I lost my larger Oxygen cylinder….. Miss you Raju Srivastav !!
I lost my larger Oxygen cylinder….. Miss you Raju Srivastav !!
While you survive, live a happy healthy life there are multiple factors around which support you directly indirectly. We all have born, grown and brought up in a small places and have witnessed the rural life around us. We never exposed to the advanced culture those days. Initially, Radio was the only way of entertainment at home, but we have had loads of restrictions on it even. Only a senior generation was allowed to listen “Binaca” geetmaala on Wednesdays and other late evening musical programs. It was exclusively meant for the Akashwani news at various time points in the day. Days have passed and TVs have come in (initially black and white boxes – Onida and Optronix and so on). Then it was an era of colour TVs and from Surabhi and other popular shows have been replaced with multi cultured serials of various regional languages and the era changed. We belong to a region wherein even to watch Ramayana and Mahabharat we were asked to have bath before watching the serial even. But it used to be on Sundays and I was allocated to perform “DevPooja” as a weekend task. So I always preferred to do it rather than going out and watching it at neighbors, as we did not have the television set those days.
Times have changed and the irritating serials have started being broadcasted. I was and I am never a big fan of those serials and always preferred to watch comedy shows. One of the famous is TMKOC – Tarak Mehta ka Oolta Chashma, Bhabiji ghar par hai, Laughter champions and any form of comedy irrespective of language. Slowly I built a liking to these serials and it became a routine for me to watch all of such shows. Though I have had an inclination towards acting in dramas etc. was keener to watch such plays and drama like serials with fun and frolic and light comedy in it. At this point in time stand-up comedy shows have come and couple of times I watched the Hindi Laughter Challenge and I became a die-hard fan of the show and more specific to Raju Srivastav. It was a treat watching him on the show.
The reason to get attracted to him as the way he used to handle all the subjects were terrific and really out of the box. More specific to a village life comparing city lives. This was ranging from a common man to Bollywood celebrities and all classes, communities and creatures in the living world. As conveyed earlier, a common thread as we belong to the place wherein we have always had that conflict dealing with city life – somewhere deep inside and it a comedy way he used to expose the same. This was a strong thread connected me with him very well. Moreover, the facts that he used to demonstrate out of his stand up comedy shows was just fantastic, fantabulous, mind-blowing, outstanding and what not.
He has created the characters of Gajodhar, Puttan, Sankattha, Chacha from his native state and only through his comedy we all have witnessed them live through his performances. In entry itself he used to win the hearts of people. The way he will carry the mike and stand and starts his act, this itself has multiple variations he used to do. Then he will fold both the hands upper, back side of the fore head and says “Ha Ye Kar lo Pehle” aap bade log hai.. aisa karta honge…. Ye karlo…a first googly of his terrific over of comedy. Then he will say “baba bahot log aaye hai aaj.. to ticket leke aaye unko dhanyavaad. Jo free me dekhre hai thoda sambhal ke”….. “kuchh log to beauty parlour me jaake bahot kharcha kar kea aye.. thoda sambhal ke haso …. Other wise your make-up will fell down…..’’ then those who have come in own car are not worried, but other who have come with them have to check if they are still around… this all in Hindi and entire population used to laugh infinitely on his gestures and the UP, Ilahabaadi accent that he maintained in all his acts, his rare kind of sense of humor and deep, keen observation of personalities and living creatures around us.
If I have to list his acts it is unending list but today in his kind remembrance, I am recalling few of them they are on TOP OF MY PLAY LIST … is the one that he attends marriage…after marriage everyone is about to look to the food counter and it is hard to find the way to reach there, then some how you get a food plate full of items (some items lying down, some are flowing and some are swimming in the plate and some are hidden with other items dumped on them)… this all he used to show only through his act. As soon as he starts eating a cameraman comes in and he says “ main to bin bulaye aaya hoon, don’t click my photos.. let me eat and enjoy the food” he used to act the videographer in a typical way. You won’t belive, I have tried imitating it numerous times. Then comes the scene of a mother-in-law and the son-in-law dialogues. Where in its time of Bidaai and she is explaining the innocence of her daughter, then in a sequence he talks to father-in-law and again loads of laughing bombs he used to create. More I liked the way he imitated the brother who is not married and trying to find a match in the wedding, then his discussions with the newly wed brother-in-law as to how he is dangerous and he should be very careful while dealing with his sister. Then the typical marriage scenes of our area like damaging the marriage hall, playing cards, spitting tobacco and gutkha everywhere, stealing the utensils and other items from the function and taking it home…. Behavior of guests while we invite them, receive them and take care of them as if we are there SLAVES…. I could not stop even when am writing this and getting the visual effect of his fabulous act. One must see this when you need a good break… this will relieve you from all worries.
Other famous act I liked is the ladies cricket match and its commentary – very tiny observations fellow had and they way ladies fight on the grounds is a fun to watch and roll around when you are watching this. One more act wherein he is imitating a DON converting himself to a SAINT leaving all his old business of gambling, robbery and murders etc. Aah.. I cant explain it in better words…. “kya bhai log sab kaise re .. Ye langdya who mike to thik kar… 1234… abe thik kar nahi to dekh …. at the end Aarti containing of a gun kept in Kamandalu moves in public and they collect the money… an awesome act.
An act of Sankatha travelling to his native from Mumbai and all the gags come to drop him to station and they way he created that scene is mind blowing. Then the Bollywood actors imitating acts in various forms (in vegetable market, shoe shop and other places) are just mind-blowing and take you to a different world of happiness by laughing non-stop. The way he performed in the bollywod award shows by acting and imitating all Big B’s is a treat to watch. You may search all of these on you tube, google and enjoy them. I also have bought CDs and DVDs containing all his famous acts and kept watching them numerous times and believe me I can watch any act any number of times and I still get the same smile rather more smile again and again.
He has presented SHOLAY movie and its famous characters like Gabbar, Jay, Veeru and Basanti in so many different forms. The kind of variations he brought in the same subject with new taste in it was awesome. Then his act of getting roles in films but leaving them due to his personal priorities is another hit. There are 100s of them which I enjoyed and all of those have filled my life’s happiness, oxygen, energy, enthusiasm and increased our living life. He was TREMENDOUS, TERRIFIC, TALL, TALLER, TALLEST, FANTASTIC, FANTABULOUS, MINDBLOWING, OUTSTANDING, UNCOMPARABLE… what not and that full and larger than life cylinder of my Oxygen I have lost as he left for his heavenly abode yesterday…. It is hard to say good bye to you Raju bhai… you will stay with his all the memories I have referred above…. Alvida !!!
Request all channels to please show all his performances at-least for a week rather than showing those family dramas and culture spoiling serials….
Sharad Puranik
September 22, 2022
Comments