बाबूराव

Submitted by रेव्यु on 19 November, 2010 - 00:51

परवा मला एका मित्राने पाठवलेली ही व्यक्तिरेखा!!!

बाबुराव......अफाट गोष्टी करणारा अवलिया
पुण्यातील भरत नाट्य मंदिराजवळच्या पावनमारुती चौकात, टीचभर दुकानात गेली साठ वर्षे, वर्तमानपत्रे विकणारे महादेव काशिनाथ गोखले बसलेले दिसत. खाकी अधीर् चड्डी, बिनइस्त्रीचा, जवळजवळ चड्डी झाकणारा, पांढरा ऐसपैस शर्ट, शर्टला भला मोठ्ठा खिसा आणि कॉलरमागे खुंटीवर अडकवण्यासाठी घोडा. चेहऱ्यावर ऊन येताय, असे वाटून ग्रासलेली मुदा. काटक तब्येत. थेट स्पष्ट पुणेरी बोलणं. पेपर विकणारे हे बाबूराव थेट हिटलरला भेटले असतील, उलटी पर्वती असंख्य वेळा चालले असतील, वयाची नव्वदी ओलांडल्यावरही नव्वद जिलब्या रिचवू शकत असतील, यावर कुणाचा विश्वास बसणंच शक्य नव्हतं. पण, शतकाचे साक्षी असलेले अनेकजण त्यांच्या दुकानीच भेटत. अर्तक्यवाटाव्या, अशा अफाट गोष्टी करणारा हा अवलिया परवा वयाच्या १०३ व्या वषीर् मरण पावला.

जन्मभर बाईडींग आणि वृत्तपत्र विक्रीत रमलेल्या बाबुरावांना खाण्याचा, पळण्याचा, चालण्याचा, व्यायामाचा, अघोरी वाटाव्या अशा गोष्टी करण्याचा छंदच होता. रोज पहाटे साडेतीनला उठून, कात्रज, खेड-शिवापूर करत, कल्याण दरवाजामागेर् सिंहगडावर चढून, खडकवासला, मार्गे सकाळी नऊला दुकानात परत. काही काळ रोज लोणावळ्यापर्यंत पायी जात. पुढे दर रविवारी सायकलवरुन खोपोलीपर्यंत जाण्याचा नेम चुकला नाही. पुणे ते कराची सायकल फेरा करुन जद््नबाई, हुस्नबानू, बेगमपारोचं मनमुराद गाणं ऐकलंय. स्वत: तबला वाजवत. गंधर्वांची गाणी तोंडपाठ हे कळल्यावर नगिर्सच्या आईनं जद््नबाईनं त्यांना कराचीत थांबवून त्यांच्याकडून गंधर्वांची गाणी शिकून घेतली. सयाजीराव गायकवाडांच्या मदतीनं १९३६ साली बलीर्न ऑलिंपिकपर्यंत पोहोचले. पायात चप्पल-बूट काही न घालता, ४० मैल पळू शकतात, हे पाहून दस्तूरखुद्द हिटलरनं यांना जर्मनीत चार दिवस मुक्त भटकण्यासाठी हवे ते खाण्यासाठी पास दिला. बडोद्यांच्या महाराजांमुळे लंडनाही गेले. स्वागताला तीन-चार गव्हर्नर्स गाड्यांसह हजर. पुण्यात पेपर विकणाऱ्या गोखल्यांच्या स्वागताला एवढे गव्हर्नर्स आत्मीयतेने कसे जमले? असा प्रश्न सयाजीराव महाराजांना पडला. उत्तर मिळाले. दर पावसाळ्यात पुणे मुक्कामी येणाऱ्या गव्हर्नरला मराठी- हिंदी भाषा आणि क्रॉसकंट्री शिकवायला बाबुराव जात असत.

पर्वती चालत कुणीही चढेल. बाबुराव हातावर शीर्षासन करत पायऱ्या चढत. बायकोला पाठुंगळी घेऊन ४३ वेळा पर्वती सर केलीय. क्रॉसकंट्री स्पर्धेचे २५७ बिल्ले जिंकणाऱ्या गोखलेंना काका हलवाई एक शेर दूध, एक शेर पेढ्याचा खुराक देत. महाराष्ट्र मंडळाच्या पैजेच्या जेवणात ९० जिलब्यांचे ताट सहज फस्त करत. वयाची शंभरी ओलांडल्यावरही रोज १५ पोळ्या रिचव शकत होता. तरुण वयात अजगर, धामण आणि चित्ता पाळला होता. त्यांच्या समवेत पहुडलेले बाबुराव हे छायाचित्रही पुरावा म्हणून दाखवत. शंतनुराव यमुताई किलोर्स्करांचं लग्न यांनीच जमवले. जयंतराव टिळकांबरोबर शिकारीचा षौक यांनीच केला.

एकशे तीन वर्षाच्या आयुष्यात एकही औषधांची गोळी घेतली नाही. परवा त्यांच निधन वृध्दपकाळात झाल्यावर त्यांना फ मिली डॉक्टरच नसल्यानं मृत्यूचं सटीर्फिकेट आणायचं कुणाचं? असा आगळाच प्रश्न त्यांच्या समवेत राहणाऱ्या त्यांच्या राजश्री प्रदीप या लेक जावयाला पडला.

इतरांना जे 'अशक्य' ते मला 'शक्य' एवढीच जिद्द आयुष्यभर जोपासणाऱ्या ह्या अवलियाचा अस्त परवा झाल्यावर एकच चुटपुट लागून राहिली की आजच्या दृकश्राव्य माध्यमाच्या जगात, या अविश्वसनीय वाटावं असं विक्रम करणाऱ्या अवलियाला कॅमेऱ्यात पकडून ठेवायला हवं होतं

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त्यांच्या मृत्यूविषयी बहुतेक कोणत्या तरी ई-पेपरमध्ये बातमी छापून आली होती, मला इमेलने नुसती त्या बातमीची इमेज आली. पण मिड डे मध्ये त्यांच्या मतदानाविषयी ही बातमी छापून आली होती : http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/oct/131009-Mahadev-Gokhale-Voter-Pune-E...

आणखी एका ठिकाणी ते हयात असताना आलेला लेख
http://www.harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=10230

Mr India
Even at 103, Mahadev Gokhale is passionate about exercise, says Khursheed Dinshaw

There is very little Mahadev Gokhale has not attempted in the name of adventure. A versatile athlete throughout his life, he continued running, walking, cycling and swimming till the age of 84. Strong-willed and full of energy, nothing would appear physically impossible to him. As a 12 year-old, he even joined the circus briefly as a trapeze artist.

Born in Ganpatiphule in Maharashtra, 10 year-old Gokhale moved with his family to Karjat after his mother's death. His father started farming and the grain would be stocked in a godown full of mice. In search of a solution, Gokhale and his friends looked for a cat but brought home a cheetah cub by mistake. The cub stayed with them for four months during which time the duo would exercise and eat together. Hungry after playing one day, Gokhale had barely sat down to eat when the cheetah came up from behind and tore open his back. "We always ate together and he was annoyed that I hadn't waited," he explains. The end result: Gokhale was unable to sleep on his back for the next four months.

It didn't slow him down though. Cycling was a favourite mode of travelling for Gokhale and he continued well into adulthood. "It would take me 15 days to cycle from Pune to Karachi," he reminisces. "I would stay there for four months a year and teach songs of Balgandharva to Jaddanbai [the mother of actor Nargis], Begum Para and Husnabano [actors and friends]." He carried out this routine every year for a decade till he was 35. And up to the age of 40, Gokhale would cycle from Pune to Delhi and continue to Manasarovar on foot. Once, he had just returned from Manasarovar when he met a group of pilgrims in Delhi who asked him to accompany them as a guide. Reluctant to disappoint them, he walked back to Manasarovar with them.

The year 1939 was memorable because of three significant events. Gokhale ran and won a 27-mile marathon. Both the other feats were related to the Parvati hill temple in Pune. Since climbing 99 steps of the Parvati on foot was common, he accepted his friends' challenge to do it differently. Keeping his head down and body upright (shreeshasan yoga asana), he climbed 47 times continuously on his hands. "It's paining because I did it only today," he told his friends nonchalantly at the time. "There would be no pain if were to do it everyday." The third achievement was carrying wife Vijaya - he was married that year - on his back and climbing up and down Parvati 42 times at a stretch.

Disbelieving that Gokhale ran barefoot all the way to Lonavala for his marathon practice, the owner of Kaka Halwai in Pune gave him a sealed envelope for his brother in Lonavala. On his return, Gokhale handed over the sealed reply, apologising profusely because it was damp with sweat. The messages were just to test his claim and merely mentioned the timings Gokhale started from Pune and Lonavala. Since that day, basundi and mithai were sent for him every day. His achievement of completing 125,000 surya namaskar in four months also earned him whatever he wanted to eat for a year from a shopkeeper in Aundh.

Today, even though he is toothless, he eats sweets everyday - laddoo, sheera, shrikhand, puranpoli, gud poli, pedha - along with a diet of milk and powdered roti mixed with powdered dry fruits, ghee and sugar. Five years ago, a friend challenged him saying he couldn't eat 1.25 kg of sheera as he was getting old. Gokhala finished it in three hours and asked his friend to bring a similar amount the next day as his reward!

At Gokhale's 100th birthday, he was weighed in jaggery, fruits, mithai and sugar. "About 800 people came to pay their respects," says daughter Mrudula Gadgil with whom Gokhale lives. The great-grandfather has two more daughters - Mangal and Madhuri. Till five years ago, Gokhale would go to his shop independently. He has a newspaper distribution and book binding business. But after recovering from a fall, he uses a walker and is accompanied to the shop by son-in-law Pradeep. However, his morning and evening walks in the colony continue. Fond of reading English, Hindi and Marathi newspapers, he doesn't need spectacles even at 103.

Interestingly, Gokhale once wanted to join the Army but was considered physically unfit because of his height (5 ft 4") and abnormal pulse rate - one goes missing after every four beats. It has clearly been the Army's loss!

ह्यांच्या आयुष्याची ओळख करून देणारं 'मॅरॅथॉन महादेव' नावाचं एक पुस्तकपण आहे... त्यांच्या मुलीनी संकलित केलेलं. कमालीची पॅशन आणि वेड असणारी लोकं ही. मला ते पुस्तक घरात सापडलं... जसं जसं वाचत गेले सगळंच अफाट व्यक्तीमत्व ! Happy

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अरे वा!! त्यातील काही उतारे व फोटो टाकता येतील का?
अशी झपाटलेली माणसे विरळा!!

रेव्यु,
अगदी खास लेख सापडला ..
मी धागा टाकतानाच हा लेख मिळाला
यावरुन आपण ५% तरी घेण्याचा विचार करुया !
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जबराट.
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