शिवाजी अंडरग्राऊंड इन भीमनगर मोहल्ला

जवळपास एक वर्षाहून अधिक काळाने नाटक पहायचा योग आला. खरं तर मराठीत पुन्हा नाटकांना चांगले दिवस आले आहेत. वर्तमानपत्रावर नजर टाकली तरी विविध विषयांवरची खूप नाटकं रंगभूमीवर आली आहेत हे सहज लक्षात येतं. फक्त नाटकांचं आणि माझं टायमिंग जुळत नाही. विकेंडला दुपारी लोळत पडायचं सोडून बाहेर पडायचं जीवावर येतं. आणि रात्रीचं नाटक म्हणजे जेवायचा खोळंबा होतो. म्हणून मागचं एक वर्ष नाटक हा विषयच मी डोक्यातून काढून टाकला होता. पण नाटकवेडाने पुन्हा उचल खाल्ली आणि "दुपारी तर दुपारी, बघून तर येऊ यात" म्हणून मी जायचं ठरवलं.

लोकसत्तातल्या परिक्षणावरून नाटकाच्या विषयाचा अंदाज आला होताच. शिवाजी महाराज. हे एव्हढे २ शब्द उच्चारले तरी काय काय आठवतं - शिवनेरी, पुण्यावरून फिरवलेला गाढवाचा नांगर, रोहिडेश्वराची शपथ, तोरणा, रायगड, कोंढाणा, आग्र्याहून सुटका, शाहिस्तेखानाची बोटं कापण्याचा प्रसंग, प्रतापगडाच्या पायथ्याशी झालेली अफझलखानाची भेट, बाजीप्रभूंची झुंज, कल्याणच्या सुभेदाराच्या सुनेची मानाने केलेली पाठवणी. इसवी सनं नसू देत लक्षात पण इतिहास आठवतोय हे काय कमी आहे. दुर्देवानं, ह्या नावाबरोबर वर्तमानातल्या काही गोष्टी अश्या जोडल्या गेल्या आहेत की इतिहास विसरायला व्हावा. जो तो शिवाजीराजांना आपल्या कंपूत ओढण्याच्या प्रयत्नात. आज महाराज असते तर ह्या मतामतांच्या गलबल्यात आपण नक्की होतो तरी कसे असा संभ्रम त्यांना स्वत:लाच पडला असता.

अगदी हेच नेमकेपणानं ह्या नाटकात मांडलंय.  नाटकाच्या सुरुवातीलाच महाराजांचे प्राण हरण करण्याचा आदेश इन्र्ददेव यमाला देतात. वर हेही सांगतात की महाराजांना त्यांचे विचार सोबत आणायला सांग. यम महाराजांना पृथ्वीवरून घेऊन निघतो खरा पण वाटेत जेव्हा तो त्यांना त्यांच्या विचारांबद्दळ विचारतो तेव्हा ते आपले विचार पृथ्वीवरच राहिल्याचे सांगतात. त्यांना विचार घेऊन यायला सांगून यम एक डुलकी काढायला लवंडतो आणि महाराज त्याच्या हातावर तुरी देऊन निसटतात. महाराजांना घेऊन आल्याशिवाय स्वर्गलोकात परत यायचं नाही असा आदेश इंद्र त्याला देतो. त्यामुळे त्यांना शोधत पृथ्वीवर फिरणं त्याच्यासाठी जरुरीचं होऊन बसतं. जिथे जिथे म्हणून महाराजांचं नाव येतं तिथे तिथे तो धावत जातो. आणि इथेच त्याची बिचार्याची गोची होते. कारण त्यातल्या कुठल्याच ठिकाणी त्याला महाराज सापडत नाहीत.

हाच शोध त्याला एका राजकीय पक्षाकडे घेऊन येतो. पक्षाचे पदाधिकारी आपणच महाराजांच्या विचारांचे खंदे पुरस्कर्ते कसे आहोत ते जनतेला कळावं म्हणून एका शाहिराचा कार्यक्रम ठेवतात. हे शाहीर गाजलेले, महाराजांवरची त्यांची काही पुस्तकं प्रकाशित झालेली तर काही प्रकाशनाच्या वाटेवर. पण महाराजांचे विचार नक्की नेमके कोणते ह्यावर शाहिरांचा त्यांच्या साथीदाराशी मतभेद झालेला असतो आणि तो साथीदार त्यांना दुरावलेला असतो. ह्या कार्यक्रमाच्या निमित्ताने ते पुन्हा त्याच्याकडे येतात. तोही महाराजांवर बोलायला तयार होतो. तो बोलायला लागतो आणि आपल्याला कळतं की इतिहासात सांगितलं त्यापेक्षा महाराज खूप खूप वेगळे होते. पण महाराजांचं वेगळेपण ना पुस्तकी ज्ञानाची पोपटपंची करणारया शाहिराला पटत ना महाराजांच्या नावावर मतांचा जोगवा मागणाऱ्यांना. असे कोणते आहेत महाराजांचे विचार? शाहीर साथीदाराला बोलू देतो का? यमाला महाराज सापडतात कां त्याचा शोध सुरूच रहातो?

हे प्रश्न पडायला हवे असतील तर हे नाटक पहायलाच हवं. निदान इतिहास महाराजांना समजून घ्यायला कुठे कमी पडला ते कळावं म्हणून तरी. नाटकाच्या जाहिरातीत नटसंच जालन्यातले शेतकरी आहेत असं म्हटलं होतं. पण त्यांची तयारी पाहता ते पेशाने नट नाहीत हे पचायला जड जातं एव्हढ्या ताकदीने त्यांनी हे नाटक उभं केलंय आणि पेललंय सुध्दा. खास लक्षात राहणारी पात्रं म्हणजे यम, शाहिराचा साथीदार, अक्का आणि शाहिराचा दुसरा साथीदार पाशा. संवाद खटकेबाज असले तरी काही ठिकाणी पल्लेदार वाक्यं घालण्याच्या प्रयत्नात छापील वाटतात - विशेषत: शाहिराच्या साथीदाराच्या बायकोच्या आणि त्याच्या सासर्याच्या तोंडचे संवाद. काही कलाकारांना ही वाक्यं म्हणताना प्रयास करावा लागतोय हे जाणवतं. काही ठिकाणी संगीत इतक्या जोरात वाजतं की शब्द ऐकू येत नाहीत. :-( एव्हढ्या त्रुटी सोडल्या तर हे नाटक उत्तम आहे ह्यात वादच नाही.

'शिवाजी महाराज' हे दोन शब्द उच्चारताच 'गोब्राह्मणप्रतिपालक क्षत्रियकुलावतंस...' आणि 'हर हर महादेव' एव्हढंच आठवणार्या आपल्या सगळ्यांच्या डोळ्यात झणझणीत अंजन घालणारं हे नाटक म्हणूनच पहायला हवं.

Bandhakopir Torkaari

Cabbage! I can only tolerate it in Chinese recipes. But there don't seem to be too many ways to use it in the Indian cuisine. You can make crispy pattice by mixing it with gram flour and steam or deep fry them. Or you can make plain old Sabji with it. Beyond that, I am really clueless about its use.

So I was delighted when I came across a Bengali style of cooking it while surfing the net recently. The way of preparation sounded different than how we Maharashtrians make it. I gave it a try and it turned out to be good.

Without further ado, here is the recipe.

Doug Engelbart

It's funny and sad at the same time. We use so many things in our daily lives but don't bother to find out who was responsible for inventing them. :-(

To find out what Doug Engelbart - who passed away on 2nd July - invented, check out the article.

Vishwanath Prasad Vishwakarma

I am not sure how many people listen to the FM channel 100.7 - well, it's run by the Government. Can't blame them for not listening. Though they play songs from the Golden Era, most of their RJs are horrible. Even if I listen to them talk for, like, say 5 seconds, I feel as if I am frothing at the mouth.

But if I ever find myself with a little free time between 4-5pm, I make it a point to tune into their program called Parikrama. My most favorite part is the news bits given by their correspondents from nooks and crannies of the country.

That's where I learnt about Vishwanath Prasad Vishwakarma - a guy from Bihar who has been teaching under-privileged kids since 1997. It's an amazing story! Check out the following links:

Mobile teacher

A Bihar teacher on a mission to eradicate illiteracy

Brinjal Sabji with Moong Dal (South Indian Recipe)

I must confess that I am not much fond of Brinjal or eggplant. I like its fried rings but I cannot be counted amongst the fans of Baingan Bharata. The fact of the matter, however, is that the list of the vegetables that I like is shorter than that of the ones that I don't. So if I have to survive, and eat to survive, it is imperative to find new recipes in the hope that one of them might make the vegetable palatable for me.

Back to the long-forgotten cook-books and notebooks filled with jotted down recipes then! I found this recipe shared in an episode of a cookery show called "Southern Spice" on 23rd March, 2011 - probably on NDTV Good Times. I tried it out and the end result was well worth the effort. So, without much ado, here it is the recipe:

Cut 2 medium brinjals into tiny pieces and keep them soaked in water (so as to prevent them from turning black). Soak half a cup of Moong Dal in water for 15 minutes and cook it for 15 minutes with the lid on.

Heat oil in a pan. Add pieces of 3 dried red chillies, mustard seeds, half a tsp of Urad Dal and saute. When the dal turns light brown, add curry leaves and finely cut pieces of 2 onions. Saute. When the onion turns red add turmeric powder, chilli powder, asafoetida and salt. Saute. Add tamarind pulp and cooked Moong Dal. Saute. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

Uttarakhand Tragedy

At first, I couldn't believe it. I just thought that the news channels - always on the lookout for the next 'breaking news' - are blowing it all out of proportion. How I wish that was the case! Unfortunately, it wasn't. As the scale of the widespread devastation and loss of human lives became clear, it felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of me. On one hand, there were instances of the commendable job done by the Army, the Air Force and Indo Tibetan Border Police in rescuing the stranded pilgrims. And on the other, there were disturbing reports of people cheating the distressed tourists by charging exorbitant amounts for food and water. How can one human being do this to another? Have we, as a society, stooped to such a low level? Whatever happened to our slogans of 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' - treat the guest as God? Is there no hope for us as a country? As an ethnicity? As human beings? I wouldn't want to think so.

Added to this is the trauma of those who couldn't be saved or worse, couldn't even be located. I have always believed that the right to be given last rites as per one's faith is one of the most basic of human rights - not for any grandiose ideas of Moksha but for the simple idea of treating the dead body with respect. It hurts to think of so many who were deprived of that right. I can't even begin to imagine what their near and dear ones must be going through. :-(

But as I read through the news, I wonder, what, if any, lessons have we learnt from this tragedy? And if those in the authority are formulating any plans to avoid the recurrence of the same anywhere in the country. A few things immediately come to mind:

1. Put in place a compulsory registration process for all those who come for the annual pilgrimage - Name, address, age, contact details of pilgrim and of close relatives, information about known ailments and medications taken, blood group, photo and prominent identification marks on body. If anyone complains about it, make it categorically clear that if this is not done, the government won't be in a position to help the pilgrim, if he or she were to get into any kind of trouble. If they want to be helped, they have to make this effort. Period.

2. As is done on some of the pilgrim routes, formulate a criteria for physical fitness and age (especially for elders and children). Those who fail it should not be allowed to embark on the journey.

3. Conduct a compulsory short course on survival and first aid for the pilgrims.

4. Train the locals on the same and keep a force of them on standbye in case of emergencies.

5. Have a mechanism in place whereby known locations can become distribution points for food, blankets and medicines - should need arise.

6. Work out an evacuation plan - priority should be given to children, old and invalid. Also an effort must be made to evacuate family members together so that they don't end up waiting for others and can leave for their hometowns.

7. Communication isn't something to work on after the tragedy strikes. So it is vital to keep backup Communication ready in case the primary infrastructure collapses. Establishing helplines manned by trained individuals must be an integral part of this.

8. A transport mechanism to carry the rescued pilgrims back to their home states is another vital area. Similar arrangement has to be made for transporting locals out of the danger zone.

A lot of places in the North are popular tourist spots and the same arrangements need to be made there as well.

It's high time we learn to value human lives!

Kishor Kumar's interview by Pritish Nandy

If you are a fan of the legendary singer Late Kishor Kumar (who isn't!), then you might want to check out 1985 interview taken by Pritish Nandy.

Theta Healing and Angel Therapy

Recently, I was traveling in bus without any reading material - except for the ticket just handed out by the conductor - whatsoever. Since staring at co-passengers is not considered polite, I turned my gaze to the world outside.

The traffic was pretty heavy and so at one point my bus stopped exactly in front of a doctor's clinic. If what was written on the board outside was to be believed, he was a practitioner of Homeopathy. I was, however, surprised to read Tarot Reading mentioned in the same line. What has Homeopathy got to do with Tarot Reading reading, I wonder.

There were 2 more services advertized - Theta Healing & Angel Therapy. I had never heard of either one before so I made a mental note of checking them out later. A search on the net pointed to following 2 sites among others:

Theta Healing

Angel Therapy

I am yet to read through both the sites.

How to be invisible online

In this day and age, almost all of us are concerned about our privacy as we do more and more stuff online. Please check out the following Mint article for some tips - How to be invisible online.