Never in the past 10,000 years…

                               Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre                                             

Today, August 13, is the birth anniversary of the noted Marathi journalist, poet, author and an architect of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre. This is the day every year, my father, Narayan Athawalay, (Nana) would got to Acharya Atre’s statue at Worli to pay his respects. He looked up to Acharya Atre.

My sister and I were told many anecdotes about Acharya Atre, and Nana would happily narrate his memories about him.

One of them was when Nana, who was from Pune, met Acharya Atre in Mumbai to request him to write a preface for his first book, titled in Marathi, ‘Three poems and ten stories’. Acharya Atre inquired where he was staying, etc. Nana told him where he was putting up and asked him when the preface would be ready. When Atre said in a couple of days, Nana said he would come and pick it up. “Baapachi jahagiri waya challi ahe ka? Nimut parat ja. Me pathawto,” thundered Atre.

Though they had a great many public fights later through their articles – Nana in Lokmitra and Atre in Maratha - both had great respect for each other. And it stayed, even after Nana hit Atre in front of a crowd of people. While I don’t clearly remember the reason behind this, it was probably because Nana had warned Atre about writing against S M Joshi. Joshi was an activist and another leader of the Samyukta Maharashtra movement. But Atre did write and Nana was ready for him at a function where the former was a guest. When Atre stepped down from the stage, Nana was waiting and began to hit him with a chappal before he was overpowered.

After reading an article by Nana that he did not like, Atre had once written about Nana’s mother in very bad language. Nana promptly wrote an article in reply, saying he respected all mothers, and that all mothers were equal, so what Atre had written could also be applied to his mother!

A great reader, Acharya Atre is also said to have read a new book – the entire book - every night before going to bed.

Perhaps the memory of Acharya Atre that Nana held most dear, was when they met after the Panshet dam burst in Pune. Nana’s family had fortunately survived, but they had lost everything they owned, even their house. Nana had gone to help them and others immediately. The next day Nana was in the rain and mud, in the midst of trying to salvage whatever he could find of their belongings, when someone came to tell him that a very huge man, dressed in shorts and a shirt was on his way there through the muck and mud, looking for him. That man was Acharya Atre. Atre went upto Nana and said, “What you lost was never yours. What belongs to you, is here,” and then he pointed to Nana’s head. Nana always said later that Atre was the only person then who offered him solace and said things would get better.

It’s also Nana’s birth day two days on. Both these men are giants in journalism. I wonder what they would feel about this sorry state of affairs in the media, especially print media?

Acharya Atre had a favourite line that he often said. If he liked something a lot, for instance, he would say, “In the past 10,000 years no one must have had tea like this!” or “In the past 10,000 years no one has baked a cake like this!” Borrowing it, I must say about him and Nana, “In the past 10,000 years there must not have been a mentee and a mentor like them!”