INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN...316

                                          INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN…316

                                                      Dr K Prabhakar Rao

                    It is the  gun park in Hyderabad and  many students have collected at the park. Many    of them    are carrying placards. Some are shouting Down down.. KCR… Suresh, Ramesh, Asadullah, Naveen, Rithika, Venkanna, Yadaiah,  Ellanna, Veeranna, Iliah , maisanna, Rani, Kareem    are some of the  vocal students. Gandhi, Patel and Nehru are also seen at the park sitting near the fence.

Gandhi. Patel. What is  happening here? Looks like some agitation.

Patel. Yes Bapu. The students are protesting  as fees have not been paid by govt yet

Nehru. Managements of the colleges are forcing students to pay and students claim that they are being harassed.

Gandhi.  What happened to this nation? Have  I  brought freedom to see this day?

Patel. Bapu, Why do you  repeatedly say that you brought freedom? No one feels so today.

Nehru. Then who brought it.

Patel.  No body brings it. Some one gives it. The Englishmen gave it as good riddance.

Gandhi ( sobs) What a change! Then why I should be called Mahatma.

Patel. It is up to you. These titles have no meaning. Very great emperors with many titles vanished into  oblivion. No one remembers him. Lenin was  worshipped for many years. Where is he now?  Victoria was the empress of India. Her statue was removed and thrown in dust bin after independence. Do you  find any of your statue now ?  If atall it is there it will be in filthy state.

Gandhi. True. ( sings)

Ab kaun hai mera…. ab kaun hai mera

Faryad hai.

Faryad hai Takdeerne

Loota hai basera.  Ab kaun hai mera

Barbad hai dil ujada hua ashawonka mela

Hu jag mein akela

Ujdee hui ….Ujdee hui bastee mein hai

Har owr  Andhera..aaaa 

Ab kaun hai mera…………………………..( Immortal Surendranathji.. Anmol Ghadi.. 1946)

Patel.  Bapu, Do not be so dejected. This is part of game.

Gandhi, Patel, Call some of the students here. I want to talk to them.

Patel. Sure. By all means

( Patel goes to the crowd and requests some students to meet Gandhi.  The students agree and go with Patel)

Gandhi. My dear friends. Good morning to you. I am happy to see you.

Veeranna. Good morning sir. You look exactly like Bapuji. Who are you sir? Are you his younger brother?

Gandhi. I am real Gandhi. I have no brother looking like me.

Rani. But Bapu died long ago. He was killed by Godse. I read in a book. How can you be real Gandhi still alive and talking?

Patel. He is real Gandhi. I am real Patel. The other guy is real Nehru. We came from heavens.

Asadullah. Should we believe this? Till now no one  returned after death,

Rani. Christians believe that Jesus returned after death  having been crucified.

Patel. We should not get into these discussions.

Gandhi. Fiends, why are you agitating.?

Naveen. Sir, We are suffering as govt has not released fees. Managements are forcing us to pay from our pockets

Rani. How can we pay?

Asadullah. Sir, Recently a student committed suicide as management was  harassing him to pay.

Pate;. Oh No. This is bad

Nehru. This is not on. Is there a govt or nothing  is there.

Naveen, Recently the  big state was broken into two. Telangana is formed. So many spokes are being inserted by the govt now. Is it our fault?

Gandhi. No. It is  our fault. We brought freedom to this nation.

Patel. Churchill declared long ago that nation will be handed over to crooks.

Nehru. Patel. Why do you tell youngsters all these things?

Gandhi. They should know. Poor guys are ignorant of past. Our history books at school level do bhajan of Nehru family.

Nehru. Bapu, this is not fair

Gandhi. I tell facts. Why everything is named after members of your family?

Rani. Sir, please stop fighting among yourselves. I thought you will advise us.

Gandhi.  What you are doing is correct. You must agitate. You must paralyze govt. Do not attend classes.

Patel. These ministers are enjoying the perks and office.  They do not feel pain and  pinch.

Gandhi. I learnt that fees reimbursement has ruined professional education in the state.

Patel. When country has been ruined, this is included.

Naveen. Sir What is your message?

Gandhi. Agitate. Boycott classes, Bring machinery to halt. Agitation is your birth right. Fight for justice. Govt is not at fault by opening  many colleges.  In fact colleges do not maintain standards. They have no proper faculty, No proper labs and equipment. Then what happens? If shit is poured in a machine only shit will come out. This is also like that. If the students are not serious and study why blame govt? Every guy going on road joins  engg courses whether he has flair or not. The guy who can not add  2 and 2also joins. Then what you can expect?The guys getting zero in  examination for entrance is also given rank.Haa..haaa.. That is engineering. Medicine is still worst.

Naveen.I agree sir. But managements are also to be blamed.

Patel. But you guys must study well. How many of you really satisfy attendance requirements? Any how it is up to you. Please do not give up. Fight till you get fees.

Naveen.. Yo..yo..yo.. We are blessed

Asadullah. Yaeah.  Strikes mean no classes.  Exams will be postponed. Valuation also will be easy. Yeah..Yeah…

Yadiah.. Yeah.. Maza  wastadira bahi. ( we shall enjoy)

Ramesh. OK Sir Thanks for advise.

( In the mean time truck load of police men arrive with Lathis at thepark. They immediately start hammering the students with lathis.)

Inspector. Kick them, beat them black and blue. These guys have no other work. Kick them more.

( Within 10 minutes the place becomes  a battle ground. Students respond by pelting stones and brickbats. May students are badly injured. Most of them are dragged by police men into the vans. The park is cleared and all students are dispersed and they run away. Many are taken away in vans.)

Gandhi.  The outcome is not good. But these are inevitable. All agitations lead to some violence. Every govt wants to suppress voice of dissent. This is very common. Struggle goes on. Patel, Didn’t we receive many police lathi blows?

Patel . True. Nothing comes without sacrifice.

Nehru. Bapu, Let us go. The police might feel that we instigated the crowd. They will arrest us,

                           ( the trio vanishes)

                                        CURTAIN FALLS