My visit to Pune was a 3 day affair between 5-7 June 2012. Though it was a hectic one with the itinerary just preceding a major college event of which I was one of the organizers.
On 6th June, the 4 of us- me, my mother, my aunt & my cousin boarded the Pune Darshan bus, (a guided city tour of Pune). The guide, a certain Mr. Jagtap was an interesting fellow- his peculiar way of speaking hindi was pretty funny.
The first place we visited was Tilak museum. The museum is dedicated to the great Indian freedom fighter- Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as "Lokmanya" Tilak. It houses many articles of his personal use as well as models of various aspects of his life- such as his life as the editor of
Kesari, the first Indian newspaper; his life at Mandley Jail (now Myanmar).
Tilak is a revered Marathi icon. Someone, in whom every Marathi takes a pride identifying himself with. Obscured in history under the big (& often undeserving) names, Tilak was a social reformer as well as a zealot nationalist. He is attributed with starting "
Ganesh Utsav" and "
Shiv Utsav" in Maharashtra in 1898 so as to foster a sense of unity amongst people.
The conditions in which he was imprisoned in Burma were much harsher than those faced by Nehru and company who were treated royally, even in Jail. Tilak, despite being a severe diabetic, had to sleep on wooden floors without proper medical attention. The salty winds from the sea made life worse. And it was in such harsh environment that he penned his magnum opus- "
Geeta Rahasya" (गीता रहस्य), a treatise on the holy book Gita.
Contrast this to Nehru & Co who were housed in comfortable places like the picturesque Naini, Yerawada and the lavish Aga Khan Palace. And then people talk about their 'sufferings' and 'sacrifice' for the nation. Yet they are projected as the "Harbingers of Indian Freedom". What farce!
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| Tilak Museum |
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| Mural depicting Ganesh Utsav |
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| Ba Gangadhar Tilak |
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| A model of his study |
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was idiosyncratic in his time. He was the forerunner of extremist movement which championed the cause of Swaraj (self-rule) via demonstrations, strikes and rallies. Prior to these the only way to show opposition was by writing letters and petitions to the deaf British Government. There are no surprises that it didn't yield any fruitful results. Thus his advent along with Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai (the famous trio of Bal, Pal, Lal) marked a significant change from the activities of the A.O Hume founded Indian National Congress. It was this ideological foundation set up by him on which the likes of Nehru, Gandhi and Patel built the structure that drove the colonial powers from India. So it comes as no suprise to see the reverence that Maharshtrians hold for Lokmanya.
Such a great man, he was. Salute!
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| "Swaraj is my birth right, and I shall have it!" |
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