..hoo..hee..hee
Patel. Bapu. The leaders in this state are very selfish.
Every one wants power. The ministers and MLA from ruling party in the state
from Telangana region boast that they are spearheading the cause for separate
state. If they are so committed , what prevents them from resigning from the
party and show their support to cause. They want to ride two horses at the same
time. They want perks, power, position as ministers and MLA and also want power
when new state arrives.. Haa..haa..haa What a joke. Not one, all are like this.
Shall I shout their names?
Gandhi. No . No Not required. These guys are like Garden lizards. They can
change colors every second. Leave them to their fate. History will not spare
them. They will go down as traitors.
Patel. Bapu. Recently some MP from ruling party left
Congress party. The high command said they are least bothered and that these
guys were of no consequence. The guys who resigned changed stance and are
still sticking to party fearing CBI that
can be let loose on them.The guys who left are spent cartridges.
Gandhi. Are things so bad now?
Patel. True. I do not
know what is going to happen to Telangana.
Gandhi. What did
Azad say now? He keeps saying something or other.
Patel. Is it Chadrasekhar Azad?
Gandhi. Come on Patel. He died long ago in Alfred park in Kanpur by shooting himself
with a pistol when he was surrounded by British Police men. I am saying about
Ghulam Nabi Azad, the guy who keeps giving statements on Telangana now and then
contradicting his own statements.
Patel. He said more discussions are required for deciding.
Gandhi. How many more discussions are required. Earlier
Krishan committee was there. They played flute and spent crores of rupees. They
wasted every ones time aprt from wasting their own time and making Tamasha of
themselves.They have been discussing.. and discussing without any outcome.
Ha..haa.haa.
Patel. Ho..ho..ho..ho.. hee..hee
Nehru. Why you guys are laughing like this?
Gandhi. Why we should not laugh? This is a correct situation
for laughing. Take it easy boy. Relax at times.
Patel. Bapu I shall tell a joke that is appropriate. When
Panditji was in office, once he was giving a talk in reply to a question in
parliament. He said, I deliverd .. I
delivered.. I delivered.. He was struggling for some words. One senior
opposition leader shouted, “But gave birth to none” All
broke into laughter. Now also
these central leaders and high command are trying to deliver some judgment. But they failed to produce any thing. Ha..haa..haa
Gandhi. Heee..hee..hooo.hooo.
Nehru. I am going
Bapu. I can not stand this talk.
Gandhi. Come on Jawahar, Relax and learn to be sportive.
Learn to enjoy humour.
Patel. These central guys are going to drag on the issue
till the elections. If they do not give new state , Congress goose would be cooked in the region. They will not
win single seat in Telangana. Poor Naidu of TDP ( Telugu Desam party) is hoping
to win. He would be in deep trouble as he has not supported the cause. The
state party is in minority and is surviving wit the help of TDP. Otherwise it will collapse.
No one wants to loose posts now. None is
serious about the new state. What we
require are the sacrifices by the leaders. It is only youth who are dying by hanging, drinking poison, and by self immolation. No leader has
committed such act. When the state comes through, the dead youth would vanish
into history while the leaders will run for posts and power. How bad!
Gandhi. How sad! When we struggled for freedom leaders were selfless. They left studies,
professions and families and sacrificed lucrative careers. Both of you left
your law practice and helped me.
Patel. But as
freedom came close and close many
developed self interests. Is it not a
fact Bapu?
Gandhi. I can not answer this. I was not selfish. If I was selfish I would have
become President of the country.My children would have been ministers. I would
have established dynastic rule.
Patel. But you helped Jawaharlal to become PM although I had
mandate.
Gandhi. Why discuss
the old one? There is no point in digging skeletons. We already had plenty of minorities. We
wanted a more acceptable candidate for PMs post. Your hard views on minorities are well known.
Patel. I have only one theory. I do not do dual talk. I do
not have split tongue.
Nehru. Look Bapu. He is aiming at me. Am I a snake?
Gandhi. This is never ending argument. I am helpless. (
sings)
I am a poor half naked guy
I do not know how and why
You guys are always at blows
Light in your skulls will never glow
( He picks up a stone and hammers his own head violently)
( Nehru rushes to Bapu and pulls out the stone and throws it
away. Sadly the stone hits a passer by in his face. He screams and collapses.
People gather around him. Some men rush to
the trio and catch Nehru. They are Sher singh and Bhoot nath)
Bhoot nath. You guy! Why you hit him with stone?
Nehru. Did I? I only threw the stone
Sher singh. But it hit a person in the face. He fainted.
Gandhi. Sorry
brother. He did not mean to hit him. It is a sad incident. I apologize for that
Bhoot nath. Your apology does not make him OK.
Gandhi. Then what should I
do. If you want hit me withy
stone. You are free to do it.
Bhootnath. We are not that cruel.
( In the mean time the guy who fell down gets up and comes to them. He is Phirki ram .
Nehru. Bhai sahib. Are you fine. I never meant to hit you.
It was an accident.
Phirki ram. Relax. I am fine. Such things happen at times. You may please
go.
( The trio walks away and sit on a road side bench)
Bhootnath. Bhai . What you have done? You lost a golden
chance. You could have made some money from them. We would have sided you.
Phirkiram. Look brother. They appear to be very poor and
old. What they can give to us? Let us go ( He walks away)
Bhootnath. Idiot guy he is. He does not know how to live. We also lost golden chance. Let
us go
( They also walk away)
( The trio sitting on
the bench are serious )
Patel. Bapu. Forget this now. We were discussing Telangana
Gandhi. I am sure nothing will come now. People have been
fooled as usual. It happened in 1956 and then in 1969. Now also same thing is
happening.
Patel. Better we watch things. We can not do any thing
Gandhi. Let us go. As it is,
the place is not good. Everywhere police guys keep checking after the
Jharkhand incident. All are shit scared particularly ruling party guys.
Patel. True. God bless them. Luckily there was no Salwa
judum in this state.
Previous DGP in AP state Mr Sen was
successful in curbing Maoists in the state
Gandhi. It is also learnt that center does not want to give Telangana because this
may also become another Jharkhand.
Patel. What can we do Bapu? It is their luck
(In distance a philosophical song is heard in deep voice)
Ye jag hai pardes bande
Ye jag hai pardes.
Jana hai jeeke dekh Bande
Ye jag hai pardes
Jhooti hai is jag ki
maya
Tera kaya badal chaya
Kaal lutera loote
umariya..2
Har shabdon ka bedh
Bande Ye jag hai pardes… (Immortal Surendranathji from Maya
Machhindra 1951)
(The trio walks off slowly )
CURTAIN FALLS
PAINTINGS OF DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
Sunday, June 2, 2013
PAINTINGS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
PAINTINGS BY DR K PRABHAKAR RAO
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