INTO THE PAST WITH PAINS.. 348

 

                                             INTO THE PAST WITH PAIN.. 348

                                                        Dr K Prabhakar Rao

 

Gandhi and Patel and Nehru  are seen at  a bus depot at Hyderabad trying to catch a district bus. They want to go to the reservation counter They  stop a person for seeking guidance.

Gandhi. Oh Bhai. Where is the reservation counter?

Passenger.  My name is not bhai. I am  firki  ram

Gandhi. I want to go to ticket reservation counter

Firki.. Which ticket. Train ticket or bus ticket

Nehru. Oh bahia. If we are in bus depot obviously we want to go to Bus ticket counter,

Firki. Oh  go straight, turn left after twenty paces,  walk eight paced turn left again. You will get   stair  case, climb over it to first floor. You ask there. Someone will tell you

Patel. What nonsense this is.

Gandhi  .what we can do?

The trio goes  to first floor as directed and see a notice board. Patel goes to it and reads..   THE RESERVATION TICKET COUNTER HAS BEEN SHIFTED TO THE CELLAR IN GROUND FLOOR NEAR THE ENTRANCE TOWARDS  main road SIDE

Patel. Eee. Shit guys We have to go down and again search.

Gandhi. There is no other go. Let us go.

The trio slowly drag their feet and get down to ground floor and  slowly walk towards the  other side entrance. Gandhi suddenly steps on a banana peel and slips

Gandhi. Oh..Oh.. Mar gaya.. I am dead.. save me

Before patel catches him Gandhi slips  by ten feet falling head long. His stick is thrown off

Gandhi.. eee   oh.. oh   save me  I am dead

Patel and Nehru help Gandhi to stand. Gandhi gets bruses on his knees

Nehru. Bapu did you not see the peel. Bapu be careful. We are in Hyderabad the number one  chaotic city of India.  Be careful. Some pawn chewing guy from Ist floor can spit on you all over the body.

Gandhi. Chee,,chee, Do not wish like that. He may even spit on you. Why me only? You should be more concerned as you are putting white sherwani and white cap. I am half naked fakir.

(They try to seek the cellar and finally trace it and dark tunnel type entrance it has. At the entrance three street dogs are sitting watching the trio suspiciously)

Patel,. Bapu do not go near them. They appear to be unhappy

Gandhi. OK OK .

 They avoid the dogs and enter the cellar where lights are dim. There are some people at the window crowded with no queue. Patel goes to counter at finds none there.

Patel. Bapu. There is none at the counter.

A passenger.   Brother,  he has gone to have tea. The tea stall is outside the compound in the street

Patel. Oh no . What types of guys are here? It is already 1100 hrs. We have spent more than hour searching the place.

(The counter clerk arrives after half an hour and lazily opens the counter door and enters the cabin and sits on his chair. He gets busy counting cash for ten minutes and then opens   the counter. Al the guys waiting crowd up at the )

Clerk. Please come in a line . Other wise I can not sell tickets.

(All people  form a line slowly and Patel  reaches the counter after half  an hour.  He takes three tickets to Surya pet. They slowly reach the bus bay where the bus going to Surya pet will arrive)

Note. In AP and telangana the bus stands are being called now as Bus bay like in America although there is no improvement  at the places and they are as bad as earlier.Indians are good at Aping west in names.The bus is already standing at the  bay and the trio slowly board. Gandhi while trying to get in slips but patel catches him in time. They get a three seater and settle down. After 15 minutes the  bus starts and proceeds to Surya pet.  Surya pet is a t distance of 110 km from Hyderabad on Vijaywada highy way. The driver is driving the bus at break neck speed.

 

Gandhi. Bhai Driver sahib please drive a bit slowly. I am scared

Driver. This is our usual speed.  I can not go slow. Otherwise  I will get  latemarks

Gandhi. Oh what type of guys are there at the steering.

Finally the bus reaches surya pet after two hours. They get down at court premices. And walk into compound

Patel. Bapu why you brought us here. I have no idea

Gandhi. To day a statue of  Galwan valley hero  Is  being unveiled here

Patel. Why the statue is installed her?. Why not in Hytderabad city?

Gandhi.The matyr Col Babu is from this place. The poor guy died fighting the Chinese PLA with clubs, sticks, stones, iron rods etc

Patel. Chee  chee, Why with sticks and stones? Don’t they have rifles? What they are doing at border without rifles.

Gandhi. They have rifles but they are not allowed to take them as per some silly  agreement.

Patel. Ridiculous indeed.  I heard we lost twenty persons including Col babu in the clash. Who has to be blamed?

Gandhi. Surely the top brass and  top politicians. The army guys  are facing enemy with hands tied. They have no orders to fire when enemy intrudes in. I said non violence is our motto. But not this type.  Poor soldiers died for none of their fault. Govt washes hands after a ceremonial  cremation and some  financial benefits to family.

Patel. But nothing will bring back the dead.

Nehru. Why this failure occurred. I heard we were caught with our pants down when PLA intruded.  We were busy in covid phase I and intelligence failed on all fronts.

Patel. very bad indeed

In the mean time, a state govt minister arrives with his chamchas and garlands the statue after removing the mask. All clap and shout jai hind, Col Bau amar  rahe

The ministers quickly vanish from the place after performing ritual and  the gathering also vanishes.

Patel. From tomorrow, life I will be as usual. No one will salute col Babu who looks grimly from pedestal. In a months   time, the statue will catch dust and babu does not look like babu. After one year some gay will paint it black  and no one will be able to read the plaque and know  whois standing on the pedestal.

Gandhi. True. Well said. These  statues have no meaning when you do not take care. I saw many of my statues standing on iron rods instead of legs. Concrete peeled off and no one is bothered.  The are is full of filth and pigs roll over there,

Patel. Bapu, through out India it is like that,

Gandhi.. How sad. Come on, let us go.  Now  we shall not go by bus. We vanish as usual.

 The trio walks out of gate and vanish singing Ramdhun

Statue of babu  appears  dejected

 

                                           CURTAIN FALLS