Four years ago, on
this day, iconic Marathi poet Mangesh Padgaonkar passed away. His poem Salaam (Salute)
became the post-Emergency voice of dissent for Marathi writers and poets and won
him the Sahitya Akademi Award. I posted the poem on social media and received
accusatory backlash from a few friends.
They accused Padgaonkar
of being a ‘disruptionist’ and a provoker of unrest. They blamed me for
indulging in mischief. Their indignation was considerably countered when they
were informed that it was written over 40 years ago. Of course, they were
primarily offended because the poem held a mirror to their habit of saluting.
L K Advani had said of the
Indian media (during the Emergency days) that they crawled when asked to bend.
Similarly we find persons who salute their masters even when they don’t need
to. Some do it out of fear, some do it for favour. Some do it to be on the ‘right’
side, some do it to ensure that no ‘wrong’ happens to them.
It was the survival instinct, an attribute Padgaonkar
identified astutely, and attacked with vigour in the poem. He sketched the
imagery of scared common man willing to salute anyone in authority and
ever-willing to comply. While some of us may become like that, the day belongs
to the ones who stand up for the values they care!
We must ask ourselves why we look up to authority with
fear and trepidation. We must introspect whether we have aligned to bowing down
even we have done no wrong. It is okay to salute another out of respect or for acknowledging
what’s good. But to do so for fear or favour is a sign of letting go of human
dignity.
Without the freight of fear or lure of favour
Salute with dignity to values that are dear!
~ Pravin K Sabnis
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