INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN....129

                                                  
PART I

 

 

                                          Dr K Prabhakar Rao

 

(Gandhi, Nehru and Patel are seen sitting in a room enjoying
a cup of tea. The tea is very hot and Gandhi pours tea I saucer ad is seen blowing
air on to tea to cool it and  sips
slowly.)

 

Nehru. Bapu. Pouring in saucer is not the correct way.

 

Patel. Then what for saucer is provided?

 

Nehru. It is to collect any spill over.

 

Gandhi. Jawaharlal. Is pouring in saucer and drinking from
it considered impolite?

 

Nehru. I did not say that. But it looks odd no doubt.

 

Patel. Look Jawahar. Bapu 
has also graduated from England.
You are not the only guy to study in England. He knows what is he doing
very well..

 

Gandhi. It is over. I drank all tea. ( He lifts his hands
and yawns loudly) Yeah….Yeah..ooo….ooo..aa….aaah

 

Patel. What next Bapu? You appears to be very energetic than
ever.

 

Gandhi. Sure. I am itching to lead salt Satyagraha again at Dandy.

 

Patel Heee…Heeee

 

Nehru. What is there to laugh?

 

Patel. Nothing special. I am only laughing at Bapu’s new
plans.

 

Gandhi. Bhai. Now let us go for a long walk.

 

Patel. That is fine.

 

( All of them  step
out and  start walking on the street.
Slowly they enter a posh area in heavens where streets are wide with mansions.
It is named kings enclave)

 

Gandhi. It looks we have entered a posh area.

 

Patel. Yes Bapu. Here all kings and emperors who  ruled in India and deserved heavens live.

 

Gandhi. That is good. It is a posh area.

 

Patel. This is something like MLA colony in Hyderabad. Near Jubilee hills. All the top
guys although engaged in corruption, mischief, politicking, Hera feri (
mischief),    getting involved in scams and land grabbing
stay there. There may be some good guys. But they would be very few.

 

Gandhi. I see, good guys are always there. That is why  the world is going on.

 

(Gandhi finds a sheet of news paper on the road side and
picks it up. He reads the head lines)

 

Gandhi. Ohfo! What a tragedy!

 

Pate. Bapu, what is it?

 

Gandhi.  It is printed
that at Tirumala shrine, the jewels presented by the erstwhile Emperor Sri
Krishna deva Raya to Balaji are missing. 
Some say they were melted long ago and converted to gold.

 

Nehru. Could it be true? Some one must be trying to fan trouble.

 

Patel. It could be very well true. Any thing is possible in India. The guys
in every department are corrupt, crazy, 
and outright shady. This is not the time for good people to survive in India.

 

Gandhi. Patel. You appear to be highly biased.

 

Patel. Bapu, you are mistaken. I am straight forward and
down to earth. I am not that type of guy who earns bread by flattery.

 

Gandhi. Ok, Ok, Relax. But this is something not acceptable.
I think we must go to Tirumala and  know
what exactly happened.

 

(  The trio sees a
very well dressed person  riding a horse
and approaching them. The  rider
approaches them, halts and gets down. He is dressed in full royal attire with a
jeweled sword at his waist. )

 

Rider. Look gentlemen. I am Sri Krishna deva Raya, the
former emperor of Vijayanagar in south India. Who are you? Why are you
walking on this road? This is a VIP enclave.

                                    

Gandhi. Namste sir. I am 
MK Gandhi known as father of Indian nation. These guys are Nehru and
Patel my associates.

 

Raya.  Strange. Did
you give birth to India?
Then where we all lived in our days? You know, we lived and struggled in India.

 

Patel. True sir. Great changes have taken place in India
after you left this world. Sir ,  do you
know 500 years  have passed since you
left India.
Bahmani sultans have vanished. Your empire too vanished. Maraths grew and
vanished. Mughals have disappeared. Englishmen occupied India, ruled and they also left not
before wrecking the country.

 

Raya I know that. ( He looks 
at the news paper in Gandhi’s hands)

 

Raya. What is it in your hands?

 

Patel. This is called news paper. Important happenings in
the world are printed here every day.

 

Gandhi. The latest news is that  the jewels presented by you to Lord Balaji in
Tirumala have vanished and no one knows where they have gone

 

Raya. Oh! No. How can it happen?  Have Bahmani attacked Tirumala?

 

Gandhi. No sir. Bahmani disappeared long ago.

 

Patel. Bahmanis have disappeared. But their descendents are
still there around.

 

Raya. This is not acceptable. I must go and  check at Tirumala.

 

Gandhi. In fact we were planning to go there.

 

Raya. Let us go there.

 

Patel. Raya sir , oh, 
the mighty one. Please change your dress and accompany us. That would be
better.

 

Raya. That is very good idea. In fact during my time, I used
to around like that.

 

(The trio and Raya arrive at Tirumala. Raya is dressed as a
common man with turban. But still he has royal glow on his face and looks
imposing in the company of the trio who look shriveled, sick and tired and
weak.)

 

 

 

CONTINUED

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