९० चे ते दशक!

९०च्या त्या दशकात, लहानाचे मोठे होणं ही फार भाग्यवान गोष्ट होती! ह्याचे कारण ....ज्या लोकांनी त्या काळात बालपण घालवले त्यांना आठवेल...सायकल हे आपलं वाहन होतं, दुचाकी आस-पास विपुल असत..... घरी 'लॅंडलाइन' असणं गर्वाने सांगितले जायचे, आणि मित्रांना त्यावर घरी फोन करणे नित्याचे असत......मोबाइल हे श्रीमंतीचे लक्षण मानले जात आणि त्यांनी 'पेजर' ची जागा अजुन घेतली नव्हती! खूप कमी मित्रांच्या घरी 'केबल' असत! शाळेत, मुलीशी बोलणं, ह्याचा अर्थ काहीतरी 'सुरू' आहे असा घेतला जात, व 'शिक्षा मिळणे' ही गोष्ट 'शरमेने' मान्य केली जायची! 'इंग्रजी' माध्यमाची मुलं सुद्धा 'मॅडम'....त्या कितीही मोठ्या असल्या तरी त्यांना 'मिस' असच म्हणून, उगीच त्यांना तरुण असल्याचे भास होऊ देत! ( असे असल्यावर 'मॅडम' तरी मुलांच्या चुका कशाला सुधारतील? )

मी 'आठवीत' असताना , 'केबीसी' ने इतिहास घडवला होता...रात्री ९ वाजता सर्व रस्ते रिकामे दिसत! तर ह्याची 'लहान मुलांची आवृत्ती' माझ्या बालपणी घडली! 'जंगल बुक' च्या निमित्ताने! :) होय! तो दिवस असायचा रविवारचा, आणि ती वेळ असायची सकाळी १० ची! एक पिवळी 'अंडर-पॅंट' नेसलेला हा 'मोगली' नावाचा मुलगा आमचा सर्वांचा लाडका झाला होता. ही आमच्या रविवार सकाळची अगदी आनंदाची सुरूवात असे! मोगली चे पराक्रम आमच्यासाठी फार आनंद देणारे ठरत! आत्ता विश्वास बसत नाही....पण...त्या सकाळी १० वाजता, कुणीही पोर बाहेर खेळताना दिसत नसे! एक-दोन वर्षानंतर, ह्याच मोगली ची जागा 'मिकी माऊस' व 'डोनाल्ड डक' ने घेतली! अर्थात 'डिसनी अवर' ने! हा 'आवर' 'आवरणे' खरच कठीण जात! ह्यात 'प्लूटो' ह्या कुत्र्याला, बरेच प्रयत्न करून काहीही मिळत नसे, तर 'गुफी' ह्याच्या आवाजावर आम्ही निदायत 'फिदा' होत असु! दुसरीकडे, 'अंकल स्क्रूज' आणि त्याचे 'पुतणे' खजीना शोधत बसत, तर 'डोनाल्ड डक' नेहमीच बदडला जाई! मिकी आणि मिनी ह्यांची प्रेम कहाणी त्या वयात सुद्धा आमच्या मनात एक विचित्र भावना निर्माण करून जायची! पुढे तर ह्या डिसनी ची जागा 'सबकुछ कार्टून' अश्या 'कार्टून नेटवर्क' ने घेतली. पण हा प्रकार घरी यायला घरी 'केबल' असणे जरूरीचे होते....आणि लहान वयात आम्हाला त्याची परवानगी नव्हती! म्हणून 'दूरदर्शन' मध्ये आम्ही समाधान मानले! पण ह्या चिमुकल्या वयात ह्या 'दूरदर्शन' ने बर्‍याच गोष्टी 'जवळून' दाखवल्या आणि ह्या 'दोन वाहिन्यांशी' आमची चांगलीच गट्टी जमली होती!

थोड्या काही वर्षांनी ह्याच रविवार सकाळी ११.३० वाजता 'महाभारत' सुरू होत असे! आणि ह्या मालिकेने घरातील सर्वांसाठी एक तास एकत्र बसणे जणू योजलेच होते! काय मज्जा यायची! त्यातले 'तत्व' काय, हा विचार करण्याचे ते वय नव्हते, पण ह्या 'कथे' बद्दल नक्कीच काहीतरी 'वेगळ' असा वाटायच! मला, 'भीम' ह्या व्यक्ती बद्दल विशेष आकर्षण होते.....आणि असं पण, मुलांचा कल हा 'शक्ति'कडे असतोच!

पण सर्वात नवल मला ज्या एका गोष्टीचं वाटतं, ती म्हणजे, आमचे मनोरंजन हे 'दोन वाहिन्या', एवढेच होते! पण तरीही आम्ही त्याची मज्जा पूर्णपणे लुटली! ह्याचे कारण असे असेल, की त्या वेळेच्या मालिका, ह्यात बर्‍याच गोष्टी अश्या होत्या, ज्या आमच्या वयाला पूरक होत्या! आमच्या भावनांना पूरक होत्या! 'राजेशाही' ची ओळख पटवून द्यायला ' ग्रेट मराठा' आणि 'टिपु सुलतान' होते, 'दैवी' गोष्टींची झलक दाखवायला, 'महाभारत' आणि 'जय हनुमान' होते! मला खास आठवतोय, 'द ग्रेट मराठा' मधला महाजी शिंदे, ज्याला घोड्यावर पाहून एक वेगळेच शौर्य मनात यायचे! मला 'भीम आणि दुर्योधन' ह्यांचे गदा-युद्ध सुद्धा ह्याच भावनेने बघितल्याचे आठवते! चौथीत असताना तर, मी आणि माझा वर्गमित्र, आदल्या दिवशी महाभारतात काय झाले, ह्याची 'अभिनया' सहित चर्चा करायचो! ;) ह्या पार्श्वभूमीवर मला आजची लहान (?) मुलं वर्गात काय चर्चा करतात ह्याची जबरदस्त उत्सुकता आहे! असो!

'वीकडेझ' च्या त्या खास 'सीरियल' कोण विसरेल बाबा?! एक होती 'तेहकिकात' जेव्हा एक 'सॅम डिसिल्वा' नावाचा डीटेक्टिव, त्याच्या 'गोपी' नावाच्या सचिवा बरोबर, 'नैसर्गिक नियमांचे' पालन करून शोध लावत असे! त्याची जागा नंतर, 'राजा' नावाच्या एका डीटेक्टिव ने घेतली, ज्याची मदत करायचे एक 'रॅंचो' नावाचे माकड! लहान मुलांना मजा वाटेल की नाही ह्याने? विनोदी मालिकांनी तर आपला झेंडा अजुन वर लावला होता! तरुण 'शेखर सुमन' ला 'देख भाई देख' मध्ये कोण विसरेल? गैर-हिंदी भाषिकांना हिंदी शिकवणारा, 'जबान संभाल के' चा 'पंकज कपूर' सुद्धा चांगलाच आठावतो! पण, विनोदी मालिकांचा फड जर कुणी जिंकला असेल, तर तो 'श्रीमान श्रीमती' ह्या मालिकेने! त्यात केशव कुलकर्णी, ह्याचे निरागस विनोद न विसरता येणारे असेच आहेत! त्यात बाकी सार्‍या कलाकारांचा अभिनय देखील छान होता! मी अजुन सुद्धा ही मालिका, कधी कधी 'यू-ट्यूब' वर बघतो! ;) त्यातल्या 'केशव' चे निधन लवकर झाले... नाहीतर ही मालिका अजुन खूप वर्षे नक्कीच चालली असती! काही अश्या 'मालिका' आहेत.....ज्या मे पूर्णपणे नाही बघू शकलो...पण त्यांच्या आठवणी मधून मधून जाग्या होत असतात! त्या म्हणजे...'टाइगर'. 'शक्तिमान', 'चंद्रकांता', 'जल्दी-जल्दी' , 'विजय' .....पण हो! हे सगळे 'दोन वाहिन्यांमुळे!' आणि दोन वाहिन्यांमध्ये!

अजुन एक, कधीही ने विसरणारी बाब, जी ह्या कृत्रिमता नसलेल्या दशकात होती, ती म्हणजे त्या वेळेच्या जाहिराती! नुसती लोकांनी एक वस्तू घ्यावी....आणि जाहिरात करणारा मोकळा व्हावा ही भावना तेव्हा नव्हती! आणि संगीत, हा त्यातला एक 'अदब' असलेला भाग होता! त्यातील 'हमारा बजाज' ही एक अशीच जाहिरात इतकी मनात बसली, की आज असा अगदीच कुणी असेल ज्याला ही माहिती नाही! 'धारा' च्या त्या जाहिरातीत, 'जले...बी...' म्हणणारा तो गोंडस मुलगा पण आपल्याला आठवत असेल! त्यात माझ्या आवडती होती 'पूरब से सूर्य उगा' गाणं असणारी 'शिकायला प्रोत्साहित' कॅरणारी जाहिरात! त्यात, आपण लहानपणी शिकवलेल्या मुलाने 'पेंट-ब्रश' हातात घेऊन नवीन व्यवसाय सुरू केलेला बघून, आजोबांना झालेला आनंद! भाटियार रागतील ते गाणे, विसरणे अशक्य! नंतर, 'लिरिल' साबणाने, धबधाब्यात नाचणारी प्रीती झिंट, व 'कॉम्प्लां' पिणारे लहान 'शहीद कपूर' आणि 'आयेशा टाकिया'.....नंतर, ' ये बात कुछ हजब नही हुई', असा म्हणणारा तो, व चटकन, 'हाजमोला, सर' उत्तर देणारी ती....त्याच्या विशिष्ट आवाजात 'लीज्जत पापड' म्हणणारा तो 'ससा'.....आपले दात किती मजबूत आहेत, हे सांगणारा, विकको वज्रदन्ती वापरणारा तो म्हातारा......आपल्या प्रीयकराने क्रिकेट खेळताना मारलेल्या शतका नंतर, भर मैदानात 'डेरी मिल्क' खात नाचणारी ती तरूणी'......आणि 'ये फेवीकोल का जोड हैं....' म्हणणारा तो.....अश्या किती तरी आठवणी आहेत!

अजुन एक खास लक्षात राहणारी गोष्ट म्हणजे, दोन 'सीरियल' मध्ये असलेले 'फिलर्स'! त्या सार्‍या कलाकारांना आपण कसे विसरू शकतो, ज्यांनी मिळून 'मिले सूर मेरा तुम्हारा' गायले! राष्ट्रीय एकात्मता दाखवण्याची ह्याच्याहून चांगली कल्पना तरी काय असु शकेल! परवाच कुठे तरी नवीन 'मिले सूर' चे चित्रीकरण बघितले.....पण बर्‍यापैकी शून्य कामगिरी केलेले काही लोकं त्यात बघून, आणि कृत्रिम आवाज काढलेले बघून, हे काही जास्त दिवस चालायचे नाही, ह्याची खात्री पटली! भारताचे तमाम मोठे खेळाडू..... मशाल घेऊन धावताना आठवतात.....त्यात, पी. टी. उषा चे हरणांच्या बरोबर, धावताना केलेले अचूक चित्रीकरण सुंदरच! पण त्यात खास असा आठवतो तो म्हणजे सुनील गावसकर चा चेहरा! अगदी हसतमुख असा धावणारा गावसकर, मला क्रिकेट आवडते म्हणून कदाचित....लक्षात राहिला आहे! नंतर नाही विसरलो मी 'बजे सरगम' ह्या सुंदर गीताला!

आपण बर्‍याचदा आपल्या आई-बाबांना , आजी-आजोबांना....ते बदलत नाहीत ...स्वतःच्या काळातील गोष्टी सोडत नाहीत! पण जेव्हा मी ह्या माझ्या बालपणाबद्दल विचार करतो....तेव्हा माझ्या मनात नेहमी तुलना सुरू होते.....तुलना होते आजच्या मुलांच्या बालपणाशी! विचार येतो.....आपण किती सुखी होतो....आपण किती निरागस होतो....! मग मोठ्यांनी असा विचार करण्यात काहीही गैर नाही ना! पण मग जाणवते....की ह्या दशकाबद्दल आपल्या मनात अजुन जागा आहे....कारण ते कलात्मक होते, नैसर्गिक होते, पण त्यात आपले बालपण मिसळलेले होते!

Why I followed the 'Baba' Part-1

With the aspirations of joining the electronic media as my career, I began my bachelor degree education in one of the prestigious institutions promoting training for the same! The institute, which boasted of big names in Indian journalism, passing out from its campus was indeed a lively campus to be in. With a year passed now, I had to do a summer project, to sharpen my journalistic skills! We were asked to present a report on any subject we liked, provided the subject had the following in it:

1. A very popular topic to write on, the more controversial the better.
2. No wasting time thinking on sentiments, be those of the people involved, or those of the people who read it.
3. The celebrity angle in your article, the better. Celebrities do not approach you, you have to approach them. If you can't reach them, do not worry about it....there are people who talk about them, who know about them. You can get the details from the people who are aware of the 'celebrity angle' in your project.
4. Don't have any emotions. You are not supposed to think of the 'effects on the society' angle, from your news. Your aim and duty is to provide news to the people.You are not scientists to 'cite' your article....neither you are social reformers to think about the society.

So, keeping in mind the golden rules of modern Indian Journalism, I began my task of selecting a right topic for this summer assignment. The topic of Anna Hazare's fast was pounced on by a dozen 'hungry' journalist students from my batch. Some took care of the world cup victory. I began hunting for a topic, till I landed one day on a piece of news, which I would say affected the entire nation, in one or the other way. A prominent figure in one of the largest, yet under-covered Indian industry had just passed away. This Indian industry represented self-proclaimed, spiritual god-men....who by their claims and names have made a lot of money,and have a lot of followers- classes and masses alike. They claim to know the happenings of the society beforehand, while some of them have gone to the extent of producing gold chains from nowhere for people who at times do not get even a daily meal. But looked onto the other side of this, these god-men had a lot of following from the 'classes' of the society....and this following included people, who by themselves had achieved so much in their life that it was impossible to believe that they could follow such god-men! Needless to say after this, I was the one who unarguably, disapproved of all this 'baba-dom'! But then what about people, whom I considered my idols....it was a bit disturbing that they follow someone who claims that he or she is none other than God! So, after this self-proclaimed God-man died, there was a division in the Indian society. His extreme followers were at their sorrowful best, whereas his critics, preached that the Indian society is now better without this 'man'. I was a rational....but my policy was that 'A Rational is the one who should not only focus on why people should not do a certain thing....but also why people are doing a certain thing! Otherwise there is no difference between a 'rational' and a 'whiner.
Hence, I started to think from both sides of the coin......as why people, who have climbed the stairs of success themselves rely on the blessing of such people, what makes them believe firmly that they require such blessings! At the same time, there is no scientific basis of whatever these god-men did! I was not ready to entertain the fact that, by utilizing 5% of the donations these people got...they were claiming that they had done a lot of social service for the poor, with the allegations of sexual abuse and child abuse withstanding! So, being a rational myself....and going by the quest for 'reason', I decided to interview some of the personalities involved in worshiping these god-men! This became my summer project! This is what I got from my peoject:

1.. A famous Industrialist:

Me: Sir, what is the secret of your family running this company these many generations?
Him: I inherited this huge company from my family. In order to be at the top....in order to run this huge company, and in order to have a high profit margin going, I do and my forefathers always did a constant introspection! We aimed for perfection....and a slight imperfection always irked me! Hence, finer details were looked into, while taking a decision. We never compromised on smaller, finer details...and hence I think we were always at the top!
Me: Will you please elaborate?
Him: Sure! It was this company expansion program! We were planning to open a new outlet at Pune, which was going to be the largest of our firm so far. As a consequence, we had to have a large man-power over there! We invested wisely, so that we could divert the returns in that outlet, and each and every person in the work force gets a fair pay! This finer detail has led us to have a happy work force and we are proud that our 'fine' and 'perfection-oriented' thinking is responsible for this!
Me: And how did you encounter Baba?
Him: Many experiences. When one of my friend told me about Baba, I first did not take him much of seriously. But once, he brought me a 'vibhuti' from him, and asked me to keep that with me. He assured me that it would bring me luck. We were striking a deal with one of the companies overseas, so that we could send our employees to them. The company was not ready to accept our investments, as they were heavily taxed by their government for allowing foreign investments. Then, the next day, in the surprising turn of events, the government in that country waived that tax, and our entry in that country became possible!
Me: Could that be coincident?
Him: I do not know.....may be yes...may be not....it is impossible for me to answer that with surety!
Me: What about the controversies surrounding him?
Him: I concentrate on the positive aspects of him and as far as I know, I have had good experiences of him. Frankly speaking, who has time to ponder over these issues?

2. A top rated Vocalist:

Me: Congratulations Panditji, for getting the Bharat Ratna award! How does it feel?
Him: Every day is the same, man! I just have to be perfect in my notes....make sure that the notes are not even a fraction improper. You know, my guruji taught me that if you hit a slightly improper note, it is like you are committing a serious crime!
Me: So, what is the reason for you getting the notes perfect?
Him: Practice! And more importantly introspection! After every concert, is a session of introspection......to see if I hit the perfect notes.....what combination of notes did I miss out...what combination of notes I will use tomorrow and so on! It is a never ending process for sure! Even I hit one note improperly, it results in sleepless night for me!
Me: To whom will you give credit for continuously being at the top and consistently giving hit performances?
Him: To my guruji.....as I always say....whatever good I am, it is because of him....and whatever bad you see it is because of me! Also my wife...who stood by me....my family...and all you people from the audience!
Me: And what about Baba?
Him: Oh yeah! His blessings are always with me! He has always blessed me and stood by me! Once during an interaction with him, I found his preaching motivational. He also gave me a sacred thread to wear. Tell you what.....after a couple of years, I experienced some problems with my voice. I used to hit notes....but notes...that did not appeal my 'self'. People used to appreciate....but within me...somewhere I found that there was imperfection. And as I said....imperfection for me is a crime! I began to grew restless. Frustration started creeping in, and then I planned to take Baba's darshan. Baba gave me a 'vibhuti', and surprisingly...within 3-4 months, I began to gain my confidence back. My voice found a new 'voice'....my music found a new direction. Desired notes, with the desired intensity began to flow...and most importantly, I gained my 'perfection' back!
Me: Could that be a coincident?
Him: But that did happen 3-4 months after I got the vibhuti....you cannot deny this fact! I experienced it myself!
Me: Ok! Let us accept that it did happen! But then what about the controversies that surround him?
Him: I go by my own experiences! I cannot deny what happened to me.....that is the reason...I do not generally believe in a controversy. And even Ram and Krishna did not escape controversy....did they?
Me: Alright Panditji! Thank you for the interview!

Beaming after getting an interview of two special people.....top in their respective fields.....I returned to my professor to submit a final report! But I was surprised to get his response! He had the following 'suggestions' to my report, as to have my base built for a successful journalist!
1. This report lacks people who have a huge fan following! Hence, if you make a news out of it....nobody is going to read it!
2. Search for a personality....who is loved by people all over India.....and write about him, such that people in a way get affected after reading. As a consequence....your article will be shared on social networking sites. And social networking site users have a tendency of desiring maximum comments and likes for their shared articles!
3. Such a personality has a very good fan following...but there is a section of people who are also 'irked' by the success of this personality. They have a tendency to criticize even a smallest 'error' by these personalities. They are also irked by the fact that these personalities earn too much, or are famous....whatever it is! But by writing an article about such a personality, you would invoke his/her critics as well as admirers! And what do we as journalists want? Debate!!! You will be famous instantly!
I still had two weeks for my submission. Hence, I decided to interview a famous cricketer.....whose fame had reached nooks and corner of the country. He, through his play and most importantly....conduct....had won accolades from an eight year old slum-dwelling kid to an eighty year old retired industrialist. What could be a better option that this....to gain some publicity....to be a trusted, favorite student of your professor...and also an upcoming, successful journalist of the future! I began to dream......my article getting shared on people's facebook walls.....it receiving....say...50o likes....or say....600 comments...700 shares......I was gonna be famous!!!