We all should be grateful to the Maharashtra government, its chief minister and the entire Cabinet that they have made an extremely visionary arrangement to bring smiles on the faces of the farmers. They have issued an order allowing the sale of agro product ‘wine’ through grocery stores, super markets and malls. How nice! And you are unnecessarily making so much noise. Sir, just understand, our culture is changing. Having purchased grocery from the nearby grocery shop for ages, we have now reached the mall. And don’t you think the malls should have agro products for sale too! Don’t you understand such a silly thing? When we have accepted the mall culture, McDonald’s and Pizza, why do you make a fuss? Sir, our government thinks deeply and seriously for its people! We all should be thankful to the government! Harivansh Rai Bachchan has said so too…
Musalman aur Hindu hai do, ek magar unka pyala,
Ek magar unka madiralaya, ek magar unki haala,
Dono rahte ek na jab tak masjid mandir mein jaate,
Bair badhate masjid mandir mel karati madhushala!
Harivanshrai Bacchan did not stop at this and went on…
Mere shav par vah roye, ho jiske aansu mein haala,
Aah bhare vo, jo ho surabhit madira pi kar matwala,
De mujhko vo kandha jinke pag mad dagmag hote hon,
Aur jalun us thaur jahan par kabhi rahi ho madhushala!
I am thinking even beyond this. Mosambi and orange are available in the supermarkets right now. It is quite possible that the government may take one more step in the interest of farmers and allow sale of ‘Mausambi’ made from mosambis and ‘santra’ made from oranges in the supermarkets. There will be no need for anyone to suffer the shame of going to the liquor shops then. Buy santra (oranges), drink ‘santra’. Buy mosambi (sweet lime), drink ‘Mausambi’. By the way, cardamom too is available in the supermarket! They are all agro products. The government must have thought a lot about how the farmers will benefit (through wine factory). Those who are talking about the benefits to the factory, why are they forgetting that thousands of hands will get work there. But who will explain to the BJP people that agro products are always good. Don’t understand why these BJP people keep protesting unnecessarily. We know that BJP people are not into it (drinking). No doubt about it..! But what rubbish is this that ‘Maharashtra has been turned into madyarashtra’? These BJP-wallahs can neither digest the benefit of the farmers nor that of the drinkers..! The BJP-wallahs should have read these lines of Bachchan sahab…
Bina piye jo madhushala ko bura kahe, vah matwala,
Pi lene par to uske muh par pad jayega taala,
Das-drohiyon dono mein hai jeet sura ki, pyale ki,
Vishwavijayini ban kar jag mein aayi meri madhushala!
Strange indeed is Bachchan sahab! He wrote Madhushala and then departed. After a long time when the government agreed with him, these BJP people are just not ready to listen and agree now! Listen dear, we have a culture of ‘somras’. Have you ever tasted the Prasad of Bhairavnath? Our films also teach us Tarannum. You will do well to remember the song of Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan… The heroine is saying.. ‘Pandit ji, mere marne ke baad, Gangajal ke badle thodi si madira tapka dena…’! So what is wrong when the government is talking about selling wine in shops?
And yes, I remember an incident! Prafulbhai was the civil aviation minister and I, Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Shukla and others were members of the civil aviation committee of the Parliament. So one day a proposal came that there should be a system to serve wine made from grapes produced by farmers in domestic flights. This will benefit the farmers. This made some members angry. Supporters of the proposal were saying that it contains only six-seven per cent alcohol. Even cough syrup has more alcohol! Everyone argued that though this is an agro product, what about our image? If we give permission, it will bring us disrepute in the eyes of ‘drinkers’. It was argued that they drink secretly but saying that they should drink openly is a matter of shame! The proposal was dropped in a minute.
Now you see! Liquor is banned in Gandhiji’s birthplace Gujarat and Gandhiji’s ‘Karmabhoomi’ Sevagram. The world knows that Gujarat sells the maximum amount of liquor. Who doesn’t know Liquor King Raees? The film titled ‘Raees’ was also made on him. Still, they cheat in the name of Gandhiji. We will believe in the prohibition only when the sale of alcohol is stopped completely! Liquor was banned in Wardha and Chandrapur. Smugglers milked the situation! Hooch and poisonous liquor started killing people. In Chandrapur, the liquor ban had to be abolished eventually! Sir, only the maturity and decency of the society can stop this. Well, wine has its own glory. It is the biggest source of income for almost every state. The BJP ruled states are in it too! You must be aware of the magic that liquor creates on the eve of voting day! Political parties give this ‘gift’ to the voters with open arms and get slogans of Zindabad in abundance!
Poets and lyricists have inked reams of papers in its glory. The names are aplenty..! An MP even made a succinct speech in the Parliament after having a few drinks. Singers have given their best performance while Pankaj Udhas even says that ‘Hui mahengi bahut sharab ki… thodi thodi piya karo..!’ Our government is trying to make it accessible. May all get it.. have a great time! Have plentiful.. get satisfied!
Thank the government wholeheartedly!
The author is the chairman, Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.
See… there is always a point of view. It is not proper for the opposition to find fault with every policy decision of the government. Government is government. It must have been right when it said that if wine is sold in the shops, it will help farmers prosper and bring smiles on their faces. So relax and know a different perspective on the glory of agro products!
