KAHIHI

Maharashtra has a ved (mania) for celebration. Of any kind! Come September or August, people of Maharashtra are charged for ten days. They don’t do anything but sing songs in haphazard manner with no mercy to rhythm, they play loud speakers defying 50 decibel limit to express their joy with delirium. Come October and they are ready to repeat the fruitless act. Then Diwali and other single day celebrations follow. Joy one should take, but not to the extent of wasting huge time and expense of keeping one’s career waiting.

Obama came to the city. Far away from the city of Illinois his media managers might have chalked out the itinerary of his India visit. However, imagine Michelle Obama mingling in the crowd of boys of an English medium school in Fort and straight heading to dance to the tunes of an ethnic Koli Marathi song – you’re under loss of state of mind.

It’s never so with Americans at the upper hierarchy and I’m grieved to say, always so, with Indian political counterparts. A fresh like pomphret example of Common Wealth Games in Delhi!

So they planned from a distance that is exactly on the opposite of the globe and executed the plan in filthy Mumbai without a wrinkle on the face. Soon our shameless politicians, with their crest fallen faces, may visit US to study how to reciprocate the gesture in a comparatively clean city. However, let us keep aside the political analysis by the analysts with crooked and favourable angles expressed as a running commentary.

Michelle’s dance! The scene kept cheering the mind. Michelle is a good dancer. She caught to the tunes immediately with Madhuri Dixit’s ease. It’s in their blood. To catch the rhythm. But Barrack was not at ease. Doesn’t matter. In last few, about 20 seconds he tapped on the tunes. That was a symbol of humility. How many of our politicians with their dogmatic face and vain pride could have shown this gesture?

That achieved two purposes. It tickled the hearts of rich and at the same time created a feeling of pride among the original tribes of Mumbai. Bichchare Bhandaris and Pathare Prabhus, other original tribes! Would have the tour planners thought of this? Congress the ruling party of Maharashtra may be able to draw a benefit from this gesture.

Owing to sincere and persistent requests, Obama danced with his sleeves folded and with fastened necktie.

We were taught to button the sleeves while meeting seniors. To fold full shirt sleeves was supposed to be uncouth. The British tight upper leaps are able to gulp the morsel? The Korean and Chinese taken over the garb of dark suits would be able to digest it?

Our Marathi entertainment channels don’t care of President of India and new chief of the state who is a M.S. from California. The dissuading Marathi entertainment channels thumping hideous programmes in the name of humour on the face of the Marathis evading the intro and life portrait of a so educated chief minister. They were accompanied by relatives, the journos in high places, like that in Adarsha Society. Are they not equally sinful in their act?

I had regards about the British stiff upper lip. But in Bush’s time that was burned out by Tony Blair.

It’s said that: a true American never accepts anything for free. He pays for it and pays for best quality. Despite their depleting resources they’ve not given up the habit. Prima facie Obama has made a provision for 50 thousand jobs. BPOs are not affected as the fear loomed a month ago. Go, grab them.

Analysts are not catalysts. Throw them in the recycle bin.

Though so, we have our own iconic example, still intact. Years ago Indira Gandhi danced to the tunes of folk songs of Adivasis in a remote village. She sincerely believed to be a daughter of an Adivasi in her earlier birth. With her grace and a little smile, the impression is as live in my mind as then was.

Lately, Robot has been in news for shrieking Ra. One. However, his rendezvous with the ShivSena Boss left everyone stirred, including me, indeed with glee. The demigod of South Indian cinema, not just Tamil, met Balasaheb Thackeray at the latter’s residence in Bandra. And what a cherished fulfillment it was.

Both these great men, creative in their own ways, made the appointment even more artistic with their smiles, handshakes, pats, and hugs. Rajnikant has been a great admirer of Balasaheb, and so has Balasaheb been an ardent follower of Rajnikant and his movies. Balasaheb has often praised the superstar in Saamna and so has Rajnikant obliged Thackeray by visiting him every time he was in Mumbai – issues about language and state have never made things bitter between them.

While Rajnikant has delivered electric performances on screen, Balasaheb Thackeray has expressed his dexterity on paper – through startling articles and cartoons; both these resolute supremos have gained expertise in expression of art and captivating the masses for over decades. While one has strived to keep the history alive and the other creating history with every attempt, the Sexagenarian-Octogenarian encounter of yesterday can certainly be penned as one historic event.

Quite interestingly, Thackeray fancied smoking chiruts and experimenting with various kinds of cigars, though necessarily he may not be an addict, and Rajnikant shot to fame because of his peculiar style to smoke cigarettes – toss a cigarette in the air and clutch it precisely between the lips; this may have enticed Balasaheb. Smoking is certainly injurious to health but perchance has proved to be harmless to gain publicity.

Originally, Shivajirao Gaekwad, who also just recently played a role in Sivaji – The Boss, could also be a reason for Thackeray likes towards Rajnikant. Rajni, perhaps epitomizes the role of an ideal ruler crusading the failures, who Thackeray has idolized over years – the Great Maratha Warrior, Shivaji.

However, even if, for a while, we keep away the analogies and memories of past, yesterday’s present was like a delightful gift for me – it was packed with amicability, respect, fondness, satisfaction, and smiles, a confluence, indeed a visual delight.

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!