Mahavir Tyagi’s two booklets were translated
into Gujarat and were just published. ‘Those Days of the Freedom Struggle’ –
4th edition, and ‘The Sound of Trumpet Against Kettledrum’ – 3rd edition,
were those books. These books were originally published in Hindi in 1993.
Both these books contain reminiscences of the writer. One of them has 132
pages and the other has 152 pages. I took hold of the little book first and
started reading its fourteen chapters from the rear. Many a times the book
made me touchy and at others it made me split my sides with laughter. Here I
present an excerpt from the book ‘Those Days Of Freedom Struggle’, for the
benefit of those readers who don’t know Mahavir Tyagi. “We are the carefree
youngsters who danced spellbound to some celestial tune. For thirty years we
have been ceaselessly performing in that great ballet, matching its beats
with those of our hearts. We defied everything in the world and enjoyed that
music wholeheartedly. But neither that carefree attitude nor the tune exists
now. Our gathering has messed up just like a gathering of moths is dispersed
after the candles in the chandelier have burnt out. The Congress without
Bapu is just like the notes without a tune. I don’t even remember what we
did during the last forty years. We used to do everything with the carefree
attitude of an intoxicated person. We faced a lot of obstacles but we
enjoyed the work assigned to us.
Since Independence, most of our Congressmen
have become jobless and homeless too. Because, the Master who trained us is
no more now. We had sharpened our senses to listen to his claps and would
jump and run when he whistled. We lost our hearts to his smile. Now, there
is no leash around our necks. We go here and there wagging our tails. No one
is there to clap or whistle now. I had something or the other to do when
Britishers were here. If we had nothing at all to do, we would organise a
rally in the morning. If we saw a few people gathering together, we would
tell them the news from the papers. They would call us and ask, “What is
Mahatmaji doing these days? He must be acquainted with you.” I would
enthusiastically tell them stories about Bapu. But those are the old tales
now. When Britishers quit this country, their cooks and many others lost
their jobs. Now, Congressmen also don’t have any job! I called on each and
every leader to get something to do with their help. They had power, money,
permits, licenses, scholarships and lot more but no work!