Indipens

During the Quit India Movement in 1942, as a primary school boy, I joined my Marine Drive neighbourhood kids.

During the Quit India Movement in 1942, as a primary school boy, I joined my Marine Drive neighbourhood kids. It was explained to us that we would march because Gandhi Bapu wanted independence from the gora sahibs.

In those days, ball pens were not heard of, while fountain pens like Parker and Sheaffers were prized possessions known to us as 8220;indipens8221;. Even rich kids didn8217;t own any. You got an indipen fountain pen if you passed matriculation or graduated or got married. I8217;d get to borrow my father8217;s indipen now and then. In that scenario, what I understood thus was that Gandhi Bapu wanted the gora sahibs to give us several indipens so I was happy to join a little procession in front of our home at Marine Drive.

We were to burn an effigy of Winston Churchill. We were instructed to shout 8220;Hai re Churchill hai hai.8221; Not knowing who Churchill was, nor what an effigy was, I thought it was F, E, G, so perhaps feg, but I didn8217;t know what a feg was either, I understood that if we marched, shouted and burnt a feg, we would get indipens. That was okay by me as we8217;d play with burning matches in full view on a street, under adult approval, and to top it all, Gandhi Bapu would get us indipens.

A contemporary told me of a similar experience. There would be a procession, initiated by Gandhi Bapu and there would be cries of 8220;Inquilab Zindabad8221;. He thought 8220;Zinkilab Zindabad8221; sounded better, and heard that all those who shouted that would be transported in a police van by gora sipahis to the town jail.

What does one do in a jail, he had asked. He was told one would sit there and be fed. His mouth watered at the prospect of getting a poori-alu sabzi snack and he joined, shouting Zinkilab Zindabad with vehemence. He was duly picked up.

On reaching the jail, he was questioned by a tall white officer with yellow moustache wearing a sola topee: 8220;What are you, such a tapudi small boy doing here?8221; 8220;I have come to sit, and eat,8221; he replied. Soon, he got the snack and was let off. Some years later, Gandhi Bapu got us independence.

I still use an indipen from those days, fill it with ink and it functions well. All said and done, independent India also functions well.