Forget the king, make a MONUMENT

Shivaji is a monument in Maharashtra today. But what of the men who engage with this monument through their life's experience? And, what of their ballads?

Aritra Bhattacharya Mumbai
For someone living in Mumbai, encounters with Shivaji are de rigueur. At the train terminus, the airport, the Gateway of India, major traffic junctions, festivals - big and small; Shivaji 'appears' in various forms and sizes. This proliferation of a personality makes it something of a monument in itself.

The monumentality manifests itself in a way familiar for other tall leaders elsewhere. Shivaji, like other kings and leaders, exists in the cumulative consciousness of the society. The Marathi manoos, and the non-Marathi manoos who invokes this 17th century king for whatever reason, is proud of him, without perhaps being experientially involved with his ideals and beliefs.

What then will be the use of erecting another monument to this monument-of-a-personality, one may ask, referring, of course, to the proposed 321-feet tall statue of Shivaji off Marine Drive in Mumbai. Will this new monument, to be built at a cost of Rs 350 crore, not result in distancing Shivaji further from the common man? Literally, too, since the statue will be erected on a 160 feet tall plinth? Will the structure and the men administering it provide space for those engaged with the monumental Shivaji at an experiential, personal level around it?

The need to relate

As it happens in the case of any monument, it is not difficult to find people who engage with Shivaji Raje Bhosle or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at an experiential level. They sing of him, of his valour, wit, ideals and his dream for 'Hindavi Swarajya'. They are the shahirs of Maharashtra, for whom Shivaji is not merely a historical personality, but one that is alive, brimming with possibilities, and lessons for a better future.

While being aware of his monumentality, they relate to him and his tales. They recreate history through their powadas - tales of valour - about him, and scoff at the way his name is used by political parties in the state.

Shahir Atmaram Patil (85), for instance, says that only people who engage with Shivaji and his story at a very personal level can know him. And, those who don't, like the ones running political parties, should not invoke his name ever.

Patil's memory often fails him; he often repeats what he said just 10 minutes ago. And so, in an hour-long conversation, several times he repeats, "Jo abhyaas nahin karega, usko kya pata hoga (only people who engage with Shivaji and his story at a very personal level can know him)." Other repetitions abound: responding to a query about what the folk tradition says about Shivaji's pro-Hindutva ideals, Patil keeps repeating that the revered king had specifically asked for a powada to be written for Ibrahim Khan, his trusted aide. And that his army comprised people from 18 different castes (jaat). So, obviously, Shivaji was not a Hindutva-wadi.

Patil, in fact, is one of the shahirs who has written powadas specifically about Shivaji's samajwadi (socialist) ideology, says Shahir Hemant Mavle. So has Shahir Amar Sheikh. His powada is about samajwadi Shivaji.

Those who still practise shahiri, vociferously state that Shivaji was not just a Hindu king, nor was he unfairly pro-Dalit. They agree, however, that powadas are silent about the alleged Dalit origins of Shivaji, and about how the priest allegedly used his toes to apply tilak on Shivaji during his rajyabhishek (crowning ceremony).