INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN…113

 

                                       Dr K
Prabhakar Rao

 

 

 

(Gandhi, Indira, Rajiv
and Nehru are seen entering the Ramlila ground in Delhi to attend a public function.  There is lot of rush and commotion and plenty
of police men are present controlling the crowd. Police men come across Gandhi
and his friends trying to enter the ground)

 

Police man. Hey old man.
Who are you? What are you trying to do?

 

Gandhi, we came to
attend the function.

 

Police man. (looking
at Nehru) Hey Topidas (wearer of cap) Do you have a pass?

 

Nehru. Which pass,
Is it bus pass?. We do not have any pass. Just now there was an announcement
that every one is invited for the function and there is no ticket or pass. Why
are you stopping us? What right you have? Please let us go in.

 

Police man, who told
you that no pass is required? If you guys have to be allowed inside pay Rs 10
each of you.

 

Nehru. Bapu. See.
Again, corruption is here also.

 

Indira. Why say this
again and again dad? Corruption is a world activity. We have to live with this.

 

( A transistor
carried  by a guy in crowd plays a song
loudly)

 

Ye duniya me  hai  sab
chor chor

Koi andaa chor aur
koyee murgee chor

Ye duniya me  hai sab chor chor

 

Gandhi. How nicely
worded by the poet!   Jawaharlal! Who is the singer? Any idea?

 

Nehru. Bapu. I have
better things to do than remembering these funny songs.

 

Gandhi. Why are you
getting worked up.?

 

Nehru. Sorry Bapu.

 

Indira. Bapu. We
worked for so many years here. Now no one cares for us…eeee..

 

Nehru. That is our
fate.

(In the distance
great actor singer KL Saigal is heard singing)

 

Dukh ke. Dukh Ke

Ab dinabeethat naahi

Dukh ke. Dukh ke

Naa mai kisee kaa

Naa koye mera..
aai,,,aii  ( from film dev das 1935)

 

(Gandhi wipes tears)

 

Police man.  Enough of crying by you guys. Now get lost and
behave.

 

(In the mean time
many cars pass that way and police men are busy in controlling them and Gandhi
and the other guys try to get into the crowd and enter the ground. Once they
are in they rush go to the front. On the dais are seen sitting PV Narsimha Rao
the PM, Shankar Dayal Sharma the president 
a Swami in red robes with lot of flowing  hair around his head. PV suddenly sees Gandhi
and Nehru. He gets up and runs down the platform and falls at the feet of Gandhi
and Nehru and Indira and  Rajiv one by one)

 

PV. Bapu. Mere Bapu,
Oh Bapu, How are you? Punditji Amma Indira, Rajiv sahib. How are you? How lucky
I am! All my sins have been washed off by your presence. What a great day for me!
No other day can be greater than this. How lucky I am! Who can be more luckier
than me?.

 

Gandhi. Easy. Take
it easy my dear PV. I am impressed with your loyalty. In fact you are like a Hanuman
and I am like Ram. I am impressed with you. Ask me some boons.

 

PV . Bapu I will ask
them at a proper moment.

 

Gandhi That is very
nice. You are very humble., 

 

 ( Shankar Dayal Sharma the President  sitting on dais sees all these things and
gets excited. He tries to get up from the chair. But he is trapped tight in it.
He shouts)

 

Sharma. Ho. Bacho.
Who is there? Pull me out from this chair.

 

 ( He tries to  
get out of the chair  and tumbles
down. He he shouts)

 

Sharma. Koun Hai re.
Bacho. Mujhe Uthao.Girgaya hoon. ( who is there. Lift me  and save me)

 

(Security  guys arrive and  pull up Sharma and in the melee his leg gets
pulled. Sharma shrieks loudly. TV crew covers the incident and all the time
security guys are more worried to ensure that they are shown on TV)

 

Sharma. Haye..
Margaya re.. Kya Kardiya tum logone..Mera 
 taang Thod diya naa.. hayee.
Guards  Where are you?  ( I have died. What you have done? My leg is
broken)

 

(He tries to get up
and falls , Does two front rolls. Security guys run to him and lift him up.
Sharma is seen gasping. He is about to beat the security guys)

 

Indira. What a sad
state of affairs here! Why have such guys who are not physically fit?

 

Gandhi. Poor guy.
Why blame him. Every one has ambition to become some thing. Sharma is no
ordinary man. He is an intellectual.

 

Indira. But he
should be able to walk atlesat.

 

Nehru.  Why? President can be an old man. He may be
bed ridden. He must be acceptable to ruling party and should not be a trouble
maker. He has to put his stamp wherever is required without much trouble. Once
in a while he may ask some questions. But every one knows that finally he would
sign the papers Asking questions and returning papers is a pure show and
tamasha.. heee…heee.  Even if President
can not walk it is ok. He should sign papers quickly and in good humour. Haa..haaa…haaa

 

Gandhi. Well said
the truth. Indira, in fact the Presidents made during your rule use to run for
by pass surgeries.  They were not
physically fit.

 

Sharma. Bapu. Mujhe
maaf karo. I can not get up. This is 
such a position that I can not refuse. After all I also have ambitions.
Don’t you know Mohammed ali Jinnah suffered from TB and he hid it. Finally he
died with it.

 

Nehru. Sharma sahib
. Why dig graves now?

 

PV. Bapu. Please be
relaxed and make yourself very comfortable. You may occupy the front row sofas
meant for VVIP. I  can not call you to
dais, There is no place. You are already dead any how.

 

Gandhi. Never mind
we shall sit down here.

 

They settle down in
VVIP seats while PM and Shankar dayal sharma go to dais and the function  begins. PM gets up from chair and goes to
podium)

 

 

CONTINUED

 

---------------- Note: Content of this blog post is writer's personal opinion and may not be SanghParivar.org or Sangh's view.