Sangato Sudhir सांगतो सुधीर

Our beloved country's name, "Bharat," is said to have several origins and meanings. One of them reads it as "one who is devoted to the pursuit of knowledge." In ancient times, India was renowned as a treasure house of learning. Students from many countries came to universities like Nalanda, Takshashila and Vikramashila to study. They applied what they learned here to bring prosperity to their own lands. Even through roughly two thousand years of foreign invasions, India's tradition of knowledge continued unbroken. This article series presents examples of that tradition. (Image of Maharshi Panini, courtesy of the internet) In India, the study of linguistics has gone on since very ancient times under the name vyakaran (grammar). When it comes to this field, the name of Maharshi Panini has to be taken first. His exact lifetime cannot be determined, but it is believed to fall somewhere between 300 BCE and 700 BCE. He was born at Shalatura, in present-day Pakist...

   'Zuk zuk agingaadi, dhuranchya reshaa havet kaadhi, Palti jhaade pahuya, mamachya gavala jaaya'  This children's song has been echoing in the ears of Marathi people for decades. But for me, the journey to my mama's village never involved a chugging steam train. My own village is Sakharwadi, in Phaltan taluka of Satara district, while my maternal uncle's village is Manajiwadi (also called Manappavasti), near Pandare in Baramati taluka of Pune district. Back then, it was barely a hamlet of a hundred or hundred and fifty houses. From Class 5 to Class 10 (1983–1988), the three of us siblings were packed off to our mama's village every single summer vacation. There was no direct ST bus from Sakharwadi, so we'd change buses once or twice along the way, and half a day would go by before we finally reached. But once we reached Manajiwadi, it was pure masti. (Image created with the help of artificial intelligence) The first reason for the fun was the sheer size of...

      ( चित्रकार श्री. रवी देव यांनी काढलेले चित्र म.ए.सो.च्या संकेतस्थळावरून साभार)          'कथा दोन गणपतरावांची' नावाचा एक चित्रपट काही वर्षांपूर्वी येऊन गेला. दिलीप प्रभावळकर, मोहन आगाशे या ज्येष्ठ आणि इतर अभिनेत्यांनी यात काम केले आहे. या चित्रपटात दिलीप प्रभावळकर यांनी जे पात्र साकारले आहे ते गणपतराव स्वतःच्या आयुष्यात घडणाऱ्या सर्व गोष्टींची नोंद ठेवत असतात. पण भारताच्या प्राचीन इतिहासाबाबत एक सर्वसाधारण विधान करायचे झाले तर आपल्याकडे इतिहासाच्या अचूक आणि तपशीलवार नोंदी फारशा आढळत नाहीत. त्यामुळे ऐतिहासिक सत्य काय याबाबत स्पष्ट भूमिका काही बाबतीत घेता येत नाही. ऐतिहासिक पुरावे, छायाचित्रे, इ. मिळवण्यासाठी खूप खटपट करावी लागते. आद्य क्रांतिवीर वासुदेव बळवंत यांचे ऐतिहासिक छायाचित्र कसे मिळाले याची गोष्ट या लेखात दिली आहे.      ऐतिहासिक नोंदी ठेवण्याबाबत इंग्रजांकडून शिकण्यासारखे आहे. यातील दोन अनुभव सांगतो. आमच्या म.ए.सो.आबासाहेब गरवारे महाविद्यालय (१९७२पूर्वीचे म.ए.सो.कला आणि विज्ञान महाविद्यालय) आणि वसतिगृहाचे माजी विद्...

  (Painting by artist Shri Ravi Dev, courtesy of the M.E.S. website) A film called  *Katha Don Ganpatraonchi* released a few years ago. Dilip Prabhavalkar, Mohan Agashe and other senior actors starred in it. The character Dilip Prabhavalkar plays in the film, Ganpatrao, keeps a record of everything that happens in his own life. But if you had to make one general statement about India's ancient history, it would be that we don't have many accurate, detailed records of it. Because of this, on some questions we can't take a clear stand on what the historical truth actually is. Getting hold of historical evidence, photographs and the like takes a lot of effort. This article tells the story of how the historical photograph of Adya Krantiveer Vasudev Balwant Phadke was found. When it comes to keeping historical records, there is something to learn from the British. Let me share two experiences. Hon. Justice Ramesh Bapat, retired judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and an alumn...

 "Oh no, he's badly hurt!" The people gathered at the accident spot were only sighing and sympathizing, but no one came forward to help. Then young Vijayrao Pandit stepped up, and his life took a different turn. Achyutrao Potdar was by his side that day. (Shri Vijayrao Pandit welcoming Prof. Avinash Sutar) Vijayrao had been going to the Sangh's *shakha* since childhood. He even took on responsibilities and worked there. But after he got admission to the Government Polytechnic (engineering diploma college) in Karad, his connection with the Sangh faded. Later he got a job in the government's irrigation department, and under the rules of that time, government employees were barred from taking part in the Sangh's work. That cut the connection even further. Beyond the occasional check-in whenever he passed by, there was hardly any link left. But the incident described above took place around 1976–77, and it changed the course of his life. Achyutrao, who was with hi...

         "अरेरे, किती लागलंय त्याला!" अपघात झालेल्या ठिकाणी जमलेले सगळेजण फक्त हळहळ व्यक्त करत होते पण मदत करायला कुणीच पुढे येत नव्हते. अशावेळी तरुण विजयराव पंडित पुढे आले आणि त्यांच्या आयुष्याने वेगळे वळण घेतले. त्यावेळी त्यांच्या मदतीला आले होते अच्युतराव पोतदार. (श्री.विजयराव‌ पंडित हे प्रा.अविनाश सुतार यांचे स्वागत करताना)    विजयराव बालपणापासूनच संघाच्या शाखेत जायचे. शाखेची जबाबदारी घेऊन कामही केले पण कराडच्या अभियांत्रिकी तंत्रनिकेतन महाविद्यालयात प्रवेश मिळाल्यानंतर मात्र संघाशी संबंध राहिला नाही. पुढे सरकारच्या पाटबंधारे खात्यात नोकरी मिळाली आणि त्यावेळच्या नियमानुसार तर सरकारी कर्मचाऱ्यांना संघाच्या कामात भाग घ्यायला बंदी होती. त्यामुळे तर अजूनच संबंध संपला. जातायेता काही चौकशी करणं यापलीकडे फार काही संबंध राहिला नाही. पण आधी सांगितलेला प्रसंग १९७६-७७ च्या सुमारास घडला आणि आयुष्याने वेगळे वळण घेतले. त्या प्रसंगी सोबत असलेले अच्युतराव हे संघाचे कार्यकर्ते होते. त्यांच्या प्रयत्नांमधून विजयराव सरकारी नियमांची पर्वा न करता पुन्हा एकदा संघाच्या ...