Following the Mahatma8217;s footsteps

SANGLI, Feb 5: The night after the village fair. Some people get together for gambling. An old man gets to know about it. He runs out and...

SANGLI, Feb 5: The night after the village fair. Some people get together for gambling. An old man gets to know about it. He runs out and catches hold of the drunk gamblers and beats them up. They run helter-skelter to escape his wrath. The old man chases them.

The next morning. At the gram panchyat. Villagers gather. The offenders are there heads hanging in shame. The old man speaks. The crowd listens quietly to his angry words. 8220;I am unsuccessful in my mission. You have ruined my teaching. Now, please don8217;t come to me. I want to stay away from all these things. You have made my toils fruitless. You may drink and do what you want,quot; he rants. He stalks out from meeting. The village follows him to his dilapidated house, the gamblers follow. They promise never to gamble again. The next morning, the old man is involved in solving the village problems.

G D Lad, known as Bapu is the saviour of Kundal and the surrounding villages.

A freedom fighter who commanded the Prati Sarkar8217;s army and was involved in many conspiracies against the British. He proudly shows the bullet scars on his body. He was actively involved in the liberation of Goa and Hyderabad, arrested many times and imprisoned. After independence, he got involved with the farmers and set up irrigation systems in villages.

As a communist, Bapu8217;s followers feel he could become the chief minister, but he has remained aloof.

Though Bapu dislikes politics he contested the Lok Sabha polls once and lost. 8220;I knew I would lose because the most important thing in elections is money and I had everything except money,quot; says Bapu. Now, he concentrates on the development of rural areas of Sangli district. He is working on the Kranti sugar mill project. Bapu is confident that his venture will assure in prosperity.

His party has been in power in Kundal since independence. Every gram panchyat election was comfortably by his group. But Bapu is not satisfied. He says,8220;Even after 50 years, my tenets are not properly understood by people. Though they do not drink when I am around, they have not quit the habits of drinking and gambling. I have not allowed shopkeepers here to sell gutkha. But my efforts have fallen short,quot; says Bapu. At 76, he is involved in protests, rallys, strikes. A young Congress leader from Kundal Balasaheb Pawar says,quot; One cannot suspect Bapu8217;s integrity. Though there are political differences we cannot deny that he has worked for the rural areas in Sangli.quot;

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Bapu runs the Gandhi Education Society which has primary schools, high schools and colleges to provide education to students in rural parts. He follows the Father of the Nation by cleaning toilets on every Independence and Republic Day. He also runs the Kisan Sabha to fight for the farmers.

Bapu is the people8217;s court and his word is final. He lives a simple life. 8220;My children live in bunglows but I am happy here,8221; says Bapu. But the new generation wants Bapu to bring some change in his principles. Bapu is aware of this. 8220;It will be difficult for my principles to live forever,quot; he admits.

quot;But I will live this way and I will pressure anybody to follow my path. No one in our country has understood the real meaning of communism, revival of communism is necessary,8221; Bapu says. But Bapu remains a legend in these parts. He has more plans to work, quot;There is no time to waste. There are many undone jobs,quot; says he.