Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - XII

This is the 12th in the series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

PANDIT NILAKANTHA'S TRYST IN JAIL

--------------------------------------------------------------

Nilakantha Das went to jail for the first time in 1923. The stint lasted 6 months. Those days political prisoners were treated with utmost respect. He told police sarcastically - "Don't request me to be handcuffed. Drag me on the street like a common criminal". The constable cried - "I can never do that to you". He was sent to the Railway station on a horse driven carriage, accompanied by a subinspector and two constables to be trasported to Hazaribagh Jail in Bihar.

Pandit Nilakantha boarded the 2nd class compartment (those days 3rd class was the lowest travelling class in Indian Railways). But bad news was awaiting him on the way. At the Sakhigopal station, his friend Acharya Harihara in a chocked voice conveyed the news - "Your 2nd daughter Basanti passed away".

Sad but not shocked in an era when child mortality was very high and chances were even for someone to cross the age of 5, he asked Acharye - "Were all the necessary and required treatments done" ? We tried our best", replied Acharya Harihara. 

As the train stopped at Jatani (Khurda Road) Station the two policemen accompanying him exclaimed - "Are you human or God. You are so calm and composed, even after receiving the news of your daughter's death !" Maintaining composure in the event of personal tragedy is the hallmark of public leadership. Sri Nilakantha Das had it in him.

In Hazaribagh Jail he found a companion in Dr. Rajendra Prasad (the first President of Independent India). During their stay , every night they engaged in tete a tete til 10 O'clock. Before sleeping Rajendra Prasad would eat ripened Papaya and share it with Pandit Das. 

During his would Nilakantha Das kept himself busy, transating RAGHUVANSAM into Odia. Another fellow prisoner was JB (Acharya) Kripalini. Whenever possible Sri Das would read him a passage or two from Raghuvansam. He also wrote a reference book of Odia BYAKARANA (Grammer) during his stay in Hazaribagh jail.

Sri Das has his 2nd and last stint in jail for a duration of 1 1/2 years during 1932-33. After his release, the long stint in jail had already taken its toll. He was diagnosed with stone in his Urine which caused him a lot of pain. Eventually he got cured due to the timely intervention by his doctors.

In Hazaribagh jail Nilakantha Das was the only Odia who was an 'A' class prisoner. His wife Mrs. Radhamani Devi who was already into Freedom movement was also an 'A' class prisoner, in Puri jail. When he heard about how she endures the pain of watching their young daughter Ramaa crying inconsolably during her visitation to her mother in jail, it brought tears to his eyes. 

The insecurity in the eyes of his daughter whose parents were in jail was forever imprinted in the mind of Pandit Nilakantha Das (On another note, the insecurity in the daughter of another Pandit, Jawaharlal Nehru who was often jailed stayed forever in her. Later as the Prime minister of India, she trusted none, never would allow anyone other than her children grow in Congress party. An insecure Indira imposed emergency and arrested opposition leaders when she saw an imminent loss of power).

(TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER)

RIP Radha Pisa - Passed away on 28th April, 2017

Sri (Mr.) Radha Krushna Mohapatra, an eminent person from Puri passed away yesterday morning due to cardiac arrrest. A practicing lawyer at the age of 74, he was getting ready to leave for another day in KACHERI (court) where he worked for more than half a century, when he complained of chest pain. At hospital he was declared brought dead, apparently passing away due to a sudden heart attack which came without any warning.

Commonly known as Radha Babu, our Radha PIUSA (husband of my father's sister), he was a role model for all of us in our extended family. An extremely rare, honest and upright person - he never compromised with his impeccable ethics in work and life. 

A tall, handsome man, a barrister with a deep barrititone voice earned my respect for couple of things - a straight shooter sans hypocrisy who harbored no ill will towards others and a gracious host, a spendthrift known to spend lavishly for his guests and family members with his well hard earned money.

He was not just my dad's Brother-in-Law, also a close buddy of him since the days they were classmates from college days in Puri. To my father, it will be a lacunae forever unfulfilled.

Born in Bira Harekrushnapur Village, one of the famous SOLA SASANA ( the 16 Brahmin dominated villages surrounding the temple town of Puri), he settled down in the temple town, practicing Law. He was also an eminent actor - acted in multiple movies, notably National Award winning 1977 Odia movie CHILIKA TEERE (On the banks of Chilka), not to mention in leading roles at ANNAPURNA Theater (now probably defunct) of Puri.

I stand by my cousins at this time of grief, especially his four children and hundreds of friends and relatives from in and around Puri who flooded the cremation ground of SWARGADWAR (Gateway to Heaven) on the Bay of Bengal to bid adieu to a man of spotless credentials who just stepped into heaven - a place belonging to likes him, persons of impeccable ethics who are rarely born, but earned the right to belong.

RIP Vinod Khanna

It was the Macho Man vs the Angry Young man in the late 70s Bollywood. The Macho Man was Vinod Khanna who gave some competition and run for money to the rising popularity of Angry Young man Amitabh Bachhan.

Both were tall handaome heroes of the time, though Vinod Khanna was more muscular and Amitabh the taller of the duo. But the later had the last laugh in the big hit MUKADDAR KA SIKANDAR (The master of fate) clinched his Superstardom in 1979, propelling towards being the "One Man Industry". 

The competition fizzles out as Vinod Khanna stunned Bollywood to leave for Oregon, US live in the ASHRAM (Commune) of the controversial Guru of Indian origin - Baba Rajnish, a lecturer in Philosophy from an obscure college in Gujarat and a skilled orator better known as OSHO with his famous motto of "Salvation through Sex".

But Karma caught of with Rajnish. The free sex doctrine by a man living with a fleet of 99 Rolls Royce Cars without paying a single penny from his pocket for them, was frowned upon by the officials.

 Reagan's administration tolerated Rajnish's cult culture for sometime before banishing him at a short notice in 1985. It forced Vinod Khanna back to his motherland.

Post Rajnish, he made couple of decent movies as far as I can remember. One of them SATYAMEVA JAYATE (Truth Always wins) where he played an upright policeman who thinks he is jilted by his lover. The second one was DAYAVAAN ( The Benevolent) where he donned himself as a rag to rich done (A remake of Kamal Hassan's iconic Tamil movie NAAYAKAN). Then he fizzled away from doing leading character roles, continuing to do smaller roles till date.

Vinod Khanna dabbled in politics and was a BJP MP from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Unlike most Members of Parliament from the Cine world who have scant regards for our legislative process and scant attendance in the houses, he did a decent role. (Bollywood actors have a poor history as members of legislative bodies. Notable was Govinda who was an MP was pelted with stones and rotten eggs by his constituents post the Mumbai floods of 2005).

He may not have got the following of the other Khanna, the romance king Rajesh, the status of the tragic hero Dillip Kumar or the Mega star status of Amitabh. But he did carve his niche, and more importantly and different from most of his Bollywood counterparts, did a decent service to the society. RIP Vinod Khanna.

Student suicide in IITs

Every person has a right to live. It hurts utmost when someone commits suicide. And it hurts more, if that person happens to be young. Because, like every young man and woman, they too have a dream. But unwisely they decide to procrastinate their unfilled dream by killing themselves. The recent suicide of a student in one of our premier most technical School IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Kharagpur calls for some introspection.

When does a person decide to end his or her life ? It's not just the frustration with their life, it's more due to the lack of care or concern for the rest of the world, which includes their near and dear ones. If I feel suicidal for some reason, I may resist that thought for a moment, if I think of my family, if not me. Apparently they don't care about their loved ones, not to mention themselves and decide to end their life into their own hands. In the spurt of the moment they decide to leave, never getting a chance to regret it later.

Suicides in college campuses are not so uncommon, neither a recent phenomena. Surging teenage hormone can create havoc in hearts and minds, which can be due to failure in academics, love or bullying by others.

But it can't go unnoticed, there is an alarming increase in IITians committing suicide in recent years. I have a close friend from IIT, who during his trips to India visits his professors from Alma mater. They told him upfront - Gone are the days when intelligent, creative students, used to come to these premier institutes. many of them were from poor background, espousing upward social mobility. 

Now many mediocre students churned out of innumerable coaching institutes mange to clear the entrance exam. Once in, when left on their own they can't cope of the aggressive curriculum and choose end their lives. (The Usual disclaimers apply).

This particular suicide could be for a different reason, we may not know. But what we know, the above observation made by seasons academics can't be pooh poohed and swept under the carpet. The root cause must be addressed, before as we say in Odia NEDI GUDA KAHUNI KU BOHI JAI THIBA (Jaggery from the palm would have reached the elbow).

As long as the slushy jaggery stays on the palm, it can be put into mouth. Once it reaches the elbow, it wont be easy to lick it. (Try licking your elbow). Never this proverb has been so appropriate - it simply means act better it's too late.

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - XI

This is the 11th in the series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

THE DEATH OF GOPABANDHU DAS

----------------------------------------------------------

In 1924 Gopabandhu Das got out of jail to a heroic welcome by public. He was immediately received by P C Ray at the Provincial Congress Conference in Cuttack Town Hall, where the later proudly made an announcement - declararing Gopabandhu Das as UTKALA MANI or "The Jewel of Odisha".

Pandit Nilakantha Das smelt a rat. Not that he was jealous, he was both apprehensive and suspicious of the motives of P C Ray who once told him that Odias as cooks and Biharis as servants have corrupted the culture of Calcutta. Also he felt Gopabandhu Das deserved much better, a title of national stature in the lines of DESHABANDHU Chittaranjan Das, DESAPRIYA Jitendra Mohan Sengupta or LOKAMANYA Bal Gandadhar Tilak got. Gopabandhu already on the national stage was no less deserving than any of the above. Something like DESHA MANI or BHARAT MANI (Jewel of India) would have been more befitting.

In 1927, Lala Lajpat Rai came to Puri and impressed by Gopabandhu's leadership skill took him to Delhi, making the later the Vice President of Hindu Mahasabha (Conglomerate). At the same time Nilakantha Das was a member of Central Assembly in the nation's capital where he gave a passionate speech about the Separation of Odisha from Bengal. He also wrote a much a circulated article about the same on The Hindustan Times in Delhi, the most circulated English Newspaper in Capital of India, putting the demand for a separate Odisha at the center stage.

That was when Gopabandhu coined the idea of starting a pan Odisha daily paper "THE SAMAJA" (The Society). Though the idea came a little late, glad it came late than never - for our Utkalamani would die only a year later in June, 1928. His newspaper stands till date.

In 1928 Gopabandhu went to Calcutta to address a labor conference and likely contracted there the dreaded water born disease Typhoid from which he never recovered. Apprehending his death, Utkalamani summoned Nilakantha Das and others close to him, instructing them to write his final will. "I am dictating my last will and testament", he told as Radhanath Rath wrote it in front of teary eyed onlookers. After giving instructions to donate the Samaj printing press to Bharat Sevak Samaj, he passed away.

Next day was the eve of the auspucious Sri GUNDICHA Rath Yatra. Gopabandhu's dead body was taken around Satyavadi, where he dedicated most of his life in the service to mankind. Droves of mourning people massed around the funeral pyre as his remains were consigned to flame. It was end of an era, a chapter in the history of Odisha came to close.

Nilakantha Das attended the All India Congress Committee meet in Karachi (now part of Pakistan) in 1930, where he was declared as "The President of the Reception Committee of the upcoming Congress to be held in Puri, Odisha". Post Gopabandhu's death he was the de facto leader of Odisha Congress.

(TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER)

Rise and fall of Bill O'Reilly

Today evening's talking point memo - the rise and fall of Bill O'Reilly. I just quoted the phrase used by America's top most rated Cable News anchor, Bill O'Reilly of the Right leaning Fox News.

Come 8 PM every week night from Monday to Friday, the highly popular news anchor would chime in on Fox News - "Welcome to the Factor. Caution ! You are going to enter the No Spin Zone." Then he would introduce his main subject or object of discussion or dissection, ending with "This is going to be today evening's talking point memo".

Now, O'Reilly is the talking point of media as he was shown the exit door by Fox after several accusations of sexual harassment from his colleagues. The first one surfaced more than a decade ago when a woman accused him of his "phone fetish" with her which he settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. The last one was by a young woman who has accused the popular Anchor of addressing her as "Hot Chocolate".

In between these accusations over a period of a little over a decade, Fox news who recently extended his multi year contract with O'Reilly with an annual salary of $20 million, is rumored to have spent $13 million on settling several lawsuits on behalf of its most popular Anchor who helped in making the Conservative news network the numero uno in America. It still enjoys more than the ratings of CNN and MSNBC combinee, leaving its competitor behind.

But there is always an end to the infamy, without a happy ending. Fox news finally pulled the plug from Bill O'Reilly, as 50 advertisers threatened to boycott the show and women in large numbers, both inside and outside the network baying for his blood. 

Bill O'Reilly made the cardinal mistake that many successful persons make - having a aura of being indispensable. Once is coincidence, twice is happening and thrice is deliberate. To err multiple times may be human, but forgive is not Company's policy, certainly not in Murdock's territory.

Can't end my blog without a mention of India's most popular Prime time TV Anchor Arnab Goswami who per my observation apes Bill OReilly - his style of presentation modelling his program after the former's "The Factor", emulating his domineering style with an Indian touch, interrupting his guests to their chagrin but to the amusement of the audience and so on. Both are controversial. 

But similarities between them ends there. Forget about any aspersions to his character, Arnab Goswami is free from any innuendoes. O'Reilly is far from it.

Movie SHAAN and reminisce of the days

The other day I watched a portion of the Hindi movie SHAAN (Prestige) on TV. I couldn't watch it much longer, as my taste of movies have matured over a period of time - not to mention I saw it earlier.

The movie was from a different era, when the theme of 3 heroes (in many cases they are brothers), 3 heroines (their female lead counterparts) and a vicious, often comical villain (bad guy) with miltiple cronies, concocted with lively music was the instant formula for churning out such successful hits in the era of 70s and 80s.

It was the age of Amitabh's rule. He was the leading actor in the movie and already a Superstar on ascent on his way to be the one man Bollywood industry. His stature as mega star was powerful enough to successfully wrestle with a 20 feet Crocodile in a scene from the movie.

The other actors, Sashi Kapoor and Satrughan Sinha, the later an overrated actor who being jealous of Amitabh's success made himself a self proclaimed Superstar (his tendency to overrate himself still continues in politics).

Bindiya Goswami in the middle of the popular JAANU MERI JAAN song shoots her GULEL (Slingshot) from a moving bus with immaculate accuracy which would put any Olympics sharp shooter to shame. It miraculously finds its mark by toppling the tricycle used by Amitabh and Sashi Kapoor, chasing the duo of her and the ever effervescent and bubbly lady company Parveen Babi.

Parveen Babi was exquisitely pretty for her time, having a touch of modernity with flowing silky hair. Unfortunately later she committed suicide. Not long before killing herself she squarely blamed Big B, then the one man Bollywood industry for exploiting her. 

The Superstar was rumored to be a notorious philanderer who cheated on Jaya Bhaduri with several women. When Jaya was pregnant with Abhisek, he escaped with Zeenat Aman to Swiss mountains post a shooting session in Europe. Rekha had a long affair with him until she started cheating on him as well. Amitabh, himself a champion womanizer could not accept the insatiable Rekha going with other men younger and stronger than him. The Superstar was accused of physically abusing Rekha.

So with the popular, contriversial superhero on board, when the movie SHAAN was released during the summer of 1981 the demand for the tickets sky rocketed. It was also an unusual movie, carrying high expectations for a different reason, being the second movie produced by Ramesh P Shippy, 6 long years following his iconic movie SHOLAY which took the box office by storm.  

In Bhubaneswar it was showing at the Kalpnana Cinema, a movie hall known more for showing low quality movie with high quality CHAARAPOKA (Bed bugs) which can bite chunks of your ass off, (it's apparent from the back scratching of the viewers coming out of the hall).

My uncle was able to procure couple of tickets from his BARAGAIYA friends (inhabitants of a village close to the movie theater who by virtue of their sway in that area could obtain the tickets on high demand). 

People placed too much faith on this movie, expecting a blockbuster. But SHAAN ended in a damp squib. Yet the craze and crowd in anticipation of SHOLAY -II was enough for the producer to make a blockbuster of it. Though the scenes from Shaan now look funny to us, it stands the testimony of STHANA (place), KALA (time) and PATRA (place) - appropriate stuff for appropriate time.