Athiest...

I love Marathi...

Not because it is my Mother Tongue

Not because it has more true consonants and vowels than any other Indo Aryan Language

Not because it is the oldest of the Indo Aryan Languages

Not because it has some of the best literature

Not because it has the ability to produce a range of sounds

Not because Kentucky Fried Chicken can be spelt in Marathi however it may be so

Not because Pune has taken the language to a different level of sophistication

Not because it is one language where the choice of words can be a dead giveaway to your district

Not because it has incorporated the word “Machine” for your girlfriend in some places

Not because the public has supported its theatre till date

Not because it shares the Devnagri script along with Hindi

Not because it is the language which can spell my surname right and everybody reads it the same

Not because it has embraced English and morfed in "Marlish" (Marathi + English)

And certainly not because Mr. Raj Thakrey says so

But the language is current enough to give us poetry that can get everyone from kids to senior citizens and especially cynical people of our generation to flock the theatres to go for a programme that is essentially poetry reading. When I told a few non Marathi speaking friends of mine that I am going for a 6 hour poetry reading programme, the reactions were of incredeluity... But that’s where the poet that language and the public come together for an amazing fest of Marathi at its evolutionary best...

As the poet himself says, his age and his study does not qualify him to say anything about god and being atheist or a theist so my own credentials on the subject are not even worth mentioning. But the poem puts forward such a beautiful thought that I had to share it with non Marathi speaking people. Below is the translation as much as possible in letter and spirit...In Hindi

Author Name : Sandeep Khare

Title of Poem: Nastik

जब एक सच्चा नास्तिक मंदिर के बाहर रुकता है

तो मंदिर मे भगवान को ही अच्छा लगता है

की कोई भी क्यूँ ना हो

अपने आप के लिए ही सही

सच्चाई को पकड़े हुए रहने का

जब एक सक्चा नास्तिक मंदिर के बाहर रुकता है

तो होती है संभावन

की भगवान अपना आलस छोड मंदिर के बाहर आने की

एक सच्चा नास्तिक मंदिर के बाहर रुकता है

तो देखता है शून्या नज़रों से

आसपास की चेहेल पेहेल, भाविकों की भीड़

कोई तो अपना बोज़ आपने ही पैरों पे उठा रहा है

इसका समाधान मिलता है भगवान को

इसीलिए तो जब एक सच्चा नास्तिक मंदिर के बाहर रुकता है

तो भगवान को एक भक्त कम मिलता हो शायद

पर मिलता है समाधान एक सहकारी मिलने का

मंदिर बंद होने के बाद एक मस्त अंगड़ाई देके

भगवान बाहर खड़े नास्तिक से गप लडाने आते है

बोलते है “दर्शन देते रहना कभी कभी

पता है आपका विश्वास नही है हम पर,

पर हमारा तो है आप पे”.

मंदिर के बाहर रुका हुआ नास्तिक

परेशन भगवान को बड़े मिन्नतों के साथ मंदिर में भेजता है

तब जाके अनंत साल हम दर्शन ले सकते है

आस्तिकता की शाल में घुटे हुए भगवान की..