“Udaan” or in English “The Flight” may be of many kinds. The first synonyms of it’s comes to my mind is “a desire to fly” or in hindi you can say “asha mann ki udaan ki” and I am sure almost everyone of us had got this desire secretly kept in our hearts safely. So does our character Chintu has. Nine year old Chintu is in 5th standard of Xaviers Secondary School of Ayodhya (UP) yes! The disputed site, this is exactly what your mind may be thinking. Don’t blame yourself, it may be the psychological reasoning of yours to always pick up the wrong reason of anything or perhaps you can blame our opportunistic wicked and I will say the coward Politians who had created all this fuss around for just to have meager political gain.  Let’s come back to our Chintu, like others he has also got an ambitious udaan in his little heart in  the form of becoming a doctor just like his father but he doesn’t kept it secret like many of us instead he proudly shares it to everyone.  That’s why he always introduces himself to others as Dr Chintu.

One day while coming back from school Chintu had a chat with his class mates Sunil, Vishal and Javed :-

Sunil:- Today It was a great fun na!  Having two games periods. (With a smiling face)

Javed:- Ya! Say thanks to Sheila maam’s illness yaar. (Giving a low five to Sunil)

Sunil:- Rightly said that, I wish her illness continues tomorrow so that we again get her period to have fun. (By taking low five given by Sunil and smiles)

Javed:- well! Even though she may be ill tomorrow but we can’t play. (With sadness)

Chintu & Others: - why?

 Javed:- Arrey! Tommorow is 30 Sep The verdict day!

Chintu :-                 Verdict day? What verdict? (Anxiously)

Javed & Others:-     you don’t know??? (Surprisingly)

Chintu:- No! You guys know? (Anxiously)

Sunil :- hey Vishal you say. (Looking at Vishal)

Vishal:- Why I?  No! you say! (Looking back to Sunil)

Javed:- OK OK don’t fight I am saying (looking onto Chintu). Look the truth is, we all don’t knew exactly what it is, but it seems  tomorrow the uncles will fight each other.

Chintu :- Why???

Javed:-  That I don’t know. (Looking to his friends)

At this Chintu too looks onto his friends with a hope to get the reason but everybody negatively nods their head.

Chintu:- So you people are not coming School tomorrow?

All his Friends:- Hopefully No!

 By the time Chintu is about to reach his home, so he gives a final bi to his friends.

Chintu:- Bi Guys! (By waving his hands to his friends)

Javed:- Bi Chintu !

Chintu:- Hey idiot forgot! Say Dr. Chintu.

Javed:- oops sorry! Bi Dr. Chintu.

Dr. Chintu:-  Bi (smiles and enters in home)

Dr. Chintu on reaching home had a small chat with his mother.

Dr. Chintu:- Mom! Is tomorrow a verdict day? (By throwing his bag on the dining table)

Mom:- Na beta! Who told you? (Gazing at Chintu for the act)

Dr. Chintu:- Is this true that tomorrow uncles will fight each other?

Mom:- No! Who told you all these nonsense? Go and have your homework done. (Angrily)

Little Dr. Chintu on this sadly moves to his room by picking his bag from the dining table.

Mom:- Oh god! Today’s children…..really (to herself)

Next day Dr. Chintu wakes up early, breaks his piggy bank, took all the cash, dressed in school uniform with a long red tilak on his fore head made from Mom’s Sindoor box and ran for school. He also didn’t forget to take his sword (toy) with him once gifted by his father on his 9th birthday. With the money, he hired a rickshaw puller for reaching school as it was very early to catch the school bus. On the way:-

Rickshaw puller:- Baba! Are you sure that your school will be open today? (By paddling his Rickshaw)

Dr. Chintu:- Yes! But you take me to the place where the uncles will fight today? (Anxiously looking around)

Rickshaw puller:- why? (Surprisingly)

Dr. Chintu:- Quick uncle! I had to deliver a message. (still anxiously looking around)

Rickshaw puller:- Whose message?

By the time Chintu was able to see a crowd gathered in front of an old structure with slogans and placards written.

 

THIS DIWALI JANAMBHOOMI MEIN PUJAN

THIS RAMZAN BABRI MEIN AZAAN

 

Dr. Chintu:- Message of Bharat Mata. (Quickly gets down and hands over the money to the rickshaw puller and ran into the crowd)

Rickshaw puller:- Listen son! Come back! I will drop you to the School. (Shouts with hope)

Dr. Chintu listens to nobody but to himself, he straight away enters into the crowd with his sword raising and:-

Dr. Chintu:- Step aside…… listen to me……I had a message…….(shouts regularly)

At this few people drag his hand and push him out of the crowd and one of them:-

The Man:- hey kid go away! (Angrily)

On this Dr. Chintu became angry and again tries to enter:-

Dr. Chintu:- Step aside…… listen to me……I had a message…….(shouts regularly)

Another Man:- Hey! Why you are here? Go to your school (drag and pushes him away from the crowd)

At this our Dr. saab became very frustrated and angry:-

Dr. Chintu :- Listen to my message …. I want to make sacrifice (raising his sword Shouts loudly in the middle of the crowd)

On this the crowd suddenly stops and silently all eyes on our Dr. Chintu. Dr. Chintu breathing fast and grunts, then suddenly a man from the crowd:-

The Man:-  Hey boy! (Angrily)

Dr. Chintu :- Listen to my message else I will sacrifice myself…. I want to sacrifice myself (this time silently as everyone is listening to him)

At this one of the members stops the man by raising his hand and comes near to our Dr.Saab

The Man:- Tell us Who are you  and whose message you want to deliver us? (Softly)

Dr. Chintu:- I am Dr. Chintu (Politely)

On listening this, the man and his colleagues had a rare smile on their face but it didn’t last long. So our Dr. Saab continues:-

Dr. Chintu:- And I wanted to deliver a message of Bharat Maa.

At this the angry mob now had a surprising face.

The Man:- Bharat maa…. Where did you meet her and what did she say? (Surprisingly and anxiously)

Dr. Chintu:- (continues) I don’t know the location but she appears last night when I was in bed. First of all I didn’t recognize her. I saw a woman weeping under a banyan tree, when I went to her I saw her with a bare head, a torn saree with many stitches and also with many scars and wounds on her body.

On listening this, the angry mob sits calmly on the ground and interestingly listens further to Dr. Chintu.

 Now we can show the dream on the next part of the stage with having the character Bharat Mata and Dr. Chintu .

Dr. Chintu:- Who are you ? (Approaching her)

Bharat Maa:- you don’t know me son… ?(Surprisingly) Yes! How could you recognize this helpless maa. (Stops weeping)

Dr. Chintu:- (thinks for a while) Bharat maa…(and quickly gets down and touches  her feet)

Bharat Maa:- Yes!  21st century’s helpless Bharat maa (holds up Dr. Chintu)

Dr. Chintu:- Maa! What happened to you and where is your crown? (Pointing to the bare head)

Bharat Maa:- The Crown! (Waits for a while) Yes, half was stolen and the remaining broken part is under mortgage.

Dr. Chintu:- what about the scars? (Looking on the wounds and scars all over the body)      

Bharat Maa:- This one is due to burn on 2001(showing her right hand) and this is of 1971 (showing the scars in her left hand) This is of 1992 (stops and holds her breast with having a pain)

Dr. Chintu:- What happened Maa? (Tensed)

Bharat Maa:- Nothing son! For past few weeks I had a severe pain here. (Frees her hand from the breast and smiles on looking to Dr. Chintu and continues) Enough of me tell me who are you and what is your name?

Dr. Chintu:- I am a son of yours and my name is Dr. Chintu. (Proudly introduces)      

Bharat Maa:- Dr. Chintu….?

Dr. Chintu:- Yes! I want to become a Doctor.

Bharat Maa:- (smiles and  suddenly starts weeping )

Dr. Chintu:- What happened maa? Please calm down.      

Bharat Maa:-  Nothing Son (stops weeping and continues) Suddenly I remembered my other great sons.

Dr. Chintu:- Who? (Anxiously)      

Bharat Maa:- (smiles and continues) There was many, One  … people say him mahatma…

Dr. Chintu:- (Quickly interrupts) Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi, I had read about him (smiling and with sparking eyes)

Bharat Maa:- Yes (smiles) Then you also read about Netaji?

Dr. Chintu:- Ya! Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Bharat Maa:- (smiles and continues) Chandrashekar Azad, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, Bhagat Singh, Jawahar lal, Lal bahadur, Vir sawarkar, Sardar patel……..

Dr. Chintu:- And Dr. Chintu….. (Suddenly interrupts with a smiling face)

Bharat Maa:- (smiles)

Dr. Chintu:- (continues) I also wanted to be a freedom fighter like them but today you don’t need them as  all the British are gone(with sadness)

Bharat Maa:- Who says I don’t need them today? I need them now the most. Whenever I was in trouble my courageous and loving sons valued their precious life for saving me. They had given their lives for protecting me and my dignity. But tomorrow…..(suddenly stops)

Dr. Chintu:- What will happen tomorrow?(waits a while and continues) Aren’t you mean the verdict day that javed was talking about, like the uncles will fight……..(anxiousness on his face)

Bharat Maa:- Yes! once again tomorrow my dignity and respect is in danger. Now when almost the world is here for games my sons will fight each other for nothing but for showing their high nose. Is there no true son of mine left, this time who can save me from this humiliation and insult in front of the whole world? Will my dignity and respect once again get torn and destroyed in ashes tomorrow? Who will stop them (weeps and looks at Dr. Chintu with pain and anguish)

Dr. Chintu:- I will stop them? (With energy in his thin voice)

Bharat Maa:- (smiles and stops weeping) You? Surely you will one day my son but not this time. You are a kid now Dr. Chintu.(by brushing his hair with her hand)

Dr. Chintu:- Don’t say Dr. Chintu anymore Maa.(with sadness)

Bharat Maa:- Why? (Surprisingly)

Dr. Chintu:- Today I had decided to become a teacher like my mother?

Bharat Maa:- why son? (Anxiously)

Dr. Chintu:-  So that I can help to build a new India which will be more powerful physically as well as mentally too so that you will never ever have to face this type of agony and humiliation anymore. I need your blessing maa.(gets down and touches her feet)

On this a tearful (this time of happiness) mother sees off her young child, placing a tilak on his forehead with her blood which is coming out of one of the wounds. The reason I said young child to Dr. Chintu Oh! Sorry now Sir Chintu is that he may be a child in built but is young too young with his brave mighty heart. Now focusing on the other part of the stage the angry mob by listening to these had a tearful face and started hugging each other. Sir Chintu seeing this became very happy and tears away the placards fallen on the ground writhen:-

 

THIS DIWALI JANAMBHOOMI MEIN PUJAN to

THIS DIW……………………..ALI JANAMBHOOMI MEIN PUJAN

And to THIS RAMZAN BABRI MEIN AZAAN

THIS RAM……………….. ZAN BABRI MEIN AZAAN

Sir Chintu now happily shows these torn placards to our audiences.

Sir Chintu:- JAI HIND…….. JAI HIND………. JAI HIND………. (Shouts loudly)

The mob also repeats this loudly with holding each other’s hand covering the entire stage in a line, Sir Chintu will be in front and in the middle of them. Bharat Mata will be standing with a smiling face behind them on a height so that the audience can watch her clearly.

THE END

Gulshen Ali                                                                                                                                                                                         
Film writer aspirant written 30+ stories
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