Pav Bhaji

It was a busy street in the midst of a bustling city… always a buzzing beehive of activity. Though many shops and stalls dotted the street, the most crowded was the one that sold the most delicious pav bhaji. Chhotu, an orphaned street kid looked on longingly as the vendor dished out plates after plates of the spicy, buttery delicacy. Every evening, he would stand at the same spot in the crowded, dirty slum across the street and watch people tear off pieces of soft, buttery pav, dip them in the fiery bhaji and devour them, smacking their lips. Sometimes his hand would absentmindedly reach out as if beckoning the vendor to serve him a plateful too, but then it would dig into the empty pockets of his worn out shorts and he would be jolted back to reality. That evening he was absorbed in his daily ritual of longingly staring at the stall, when we was suddenly pushed to the ground by someone running past him. He looked around and saw the slum inhabitants running helter-skelter, cries of ‘bhaago bhaago… municipality wale aa gaye’ (run, run… the municipality officials are here) renting the air. Before he could even react, someone picked him up and threw him into a van  already chock full of illegal slum dwellers and sped away. Soon after, a bull dozer arrived and wiped out all traces of the slum… and Chhotu was never seen again…

Many years later, the street was just as busy as it earlier was – the only difference being it now housed a huge glitzy mall in place of the slum. People still thronged the streets, but they now strode into the fashionable cafes and restaurants in the mall to have their daily fill. It was lunch time and scores of office goers and college going students from the nearby area trooped into the mall to have their lunch. The café on the ground floor was most popular since it served the most delicious street food and was a hit with the young and old alike. The sprightly young owner was having a busy day at the cash counter as he kept handing out lunch coupons and depositing the cash in his drawer.

When at last the crowd reduced and he leaned back in his armchair to rest a little, he spotted a bedraggled kid of about ten years of age loitering outside the glass wall of his plush café. The child looked longingly at the tantalizing food displays beyond the glass wall. The owner thought for a minute and then went out on the street, walking towards the child. The child started to run away, scared at first that he might be beaten up or scolded, but stopped when the owner invited him to come and have a meal at his café! The little boy could not believe his good fortune! He ran into the café and eagerly dug into the plate full of hot, delicious food set before him. The owner looked on, deeply moved as the child happily devoured the meal. His eyes brimmed with tears as every morsel of pav bhaji that the child ate reminded him of his own hungry, impoverished past…

विठू माउलि

बऱ्याच दिवसांची इच्छा होती विठ्ठलासाठी कविता लिहायची… एक विनम्र भेट त्या पांडुरंगाच्या पायरी…

धन्य ती भूमी पंढरीची, धन्य ती चंद्रभागा,
धन्य ते विठ ज्याच्यावरी, माझा विठूराया उभा.

काय केलास रे पुण्य पुंडलिका, घनश्याम आला तुझ्या घरी,
वाट बघता विठेवरी उभा राहिला, ठेविता कर कटावरी.

येती अनंत पावले, प्रत्येक आषाढी कार्तिकी,
गाता तुझी नामे, हे विठ्ठला, आले दिशे-दिशेतून वारकरी.

आवडले तुला अभंग जनाबाईचे, आवडली तिची भक्ति निष्काम,
ठरले पात्र तुझ्या कृपेला, ज्ञानदेव, एकनाथ आणि तुकाराम.

करतो राज्य भक्त मनांवर, निवास करता पंढरपुरी,
सोबती घेऊनी .रखुमाईला, माझा पांडुरंग हरी.

हवे हात नेहमी मदतीला तुझे, हवी तुझ्या मायेची सावली,
हवी नामे सतत मुखे तुझी, हवी माझी विठू माउलि.

हाक वसुंधरेची

देवा तुला वसुंधरेची, हाक नाही का ऐकू आली,

पापाने ग्रस्त पृथ्वीच्या डोळ्यातून, रक्त गंगा वाहू लागली,

धर्माचा मुखवटा घालून, भाभळ्यांना फसवायला वावरत असतात,

दुष्ट असे तुझ्या नावावर, विष द्वेषाचा पसरवतात,

संकट बघूनही इतरांचे, न बघता पुढे जातात काही,

माणसाची मदत करायला, एक माणूस राहिला नाही,

ज्या पृथ्वीच्या गर्भातून,जन्मले वृक्ष वनस्पती जीवनदायी,

धरून पापांचे बीज त्या गर्भाशयात, त्रस्त झाली ती आई,

भोगण्याकरिता भौतिक सुखे, चारित्र्यही विकायला लागले,

करता पूर्ण स्वार्थ आपले, माणुसकी मागेच विसरले,

अवस्था ही पृथ्वीची, हे करुणाकरा, तुझ्या दृष्टीत नाही का पडली,

हे देवा तुला वसुंधरेची, हाक नाही का ऐकू आली?