When I got a call from Mahatma Gandhi on Deewali
(written by Chandan Kumar)
This was the 100th time I was watching the climax scene of the bollywood movie Rang De Basanti. I felt a new dose of inspiration being infused in me every time I heard these dialogues from DJ, one of the main protagonists of the movie, who in the climax of the scene says-" there are only two ways to live life. One is to accept whatever is happening without complaining or cribbing about it. Or else take the onus on yourself to script that change.” It basically hammered home the point that one should abandon the 'culture of silence' we've been subscribing to since ages and be the change we want to see. We should show some courage to at least stand for our rights. One should not indulge in 'passing the buck' kind of habit when it comes to bring a change in the way our corrupt and wicked system works. With these thoughts, I was getting ready to go for my CAT coaching classes. We were just a day away from celebrating Deewali but still I had to go for my coaching class while my other friends were busy making plans for Deewali. “Aditya, try to come back home early after your classes. You’ve to help me clean your room”, my mother reminded me.
“I remember, Mummy.” , I said.
As I was about to leave, there was a knock at the door. I opened the door only to find a middle- aged man who introduced himself as the Passport Verification Officer. Actually my father had applied for a passport some time ago. And this gentleman had come to see the applicant in person. But father was out of town. We asked him to come after Deewali as father was scheduled to be back after Deewali. “No, problem. I’ll come again when the applicant comes.” said he. After a brief pause, he continued “Well, won’t I get my ‘karcha-paani’(bribe)?”.
“What kharcha-paani’(bribe)? We've paid the entire amount that we were asked to.So, why this extra demand for money?” I asked that fellow.
“Hmmm..........my dear......... as many as 4 people in your colony have shouldered this 'so-called' demand. You can ask them if you wish. They got their work done without any hassle. So, it's your choice, sir.”, said he making his intensions crystal clear-----pay the bribe or wait for ages to get the passport verified!
"No, no. We don't have any problem. He is young. He doesn't know these 'procedures'. Come next week.", said my mother to the officer pushing me aside. Once the officer left, we were joined by Sinha aunty who too had to give in to the unjustified demand made by this corrupt officer.
“Aditya, you don't know these people. If you don't pay heed to their demands, they can make life very diffcult for you. We are common people. They can bring 1000 types of obstacles in the way of getting your work done. So, why get into their bad books? It's just a matter of few hundred bucks. Give them that and get relieved of all tensions and hurdles.” advised Sinha aunty.
“But aunty, that's just not justified. It's a direct attack of corruption on us. We should raise our voice against that.", I suggested.
“Shut up! This is not your 'filmi'(movie) world. Be practical. Don't always live in a fantasy world. This is the way the world works. You'll do yourself a world of good if you accept this as soon as possible. You are no hero who is going to change the world.” confronted my mother.
I had no option but to withdraw myself from the argument. It was another one of the many occasions where I was forced to accept the 'culture of silence' and couldn't stand for justice, fairness or rights.....whatever you call it.
I left for my CAT coaching classes.
As I was returning home from my coaching, I happened to run into Manish-- my neighbour with whom I was never on good terms. Manish was a spoilt brat who never left any opportunity unused to pass unpleasant and abusive remarks on me. This time too, he uttered an abusive word for me as I brushed past him and entered my house. I have had enough! I thought of beating him black and blue then and there and settle all my scores with him once and for ever. May be he mistook my dignified silence for cowardness. I had decided what I had to do. This Deewali was going to be very fatal for Manish, I promised myself.
It was Deewali night that day. My family had gone to take part in the Deewali Puja organised in the community hall of my colony. But I stayed at home. Once they left, I went to the balcony of my house and placed a rocket bomb in the direction of Manish’s house. The windows of his room were left opened which made my task easier. I thought of abandoning my ‘Mission revenge’ for a split second but the anger and hatred for Manish refused to go. I had contacts with some goons through a friend of mine. So, I decided to take his help to bash up Manish in case he didn’t get hurt with the firecracker. I was about to lit up the rocket bomb when the landline phone started ringing.
“Hello, can I speak to Aditya?", the voice asked.
“Yes, this is Aditya speaking. Who's this?”, I said.
"Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi", he said.
"What? Mahatma Gandhi on Deewali! If it was 2nd October,15th August or 26th January, I might have believed you my so-called Baapu. But getting a call from Gandhiji on Deewali sounds a little out of place. So stop playing pranks with me and tell me seriously who are you?" ,I asked.
“That’s the saddest part that people remember the freedom fighters and all those who died for the cause of the country only on their birth and death anniversaries.Rest of the time, they are left in the cold. Just organising a function or event in their remembrance can’t be called a real homage to them. Trust me, I’m Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, my son."
I've had enough of this fellow. “Listen, I'm in no mood to entertain you.I'm already worried. So, spare me my dear Baapu!", I said angrily.
“worried over all the vices like corruption, crime prevailing in the society and Manish's disrespectful attitude towards you, isn’t it?", he asked.
The last question forced me to take this fellow seriously.
I-- “yes.......but......how do you know about all these things?"
Baapu--” you shouldn't get upset or angry with people like Manish who holds such an important place in your life."
I-- “Important and Manish? I don't give such cultureless people any importance."
Baapu- " Unimportant? Don't lie. If he means nothing to you, then why do you get upset at his remarks? If you are getting upset or reacting to his remarks, this means at some level you're acknowledging his importance and presence in your life so much so that he's able to disturb you peace of mind at his will. Am I right?"
Yes, Baapu was absolutely right! Getting affected by Manish's remarks meant I was giving him some importance. If he’s a nobody to me, then why lose my mental peace over his hurting remarks.
I-- “I got your point Baapu. But you tell me, whatever he's doing to me, is that right?"
Baapu- “Whatever he does, it's his culture. May be that's how he's been brought up and those are the values he's been taught. You have no control over that. Least you can do is to not to lose your dignity and lower yourself to his level."
I-- “ok, so what should I do?"
Baapu--" Nothing."
I--" Nothing? What do you mean by 'nothing' Baapu? Wouldn't my 'silence' would be interpreted as my weakness or cowardness?"
Baapu-- “son, reacting to him by taking the course of foul/dirty language or violence would not qualify as your bravery. That is the path only weak individuals take. If you could control your anger and hatred for him, that would be the real sign of your bravery."
I-- “I’m listening to you Baapu..............."
Baapu-- “Answering our enemies in the same coin would not help the cause as it would only increase hatred and ill feelings. If we keep behaving well with them, irrespective of their behaviour towards us, sooner or later they'll also start respecting us and their attitude towards us will gradually change. So, keeping silence is not always a sign of weakness."
I-- “I’m getting your point. But silence is not always golden, Baapu. We are too scared to call a spade a spade and stand for justice, our rights. We just watch corruption, crime, unethnicity making deep inroads into our socio-political system and do nothing to drive them away. We all just indulge in passing the buck when it comes to be a leader and fight for justice, equality, fairness and truth. We are forced to adopt a 'culture of silence'. What you have to say on this?"
Baapu--- “I can only say that that BE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE. THE BEST WAY TO CHANGE THE WORLD IS BY NOT BEING CHANGED BY IT."
I--" I'll keep all things in mind and try to imbibe these in my life Baapu. By the way, I forgot to wish you A Belated Happy Birth Anniversary. What gift can I give you?"
Baapu--" If you can be a good citizen, a good human being who would never leave the path of truth, who would spread love and peace all over and help in bridging the gap between humans who fight in name of cast,creed,religion, that would be the best gift for me. After all, that’s what festivals like Deewali teach us too. Ok, I've to go now. Try to follow the path I've shown you. "
I--- “I’ll try my level best to live upto your expectations Baapu and make this world a better place to live in. Thank you for mentoring me. Bye......Thank you again. We miss you Baapu. I’ll post this conversation on my blog and tell the whole world about it. By the way, how can I contact you again Baapu?”
P.S.= (The edited part begins here-----)
Baapu-“I’ll contact you on my own whenever you need me.” Said Baapu and hung up the phone.
Minutes later, the firecrackers meant to harm Manish were replaced with a bag of sweets and I headed for Manish’s house to wish him Happy Deewali and bridge all our differences.
The next day, I posted a blog titled “A telephonic conversation with Baapu” on my personal blog. Within minutes, 4 comments were made on this latest blog post------
1. Uhh! That’s cut paste from the movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai—posted by Rohit
2. have had enough of Gandhigiri and Munnabhai………Not again.....posted by Pooja
3. Can I have the phone number of Baapu, please????........lol……….. posted by Tannu Sharma
4. not bad but heavily inspired from the cult bollywood movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai……….have seen similar articles before………..—posted by Anurag
I was shattered, to say the least. I had expected to get some really nice comments but what I was reading was a far cry from what I was anticipating.
The phone started ringing. I hoped it was Baapu. I was right.
Baapu—“so you kept your word! I’m happy that you took the initiative to bridge your differences with that boy. And did you post our conversation on your blog?”
I (in a subdued voice)—“Yes.”
Baapu- “you sound so subdued. Any problem?”
I--- “Yes, Bappu. I got very discouraging reviews on my blog. I was accused of lifting the idea of the blog from the bollywood movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai(LRM) where only the chief protagonist Munnabhai sees and talks to Mahatma Gandhi and guide them to solve their problems by applying Mahatma Gandhi’s principles.”
Baapu---“I see.”
I—“Baapu, I don’t blame them either. The themes/story plots are too similar to miss or overlook.”
Baapu—“Have you seen the movie?”
I—“Of course, I have. I’ve seen it 10 times. It’s my all-time favourite.”
Baapu—“No, you haven’t seen the movie. You’ve just watched the movie.”
I-“I didn’t get you, Baapu.”
Baapu---“If you had really ‘seen’ the movie, you wouldn’t have lost your mental peace and entertained any violent thoughts over the remarks made at you by that fellow. If my information is correct, one of the scenes in the movie LRM, the actor playing BAAPU tells Munnabhai that answering our enemies in the same coin would not help the cause as it would only increase hatred and ill feelings. If we keep behaving well with them, irrespective of their behaviour towards us, sooner or later they'll also start respecting us and their attitude towards us will gradually change. So, keeping silence is not always a sign of weakness. Am I wrong?”
I—“You are absolutely right, Baapu. But the comments on my post………”
I was stopped midway through my sentence by Baapu.
Baapu-“What comments? With due respect to those people, let me tell you that let others decide what they’re more interested in--- finding similarities with x,y and Z or imbibing the messages put across through the movie LRM or for that matter, your post. More importantly, learn to take criticism in your stride. Turn the stones thrown at you into milestones.”
Baapu continued……….
“Take your case for instance. You watched the movie 10 times but you didn’t implement the lessons the movie intended to teach. And anyways, it doesn’t do the world any harm if good things are repeated. Whether it’s LRM or your blog post, both hammer home the message of brotherhood, non-violence and strive for a peaceful social environment. As long as it happens, it hardly matters if the same things are repeated again and again in different avatars or forms or where the inspiration is coming from”
I—“Thank you so much Baapu. I’ll see to it that I not only talk but DO what I say. Thank you once again.”
(A story by Chandan Kumar,Patna,Bihar)
(written by Chandan Kumar)
This was the 100th time I was watching the climax scene of the bollywood movie Rang De Basanti. I felt a new dose of inspiration being infused in me every time I heard these dialogues from DJ, one of the main protagonists of the movie, who in the climax of the scene says-" there are only two ways to live life. One is to accept whatever is happening without complaining or cribbing about it. Or else take the onus on yourself to script that change.” It basically hammered home the point that one should abandon the 'culture of silence' we've been subscribing to since ages and be the change we want to see. We should show some courage to at least stand for our rights. One should not indulge in 'passing the buck' kind of habit when it comes to bring a change in the way our corrupt and wicked system works. With these thoughts, I was getting ready to go for my CAT coaching classes. We were just a day away from celebrating Deewali but still I had to go for my coaching class while my other friends were busy making plans for Deewali. “Aditya, try to come back home early after your classes. You’ve to help me clean your room”, my mother reminded me.
“I remember, Mummy.” , I said.
As I was about to leave, there was a knock at the door. I opened the door only to find a middle- aged man who introduced himself as the Passport Verification Officer. Actually my father had applied for a passport some time ago. And this gentleman had come to see the applicant in person. But father was out of town. We asked him to come after Deewali as father was scheduled to be back after Deewali. “No, problem. I’ll come again when the applicant comes.” said he. After a brief pause, he continued “Well, won’t I get my ‘karcha-paani’(bribe)?”.
“What kharcha-paani’(bribe)? We've paid the entire amount that we were asked to.So, why this extra demand for money?” I asked that fellow.
“Hmmm..........my dear......... as many as 4 people in your colony have shouldered this 'so-called' demand. You can ask them if you wish. They got their work done without any hassle. So, it's your choice, sir.”, said he making his intensions crystal clear-----pay the bribe or wait for ages to get the passport verified!
"No, no. We don't have any problem. He is young. He doesn't know these 'procedures'. Come next week.", said my mother to the officer pushing me aside. Once the officer left, we were joined by Sinha aunty who too had to give in to the unjustified demand made by this corrupt officer.
“Aditya, you don't know these people. If you don't pay heed to their demands, they can make life very diffcult for you. We are common people. They can bring 1000 types of obstacles in the way of getting your work done. So, why get into their bad books? It's just a matter of few hundred bucks. Give them that and get relieved of all tensions and hurdles.” advised Sinha aunty.
“But aunty, that's just not justified. It's a direct attack of corruption on us. We should raise our voice against that.", I suggested.
“Shut up! This is not your 'filmi'(movie) world. Be practical. Don't always live in a fantasy world. This is the way the world works. You'll do yourself a world of good if you accept this as soon as possible. You are no hero who is going to change the world.” confronted my mother.
I had no option but to withdraw myself from the argument. It was another one of the many occasions where I was forced to accept the 'culture of silence' and couldn't stand for justice, fairness or rights.....whatever you call it.
I left for my CAT coaching classes.
As I was returning home from my coaching, I happened to run into Manish-- my neighbour with whom I was never on good terms. Manish was a spoilt brat who never left any opportunity unused to pass unpleasant and abusive remarks on me. This time too, he uttered an abusive word for me as I brushed past him and entered my house. I have had enough! I thought of beating him black and blue then and there and settle all my scores with him once and for ever. May be he mistook my dignified silence for cowardness. I had decided what I had to do. This Deewali was going to be very fatal for Manish, I promised myself.
It was Deewali night that day. My family had gone to take part in the Deewali Puja organised in the community hall of my colony. But I stayed at home. Once they left, I went to the balcony of my house and placed a rocket bomb in the direction of Manish’s house. The windows of his room were left opened which made my task easier. I thought of abandoning my ‘Mission revenge’ for a split second but the anger and hatred for Manish refused to go. I had contacts with some goons through a friend of mine. So, I decided to take his help to bash up Manish in case he didn’t get hurt with the firecracker. I was about to lit up the rocket bomb when the landline phone started ringing.
“Hello, can I speak to Aditya?", the voice asked.
“Yes, this is Aditya speaking. Who's this?”, I said.
"Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi", he said.
"What? Mahatma Gandhi on Deewali! If it was 2nd October,15th August or 26th January, I might have believed you my so-called Baapu. But getting a call from Gandhiji on Deewali sounds a little out of place. So stop playing pranks with me and tell me seriously who are you?" ,I asked.
“That’s the saddest part that people remember the freedom fighters and all those who died for the cause of the country only on their birth and death anniversaries.Rest of the time, they are left in the cold. Just organising a function or event in their remembrance can’t be called a real homage to them. Trust me, I’m Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, my son."
I've had enough of this fellow. “Listen, I'm in no mood to entertain you.I'm already worried. So, spare me my dear Baapu!", I said angrily.
“worried over all the vices like corruption, crime prevailing in the society and Manish's disrespectful attitude towards you, isn’t it?", he asked.
The last question forced me to take this fellow seriously.
I-- “yes.......but......how do you know about all these things?"
Baapu--” you shouldn't get upset or angry with people like Manish who holds such an important place in your life."
I-- “Important and Manish? I don't give such cultureless people any importance."
Baapu- " Unimportant? Don't lie. If he means nothing to you, then why do you get upset at his remarks? If you are getting upset or reacting to his remarks, this means at some level you're acknowledging his importance and presence in your life so much so that he's able to disturb you peace of mind at his will. Am I right?"
Yes, Baapu was absolutely right! Getting affected by Manish's remarks meant I was giving him some importance. If he’s a nobody to me, then why lose my mental peace over his hurting remarks.
I-- “I got your point Baapu. But you tell me, whatever he's doing to me, is that right?"
Baapu- “Whatever he does, it's his culture. May be that's how he's been brought up and those are the values he's been taught. You have no control over that. Least you can do is to not to lose your dignity and lower yourself to his level."
I-- “ok, so what should I do?"
Baapu--" Nothing."
I--" Nothing? What do you mean by 'nothing' Baapu? Wouldn't my 'silence' would be interpreted as my weakness or cowardness?"
Baapu-- “son, reacting to him by taking the course of foul/dirty language or violence would not qualify as your bravery. That is the path only weak individuals take. If you could control your anger and hatred for him, that would be the real sign of your bravery."
I-- “I’m listening to you Baapu..............."
Baapu-- “Answering our enemies in the same coin would not help the cause as it would only increase hatred and ill feelings. If we keep behaving well with them, irrespective of their behaviour towards us, sooner or later they'll also start respecting us and their attitude towards us will gradually change. So, keeping silence is not always a sign of weakness."
I-- “I’m getting your point. But silence is not always golden, Baapu. We are too scared to call a spade a spade and stand for justice, our rights. We just watch corruption, crime, unethnicity making deep inroads into our socio-political system and do nothing to drive them away. We all just indulge in passing the buck when it comes to be a leader and fight for justice, equality, fairness and truth. We are forced to adopt a 'culture of silence'. What you have to say on this?"
Baapu--- “I can only say that that BE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE. THE BEST WAY TO CHANGE THE WORLD IS BY NOT BEING CHANGED BY IT."
I--" I'll keep all things in mind and try to imbibe these in my life Baapu. By the way, I forgot to wish you A Belated Happy Birth Anniversary. What gift can I give you?"
Baapu--" If you can be a good citizen, a good human being who would never leave the path of truth, who would spread love and peace all over and help in bridging the gap between humans who fight in name of cast,creed,religion, that would be the best gift for me. After all, that’s what festivals like Deewali teach us too. Ok, I've to go now. Try to follow the path I've shown you. "
I--- “I’ll try my level best to live upto your expectations Baapu and make this world a better place to live in. Thank you for mentoring me. Bye......Thank you again. We miss you Baapu. I’ll post this conversation on my blog and tell the whole world about it. By the way, how can I contact you again Baapu?”
P.S.= (The edited part begins here-----)
Baapu-“I’ll contact you on my own whenever you need me.” Said Baapu and hung up the phone.
Minutes later, the firecrackers meant to harm Manish were replaced with a bag of sweets and I headed for Manish’s house to wish him Happy Deewali and bridge all our differences.
The next day, I posted a blog titled “A telephonic conversation with Baapu” on my personal blog. Within minutes, 4 comments were made on this latest blog post------
1. Uhh! That’s cut paste from the movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai—posted by Rohit
2. have had enough of Gandhigiri and Munnabhai………Not again.....posted by Pooja
3. Can I have the phone number of Baapu, please????........lol……….. posted by Tannu Sharma
4. not bad but heavily inspired from the cult bollywood movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai……….have seen similar articles before………..—posted by Anurag
I was shattered, to say the least. I had expected to get some really nice comments but what I was reading was a far cry from what I was anticipating.
The phone started ringing. I hoped it was Baapu. I was right.
Baapu—“so you kept your word! I’m happy that you took the initiative to bridge your differences with that boy. And did you post our conversation on your blog?”
I (in a subdued voice)—“Yes.”
Baapu- “you sound so subdued. Any problem?”
I--- “Yes, Bappu. I got very discouraging reviews on my blog. I was accused of lifting the idea of the blog from the bollywood movie Lagay Raho Munnabhai(LRM) where only the chief protagonist Munnabhai sees and talks to Mahatma Gandhi and guide them to solve their problems by applying Mahatma Gandhi’s principles.”
Baapu---“I see.”
I—“Baapu, I don’t blame them either. The themes/story plots are too similar to miss or overlook.”
Baapu—“Have you seen the movie?”
I—“Of course, I have. I’ve seen it 10 times. It’s my all-time favourite.”
Baapu—“No, you haven’t seen the movie. You’ve just watched the movie.”
I-“I didn’t get you, Baapu.”
Baapu---“If you had really ‘seen’ the movie, you wouldn’t have lost your mental peace and entertained any violent thoughts over the remarks made at you by that fellow. If my information is correct, one of the scenes in the movie LRM, the actor playing BAAPU tells Munnabhai that answering our enemies in the same coin would not help the cause as it would only increase hatred and ill feelings. If we keep behaving well with them, irrespective of their behaviour towards us, sooner or later they'll also start respecting us and their attitude towards us will gradually change. So, keeping silence is not always a sign of weakness. Am I wrong?”
I—“You are absolutely right, Baapu. But the comments on my post………”
I was stopped midway through my sentence by Baapu.
Baapu-“What comments? With due respect to those people, let me tell you that let others decide what they’re more interested in--- finding similarities with x,y and Z or imbibing the messages put across through the movie LRM or for that matter, your post. More importantly, learn to take criticism in your stride. Turn the stones thrown at you into milestones.”
Baapu continued……….
“Take your case for instance. You watched the movie 10 times but you didn’t implement the lessons the movie intended to teach. And anyways, it doesn’t do the world any harm if good things are repeated. Whether it’s LRM or your blog post, both hammer home the message of brotherhood, non-violence and strive for a peaceful social environment. As long as it happens, it hardly matters if the same things are repeated again and again in different avatars or forms or where the inspiration is coming from”
I—“Thank you so much Baapu. I’ll see to it that I not only talk but DO what I say. Thank you once again.”
(A story by Chandan Kumar,Patna,Bihar)
