On Feb 27 2016, I wondered when I might see Godse Bhatji's 'Maza Pravas' (माझा प्रवास) on Marathi TV.
In that post, I quoted two paragraphs from Godse's book to highlight the kind of drama, thrill and even sex the book has.
One of them is about a tight embrace of an unknown young woman, Godse is forced to get into, as both of them flee from the violence.
"...कोठें आवाज होत नाहीं अशी संधी पाहून बंड्यांतून बाहेर पडलो. धांवत धांवत विहिरीवर येऊन मडकें फासास लावून झराझर पाणी काढलें व मडकें तोंडास लाविलें. घोट दोन घोट पाणी घशाखालीं उतरतें न उतरतें इतक्यांत जवळच्या वाड्यांत बंदुकीचा आवाज कानीं पडला. जीवाची आशा मनुष्यास कधीही सुटत नाही. मडकें हातांतून टांकून धांव ठोकली तों घोंटाळून जाऊन आमचे बंड्याचा रस्ता चुकलों. तेंव्हां माझे हातपाय कापूं लागले व सैरावैरा इकडेतिकडे घाबरून धांवत सुटलो, इतक्यांत एका बंड्याचें तोंड दृष्टींस पडले. त्यांत डोंके घालून शिरण्यांस लागलों तों आंत दोघी तरुण बायका दृष्टींस पडल्या. त्यांनीही मोठ्यां घाईने आंत लवकर या असें सांगितलेंं. तो बंड्या फार लहान असल्यामुळें आंत दोघां बायकांसहित पुरेशी जागा बसण्यांस नव्हती. परंतु त्या कोमल अंत:करणाच्या स्त्रियांनी अडचण सोसून मला आंत घेतलें. त्यांची तोंडे पश्चिमेंस होती व मी आंत शिरून फिरावयास जागा नव्हती म्हणून माझें तोंड पूर्वेस होतें. या प्रमाणें तोंडास तोंड लावून उराशी उर लावून आम्ही बसलों. पुढेंच जी स्त्री होती तिचें आंग सर्व घामानें भिजलेलें होतें. त्यावेळेस माझें वय सुमारें तीस वर्षांचें असावें व त्या स्त्रीचे वय अठरा वर्षांचे असावें. अशी तरुण स्त्रीपुरुषें एकमेकांशी घट्ट मिठी मारून बसली असतांही कामवासना बिलकुल उत्पन्न झाली नाही, हा भयंकर मृत्यूभीतीचा प्रभाव म्हण्टला पाहिजे. साहा सात घटका झाल्यावर जवळ आसपास कोठें आवाज होत नाहींत असें पाहून मीं त्या बंड्यांतून बाहेर पडलों..."
I have been going through old issues of (once) well-known Marathi magazine (now defunct) 'Vangmay Shobha' (वाङ्मय शोभा).
I was quite amused to come across the same para in another context.
While Vangmay-Shobha magazine was born in May 1939, 'Amrut' (अमृत), another (once) well-known and now defunct magazine, was launched in 1953.
Amrut seems to have met immediate success. Its editor Dr. A V Varti (डॉ. अ वा वर्टी) boasted that the success came despite his magazine not printing images of women on its cover.
This is how Dr. Varti stated it:
This was a dig at Vangmay-Shobha because it used to print three-colored beautiful images of women, drawn by the likes of Dinanath Dalal (दीनानाथ दलाल), RaghuvirMulgaonkar (रघुवीर मुळगावकर) , even D G Godse (द ग गोडसे) (and later Shaym Joshi श्याम जोशी, Padma Sahasrabuddhe पद्मा सहस्रबुद्धे , Sarjerao Ghorpade सर्जेराव घोरपडे , Chitrakar Salkar चित्रकार सालकर etc.) on its cover.
Mr. Manohar Mahadev Kelkar (मनोहर महादेव केळकर), editor of Vangmay-Shobha , almost always sensible, rebutted this over two issues of his magazine in April and May 1954. Mr. Kelkar has tried to point out Amrut's hypocrisy over the issue. It was hypocrisy because Amrut had quoted the paragraph above (tight embrace of a woman not resulting into any amorous feelings) from Godse's book as above and even printed a picture depicting the embrace.
Mr. Kelkar went on to say that wetness of woman's sweaty body and the fear on Godse's face were not apparent because of the poor quality of the drawing in Amrut!
Mr. Kelkar continued....
This is all so amusing!
To Mr. Kelkar's credit, I find that his magazine never carried any titillating pictures on its cover.
cover of American magazine 'Look' dated January 30 1940 featuring actress Anne Gwynne
courtesy: Wikipedia