A few days after the above incident Keshava was admitted into the local school for formal education. After coming back from school it was his custom to chant Vedic mantra, Ramraksha prayer and several other devotional couplets.
He had a very active mind capable of educating itself with general information available outside and the current affairs. He knew that his country was suffering the slavery of the British and that the British were ruling the country ruthlessly. He would often hear the stories of the British cruelty, tyranny and injustice.
In pained young Keshava. He began to harbour intense hatred for British since he had made patriotism the fundamental principle of his character. Often others were amazed to see such emotional intensity in a primary school kid.
Once his school celebrated the 7th anniversary of the crowing of Queen Victoria of England. All government, government aided and missionary schools used to celebrate the occasion connected to British crown as India was a part of its empire. It was done at the orders of the education department. The schools vied with one another to please the rulers. On that occasion sweets were distributed among the students.
Keshava also got his share. But he threw his share into the rubbish-bin saying, “It is a shame for us to celebrate the crowning of an alien queen or regent. We shall not take part in it.”
The three brothers were a determined lot. And they were very hard working. One day the family decided that they needed to sink a well in its courtyard to have a water resource of their own for the domestic needs. The brothers liked the idea and could not wait to start the work.
They began digging right away after evening meals. The work continued through the night. The three brothers toiled like possessed ones. The well was sunk and the dirty water drawn out.
In the morning their father saw the well all ready for service. It was a pleasant surprise for him. He was really proud of his sons who believed in action and brooked no delays.
In 1902, plague broke out in several cities of India. Maharashtra cities suffered the worst fate.
Nagpur was no exception. Thousands of people died or lay around suffering. The administration ignored the suffering of the citizens. The people were so fearful of contracting the disease that no one ventured out even to see one’s own relatives.
But Pandit Baliram and his wife Revatibai were not one of them. They continued to go to the relatives, friends and acquaintances just like before to see if everyone was alright. But in the process they fell victim to the epidemic and passed away.
Keshava was then only 13 years old.
After the demise of the parents the burden of the responsibility of the family fell on the shoulders of Mahadeva.
It was a bad situation for young Keshava. Ever since Keshava had defied his brother their relationship had soured. The elder brother began to exercise very harsh discipline on him. As a result Keshava preferred to stay away from home. He often went hungry and his clothes were in tatters. But the youngster did not lose hope. He was a hard nut to crack.
Keshava put himself into the studies. He had a receptive brain and a heart that found solace in culture, mythology and religion as the country suffered the colonial rule. He could be found murmuring couplets from Geeta most of the time. He attended religious congregations, heard the recitals of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Shivaji’s story and his campaigns against the Muslim empires particularly excited him.
Keshava was very serious about religion. Once a guest arrived at his home. He was a religious man of traditional kind. In the morning, he sat down for Ramayana recital after taking bath. At the end of the recital he closed the holy book and paid obeisance to it with folded hands.
Then, he put some flowers reverently on it.
Keshava carefully watched his act.
He asked, “Do you act upon the principles of Ramayana in your real life?”
“Ramayana is for recital with devotion and ritual. That redeems the person,” the guest said sharply somewhat feeling offended.
Was the kid questioning his sincerity?
Keshava said, “No, sir. Inculcation of good values in the character is a must. The redemption of a person is only possible through development of noble qualities.”
That left the guest speechless.
One day Keshava heard the story of Shivaji yet again. The spirit of the story so powerfully gripped him that he began to day-dream. He became a dedicated and daredevil soldier of Shivaji. At the later’s command he stormed forts and hoisted the saffron flags of Shivaji’s Swarajya kingdom over them.
He came back from his day-dreaming with a hangover of victory. The harsh realities of real life took little time to cure his hangover. Mocking in view of him was the small fort of Sitaburdy which had British Union Jack fluttering atop. It stunned Keshava.
He talked to his friends and discussed how they could raise the saffron flag over Sitaburdy fort. In his day-dreaming Keshava had found a temporary emotional goal. The friends suggested that the task required reaching into the fort first of all before the flag could be hoisted.
An enthusiastic friend said, ‘‘We can’t enter from the gate or scale the walls. A tunnel can take us into the fort.’’
Everyone agreed that the idea made sense.
Now it was the turn for the execution of the plan. The boys began a search for a safe place from where the tunnel digging could start. Then, Keshava remembered of such a place.
He took his friends to his teacher’s house. The teachers popularly called ‘Guruji’ was not at home. He had gone to his village with his family as the school was closed for a holiday.
There was a boundary wall around the compound of that house. The outsiders could not see the activity going on inside. It provided the perfect setting. Keshava and his friends went there again after approving of the location as fit for their operation. They had brought along the digging implements.
The digging began in earnest. In the evening the teacher returned home where a surprise waited for him. Keshava and his friends were digging a big hole in his compound.
He asked, “Son Keshava, what are you doing?”
“Guruji, we are digging a tunnel to Sitaburdy fort,” Keshava proudly announced.
“Why son?”
“We have to remove the Union Jack from that fort and hoist our saffron flag which rightly belongs there,” the boy claimed.
The teacher stared at his pupil.
He understood the patriotic feelings of the boy.
He remarked, “That is noble spirit son. But replacing Union Jack from that fort won’t win us freedom. You must study carefully and then you can wage a real battle against the British to drive them away from our country. Once they are gone we can hoist our flags on all the forts of the country including the Red Fort of Delhi.”
In 1905, British played the dirtiest trick of their ‘Divide and Rule’ game. The division of Bengal in two parts on the communal lines was announced. Bengal had become the centre of anti-British militancy.
The youth of Bengal were creating a lot of trouble for the alien rulers. By dividing Bengal the British were aiming at weakening of the revolutionary movements by driving a wedge between Hindus and Muslims.
The leaders and the people of India saw through the trick. The country was rocked by protests, strikes, marches and demonstrations against the government move.
A statewide agitation against the division was launched in Bengal. The leaders gave a call to the people to boycott the British goods.
The agitators made ‘Vandematram’ song the signature tune of the anti-British movement. It was accepted by the people as provisional National Anthem.
It angered the British rulers. They promptly banned the singing of ‘Vandematram’. The singing or reciting it became an act of treason. Many people were punished severely for this offence.
Even the children were not spared. Any child singing ‘Vandematram’ was given lashes. The authorities were more particular about school kids because they functioned in big groups.
Defiance by them had multiplied effect.
Keshava then was fifteen year old teenager. The British tyranny made him seethe in anger. He could not prevent himself from registering his protest in no uncertain terms. So strongly he felt about it.
The English Inspector of schools was scheduled to visit the school of Keshava. That was the kind of opportunity he was waiting for.
He revealed his idea to his pals. The pals were game to go with him.
No teacher got wind of their plot.
As soon as the Inspector entered the room of tenth class Keshava and his classmates rose up and raised the slogan ‘Vandematram’ at full throat.
The slogan shouting echoed through the school and the other classes too raised ‘Vandematram’ slogan emboldened by the act of the tenth class boys.
A shocked white Inspector suspended his inspection routine. His face had darkened in rage. He barked at the accompanying school administrator, “What is going on here? Have the students of this school turned into anti-British militants? It is gravely serious matter. Do you understand it?”
The embarrassed administrator made apologetic noises and promised that the culprit behind that episode would be traced out and suitably punished to the satisfaction of the authorities.
The Inspector left in a huff.
After his departure, the chagrined school administrators launched an investigation. But no information was forthcoming.
The secretly patriotic teachers could easily guess whose handiwork it could be. But they would not betray.
All the students were questioned by the administrators to find out the mastermind behind the slogan plot. No student named anyone for the offence. Even the threat of caning did not work.
Then, the administrators threatened that all the students would be expelled if the name of the culprit of ‘Vandematram’ slogan raising was not revealed.
The warning made Keshava and his close pals walk out of the class.
They stopped going to the school. The administrators contacted the parents of the kids and pressurised them to send their wards to the school. The parents also did not want the studies of their children suffering for any reason. They ordered their children to report to the school. The children apologized to the students for their indisciplined conduct.
But Keshava stayed away.
A relative counselled to him, “You must also go to school and seek the pardon of the teachers. Don’t disrupt your studies.”
Keshava retorted, “Why should I apologize? I have done no crime.”
“There is no harm in forgetting whatever has happened. Don’t make it a prestige issue. You are too young for it.”
“Prestige is prestige for everyone. What wrong did I do?” Keshava was belligerent.
“You raised ‘Vandematram’ slogan which is banned by the government. And you instigated your mates to join in the illegal act. You must realise it.”
Suddenly Keshava got in a fit of rage. He was shaking in fury to the shock of the relative.
Keshava roared, “Don’t you ever again brand the Vandematram slogan raising as an illegal act! It may be illegal for alien rulers. For us it is our song of self-respect. And my aim it to throw out these aliens out of my motherland.”
His haughty behaviour was not liked by his brothers even. So, Keshava left home and began to live with an uncle who was popularly known as ‘Abbaji’.
There too the family friends were sorry to see the youngster wasting away his valuable time.
An elder advised, “Son, you are yet only in your teens. It is the age to get educated. Why are you getting involved in adult issues like freedom and patriotism?”
Keshava looked accusingly at him and said, “We youngsters have to do it because the elders like you failed to do it. You are an educated person but there is no nationalism or patriotism in you. I may be ill educated compared to you but I possess the spirit of the patriotism and that is what really matters.”
The adult relative did not say anything. But he knew from the exchange that Keshava was no ordinary kid.
A few days hence Dussehra festival fell. It is celebrated all over India in various local traditions and related customs. The day signified the victory of Rama over the forces of evil represented by Ravana. In North India effigies of gigantic sizes symbolising Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnada are erected in open grounds. On Dussehra day the effigies are set on fire with great fanfare witnessed by thousands of spectators. In Bengal it is celebrated as Durga Pooja.
Maharashtrians have their own tradition of Dussehra. In villages the people leave their homes in new clothes and walk on to cross the boundary of the village. It is called ‘Seemolanghan’ which literally means ‘transgression of the limits’.
Outside the village the people worship Shami tree. After the worship the effigy of Ravana is burnt. The people return home each with some leaves of the tree. The leaves are called ‘Sona’ which means ‘gold’.
It symbolically means that evil Ravana is dead and the victors have claimed their prizes from his vanquished city of gold, Lanka.
The people exchange those leaves and embrace each other. Then, they touch the feet of the elders and offer them sweets.
Dussehra day used to bring a lot of excitement in the household of Keshava’s uncle. The presence of Keshava now added colour to it who turned it into an opportunity to give rent to his pent up patriotic feelings because Dussehra was symbolic of the defeat of an alien demonic enemy. For him the new demonic alien enemy was the British rule.
Keshava had his own band of friends who gifted one another sona and the hugging ritual became great fun. He would give sona to his uncle too and sought his blessings.
Meanwhile Bal Gangadhar Tilak had emerged as the tallest leader of Maharashtra and rest of the country. The Congress party was becoming the popular bandwagon of all the political freedom fighters. The speeches made by Tilak were stirring up the country.
An anti-British atmosphere was building up all over the land and the air was getting loaded with patriotic sentiments. This change more suited the mindset of Keshava.
A feverish enthusiasm was gripping him.
It was the Dussehra of the year 1907.
The people set out of their homes for the worship of the Shami tree. Keshava too started with his band of friends. Outside the limits of the village all of them worshipped the tree. Just about when the people were ready to set fire to Ravana, Keshava all of a sudden raised the slogan ‘Vandematram’!
His pals as preplanned echoed the slogan. The people were confused having no idea of the significance of that slogan.
Keshava ran to the nearby mudhill and got atop it. Then he was addressing the people—
‘Brothers! Our country is bound in the chains of the slavery. We must break the chains to free it. Our people are enveloped in ignorance and cowardice. This envelop also needs to be thrown or torn away. Today is Dussehra. On this day Lord Ramchandra had slain Ravana. Ravana was a big tyrant. He represented tyranny. Similarly British are today the symbols of colonial tyranny. We must burn them too just like we are going to burn the effigy of Ravana here. For your independence and for the glory of Mother India—with this resolve say with me—‘Vandematram! Bharat Maata Ki Jai’.
The crowd responded.
The people were impressed with the spirit of young Keshava. Youngsters were looking very inspired. They were infact proud of their leader. Ravana was duly burnt down as the crowd roared in approval. That year the roar of the crowd was unusually bold due to the sentiment injected by the speech of Keshava.
The people returned home after the burning ritual. But it was not the end of the day’s work for Keshava. He wanted to end the festivities with a bang.
And he did it.
A series of fire crackers exploded near the police station at 9 p.m.
It spread panic among the policemen inside. They thought that it was a bomb attack by the militants.
Soon armed policemen could be seen running around to shoot down the invisible enemy. The police officers arrived from the other police stations too. But they could find nothing except the air mildly smelling of sulphur dioxide.
The police tried to hunt the culprit but they could not get any lead. They tormented the people of the nearby villages. But what could they tell? No one had any idea about the blasts.
Only the uncle of Keshava knew who made those blasts. He had seen his nephew buy the crackers. But the uncle said nothing about it to anyone.
For a few days Keshava stayed on at Nagpur with his uncle who looked uneasy in his presence ever since the cracker explosion incident.
So, Keshava moved on to Yavatmal.
Yavatmal is situated in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. During that period it had become a centre of the revolutionaries and the freedom politicians.
Famed nationalist leader Bapuji Ane also lived there. Keshava had heard a lot about him. He went to meet Ane.
Keshava was carrying a letter from Dr. Munje who was a close friends of Ane. Dr. Munje knew Keshava well. Through that letter Ane learnt about Keshava, his background, patriotism and his burning wish to do something for the cause of the country.
Ane was impressed. He gave a room to Keshava in his house to live in.
Shortly later, Keshava enrolled himself in a nationalist school. The school was managed by Baba Saheb Paranjpe.
Baba Saheb was a living symbol of sacrifice and service. They village folk used to rever him as a saint.
The education of the Paranjpe School was based on the principles of truth, honesty, patriotism and humanism. It truly was a temple of real education.
The classes used to be held form 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It created a minor problem for Keshava.
Ane household used to start cooking lunch a bit late. Most of the time when Keshava left for school there used to be nothing ready for him to eat. Thus, he would go to school on empty stomach.
Yet he tried to be cheerful and concentrated his mind on studies. It was not easy. His young body craved for food. There was not scope for any alternate arrangement for food.
He had to endure.
Keshava had grown very fond of newspaper reading. The news about the political developments in the country particularly interested him. And he continued his daily exercise regime inspite of the lack of good diet.
The school was gradually gaining popularity due to its nationalism then of education. More and more parents were sending their wards to the school run by Paranjpe. Soon the school was overflowing with students and the expansion plans were under consideration.
But it did not escape the notice of the British authorities. Rise of the native nationalist feelings was a danger signal for them. And any school teaching and fanning it was criminal institution, an enemy of the British crown.
Authorities decided to pay attention to the school. First they put pressure on the parents of the students of Paranjpe school to withdraw their wards from the school. They were soft targets because most of them needed to be in the good books of the one government department or the other to stay in the business or to keep up their jobs.
To add to it various sanctions were passed against Paranjpe. Even his speeches were banned. He had become a targetted person for the official guns.
The colonial rulers put such an intense pressure that in 1909, the Paranjpee school had to be closed down.
