Click to play videoMumbai: In his play 'Mahadev Bhai' , Jamini Pathak has re-imagined the way we think about the iconic freedom fighter and leader Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
The play clearly portrays and brings to the fore, facets of Sardar Patel's personality that are unknown to people.
Sardar's wit and humour, his intimate bonding in Gujarati with Mahatma Gandhi and his grand but honest vision for an independent India are all brought out in this play.
In a scene from the play, Gandhi asks Sardar his choice of portfolio when India is to achieve freedom. Sardar replies that he will become an ascetic ( a yogi) and will wander onto the streets with a musical instrument to sing devotional songs and a bowl in hand.
Jamini Pathak , the actor who plays Sardar in Mahdev Bhai says, "He has till date, been portrayed as a hard-hearted person with no sense of humour. Fact is that he actually he had a terrific sense of humour which could also be caustic when required. His laughter used to ring across several rooms and was childlike in many ways."
In recent years Sardar Patel's image as the Iron Man of India has often overshadowed his secular legacy.
While his party has all but forgotten him, many Hindutva leaders have tried to paint him entirely in saffron hues. This appropriation of Sardar's legacy, though may not be true.
He was certainly a strict administrator first , but modern historians argue that he was also impartial.
His secular credentials and the love for the Mahatma are evident from his actions after the murder of Gandhi. "Sardar was the Home Minister in 1948, and he was perhaps the only one who banned the RSS and put 2500 of organisation behind bars. Sardar Patel was also as secular as Nehru, only his way of functioning was a little different," said the Director of the Nehru Memorial Library, Professor Mridula Mukherjee.
He was also close to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, unlike what most people have been led to believe.
So even as political bickering continues over Sardar's legacy, in his hometown in Karamsad in Gujarat , Sardar's family has consciously kept away from all political parties. The descendants of Kashibhai Patel, the brother of Sardar Patel live on in Karamsad.
Bhupendra Patel, the grandson of Kashibhai Patel said, "Sardar Patel had told us not to get involved in politics. It was an order. So until now, none of us has anything to do with politics. Leaders come and ask us to be present at their functions, but we decline."
Perhaps at a time when we are faced with the twin challenge of terrorism and communalism, India needs a Sardar again.
Our politicians could also do with a little emulation of the great man's simplicity and humour.
(With inputs from Aruna Ramesh and Meghdoot Sharon)
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