KAHIHI

You utter a word in Marathi and they would empty the backdoor godown of appreciation if you are a non-Maharashtrian. See the Marathi channels. That’s how many Maharashtrians are.

To go a little back, when Chandrababu Naidu was a toddler, coordination was par excellence among Telugus and Marathis. The basic union movement was raised on the foundation and pillars that Telugus constructed. They knew and spoke Marathi so well, that after an hour long lecture when the orator’s name was declared as say, Reddy, the workers, attending the meetings, had an expression of awe on their faces, unlike a one-word-wow of the day.

Construction worker in building construction business was too a Telugu specialty. They gave their sweat to Mumbai, literally. Anybody might have ruled Mumbai and Maharashtra, yet there was no clash among them and Marathis, whatsoever, as they worked honestly, establishing brotherhood with local people.

On this backdrop, the ex-Chief Minister of Andhra comes to the border as if invading a different country, eats biryani, sleeps in an air-conditioned room after that, and later goes back to his state, declaring that Maharashtra police beat him up! In the history of human hospitality, no atithi has lied so promptly after a solid food offered to him.

“Put on your dancing shoes” – was a famous and popular song during the high-school-attending days of Chandrababu Naidu. Failing to recall that, he tried to act by rolling on the ground, complaining about beds. He was seen sleeping with his shoes on instead!

Maharashtra, with a large heart, didn’t object to Andhra’s dam that had brought the backwater well within the Maharashtra territory.

With such a pack of loose script, the Neta decided to shoot his lousy drama on the backdrop of Krishna water and had to run away before the Muhurta clap. Instead, he heard other kind of claps shooing him away from the scene by the local residents of the location, i.e. Babhali. That was very much cinema style.

While shooting ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, a 1984 Hollywood film with our own Amrish Puri as a villain, in Kamshet near Lonavala in Maharashtra, 3000 people of the region helped director, Steven Spielberg with total cooperation. In Babhali those many people whisked away Chandrabbu. The difference in between the Abhineta and Neta is clear.

The second schedule of this runaway Neta was in his territory. Many mob scenes of delirium were there. But his chief minister under orders of 10, Janapth did not allow to shoot the sequel. So also the people from the Karimnager are opposed Chandrababu, which is obvious from the letters of protest appearing in Deccan Chronicle.

In 230 BC, Saatwahans of Junnar near Pune ruled Kotilingala, now Karimnagar of Andhra, a part of Telangana and part of Krishna Godavari belt. Chandrababu has come to visit and claim the water after two and a quarter centuries.

His father-in-law, NTR was an Abhineta who acted in more than 300 movies. He had seen his ups and downs after entering into politics. In the time of Chandrababu’s childhood many of the auto biographies written with titles like ‘My Son’s Father’ or ‘My mother’s Daughter’ or likes.

Chandrababu, if decides to write an auto biography could take above mentioned title. The relationship has no genetic connection as it is for the titles having son, father, daughter, mother etcetera. So it is very apt. NTR was a great actor or showman first, and a leader afterwards. That Chandrababu is not. He is a leader first and an actor afterwards, now a flop, albeit.

What a difference!

One method of making Hyderabadi biryani is to cook the mutton and rice separately and mix them with skill on the dining table. This is not much palatable at least to Maharashtra as the Punjabi method has taken over that mixes every plant and flavour.

'Chandrababu Naidu is not a good political chef and hence he made a Khichdi of it. Birbal’s Khichdi, where he kept a fire at one place and the cooking pot at other, thereby the heat did not reach. Chandrababu exactly did the same by trying to cook khichdi of Telangana in the state of Maharashtra.

Logic and Chandrababu Naidu reside on North and South Pole respectively. Who instigated him to go to Babhli and protest against Maharashtra government is none of a thinking man concern.

Chandrababu himself should care for it. He has been sent to the political graveyard due to the suicides by the farmers of his state, Andhra Pradesh; nobody could deny. When they were committing suicides this chief minister was running to Delhi to welcome Bill Gates or Bill Clinton.

His enthusiasm over flew in doing so, more than Krishna water. He should have tried to block his ecstasy, more than the water Maharastra is trying, to according to him. The work is going on as per instructions of the Supreme Court. Already 200 crore are spent and no orders of the court are violated.

Chandrababu has never probably exhibited soft feelings towards Telangana. And suddenly this issue has been pierced into his head. The place where he wants to protest for the cause of Telangana is wide of the mark.He is not an expert in leading mass. He himself perhaps doesn’t understand what he talks. He whispers. He is a table-shrewd politician. He was successful in getting the special status to his state in NDA government by giving support from outside. He drew his pound of flesh by negotiating with them.

So now with a wrong cause he came to a wrong place at wrong time.

He forgot that rehabilitation of the farmers and people residing near water resources is never done or ever completed in the history of India. Many issues intermingle in the process that is beneficial to a very few. They are necessarily rulers and rich.

On the next day of the protest for the farmers of Andhra on the land of Maharashtra his supporters complained that they were not provided with food and water. As if they were guests of Maharashtra. I’d like to remind one incident here. When Lalkrishna Advani with his infamous Rathyatra was stopped by Laluprasad threatening him to put behind bars had he entered Bihar.

The home minister of Maharashtra is a gentleman. He won’t go to that extent.

However, to expect food from him in exchange of protest is too much. Food was provided by the people there. But Chandrababu wanted hyderabadi biryani perhaps! Why should they complain about water along with? It was plentifully available there in the river opposite. Or they wanted the oxi-rich mineral water?

Maharashtra has always been a soft target by all the states and the centre. It’s crushed under the North and South hating it due to the glorious history, the progress and the modernity.

There is nothing spectacular about Chandrababu. South states are progressing fast. He wanted to do that only through information technology. YSR knew this limit and concentrated on the poor and farmers that Chandrababu never envisioned. Unfortunately YSR is no more. A split of support to different parties is widening. Opportunist as he is Chandrababu is trying to make a place.