Maharaj

 'Hail, His Highness' should be the ideal translation, the perfect title for a piece on Shivaji Maharaj on this day of his birth anniversary. Would it capture the regard one feels for him was my worry. I decided hence to go for 'Maharaj'. 

Much has been penned on/about Maharaj. Politically correct it is. Want some proof? Hereabouts in Maharashtra, they celebrate the birth anniversary twice, but not exactly out of affection. Rather, it is the convenient political affliction.

In the charged atmosphere today when 'Brahminwad/Brahmanwad' (it stopped being 'bramhnywad' long time back!) is the fulcrum, better not to  dare n write anything at all, would be the strategy, I suppose. Given the echo chambers dominant n pervasive these days, there is no way knowing who would interpret what how, especially because, given my surname, I should be in Eurasia!

No worries though! I am going to write about a cute folk story about Maharaj. The 'hero' of this story is a kid, too. Absolutely apt it is hence for the occasion. 

Savlya, our young hero, is a guard at some border. Anonymous it is luckily as far as I know. No regional identities involved hence! Savlya, like most of us, adores Maharaj. His orders are Savlya's absolute diktats even when Savlya has never seen/met him in person. 

Savlya sees a horse rider trying to ride past the border, and without any formal permission. Furious, he stops the rider, and threatens him. The amused rider tries to test his commitment. Satisfied with the kid's innocent dedication to duty, he reveals his identity. The rider is none other than Maharaj himself, mighty satisfied with the feel of  responsibility of every common citizen.

Why do I still like this folk tale which I read as a textbook title, may be, in the seventh or eighth standard? In my opinion, a king/ ruler who can create effortlessly such devotion for himself and the cause in the mind of a lad has to be a great n good king, right? 

Incidentally, this folk tale which in my opinion truly shows Maharaj's grandeur is a poem by Wa. Ba. Pathak, written in 1922. Right now I do not have any references to assess the effect it had on the Independence struggle which, I think, it must have had.

True, 'his-story' should always be authenticated. Otherwise, dangerous falsehoods, convenient to interest groups, may float around. No harm though, I suppose, in thus idealising an idol, right? Sure it cannot, and does not, have any ideological undercurrents that make stories, rather 'narratives',  in to opinionated traps. Instead, it proves the Wordsworthian axiom; namely, "the child is father of the man"! 

Quote of the day:                                                        "Kindness and faithfulness keep a king safe. Through kindness, his throne is made secure" is King Solomon's wise saying. 

Word of the day: fealty.                                            Fealty may sound archaic. It means intense, sworn loyalty and allegiance, and implies a solemn promise of dedicated support.