Dhampur's 'Mohan Bhargava' ....

Remember Mohan Bhargava, the unwilling protagonist from NASA who brings the light back into the lives of villages in a small village in India's hinterland in the movie "Swades"?

Dhampur is a village in UP as similar to anyother in rural India. Power cut of more than 14 hours a day forced people out of their petty businesses (like Xerox copiers). That deeply upset Pradeep Kumar Saini, 24, a "Halwaai" (a sweet maker). Early in the morning on August 15th this year he climbed the radio station tower near the town's bus stand with a back pack consisting of a water bottle, some biscuits, a couple of litres of Kerosene, a base ball bat (in case some one tried to bring him down forcibly) and phamplets. Once at the top he started throwing the phamplets around attracting the attention of the others. It being Independence day and the entire district administration all being there, word of his would-be suicide attempt soon spread around and the electricity board officials came into the picture. He first asked for 20 hours of power supply daily to his village. The negotiations went on until sun down and finally he succeeded in getting them agree to 14 hours of power supply. The town folk were a happy lot. After he came down victorious nearly 5000 people waiting for him carried him on their shoulders. He enacted a Dharam Paaji's "Su - side" from "Sholay" to get power in his "Swades" ... Want to know what he wrote in the phamplet? - "Hum gareebon ke paas izzat aur light hona bahut zaroori hain!" (It is important that we, the poor, have respect and light in our lives). People in the town say "Desperate times need desparate measures". Ironically the electricity board has plunged a neighboring town Qasbah in the darkness to give power to Dhampur! Perhaps one more 'Mo(a)han Bhargava' is in the making there too ... We need people who take initiative. On a lighter note let me quote Shekhar Suman on "Pol-khol" - "Su-side woh hotha hain Jo Dharam Paaji kehten hain lekin kabhi karthe nahi" :))