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Karanth's release ends Bhawans stupor

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NK SINGH Bharat Bhawan, the controversial "House of Arts" at Bhopal, has started limping back to normalcy with the release on bail of B.V. Karanth—the noted drama director who was recently arrested on the charge of attempted murder. The lake-side multi-arts complex, constructed with public funds and run by a private trust headed by the ruling Congress (1) leader, Mr Arjun Singh, became the centre of unsavoury public attention in the wake of the sensational Vibha-Karanth affair. Normal functioning of the cultural complex was disturbed and the Bharat Bhawan repertory, Rangmandal, was almost paralysed following the arrest of its director, Karanth, and the serious burn injuries sustained by the leading actress of the troupe, Vibha Mishra. Over the last month, little had happened in Bharat Bhawan apart from two minor programmes and a campaign launched to defend the institution against public criticism. Now with Karanth back in action, Bharat Bhawan is restarting its cultural activ...
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Balti Baba dips into politics

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NK SINGH


Politicians will consult any astrologer or tantrik, even one who claims to deduce the past and predict the future from a plastic bucket full of milk. That's the modus operandi of Balti (bucket) Baba, who has suddenly emerged as a colourful sidelight in Rajasthan politics. 

 The 40-year-old semi-literate man with a Bihari accent, unkempt hair and dirty clothes boasts: "There is not a single politician in India who has not consulted me."

Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat met Balti Baba before the recent assembly elections. Says the Baba: "The string of rudraksh brought by him was short by seven rudrakshs and I had told him he will be short by seven MLAs."

Although Shekhawat denies visiting the Baba regularly, he has reportedly been advised on the timing of his oath-taking ceremony and even the number of ministers he should appoint to his cabinet. Furthermore, Shekhawat had reportedly asked the Baba for advice when the BJP faced problems in forming a government.

Interestingly, Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, who was camping in Jaipur to help the Congress(I) capture power after the polls, also called on the tantrik. The Baba confirms this: "He is an old chela of mine, but I told him that he would not succeed in his attempts."

The tantrik, who has several ashrams spread over north and northeast India, is now building another one in Jaipur. And he is getting a steady stream of visitors - mostly industrialists, politicians, bureaucrats and police officers.

Says the Baba without any apparent embarrassment: "I do not accept five or 10 rupees. I accept lakhs because the work done by me is worth that much."

The Baba was born Ram Narain in Deoria village in Uttar Pradesh. At the age of nine, he ran away from home to join a band of sadhus and later took to political counselling.

He claims to have influence abroad too. According to him, he predicted former US president George Bush's victory in the 1988 election. However, Bush, so the Baba says, threatened to have him arrested for performing a puja for him without his consent. 

 As the Baba, perched on a cot in a dingy room, narrates his exploits, more wild claims follow from his hangers-on. "He was a Bihar MLA in 1977". "He was the chairman of the Food Corporation in Uttar Pradesh during the Mulayam Singh government." This, in fact, is true. 

 A bucket of milk sure works wonders.

 India Today, 15 January 1994

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