Interview with Mr.Kumar Ketkar

Muktangan Diary of Interviews...

During the Kargil war days, our employees' club arranged a lecture on Kargil. Mr. Kumar Ketkar was the lecturer. He was the chief editor of Loksatta newspaper and was awarded the Padmashree in 2001. Currently, he is a member of the Rajya Sabha. The program was held in July/August. At that time, our Muktangan programs were held in the Ankur Nursery hall. So, before that lecture, on the previous Sunday, we decided to conduct an interview with Mr. Ketkar. We discussed him and prepared some questions. For further discussion, we decided to meet at my home. I discussed a prior appointment with the club secretary, but due to some reason, he refused to give permission.

On the previous day of the lecture, there was heavy rain, so only two members came to my house: Vikrant Mote and Pranav Avatade. I informed them about not getting permission for the interview. So, we prepared a new plan. We collected information about the details of the program in our township. According to that, their arrival time was 3:00 pm, and the lecture time was from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. We had enough time to meet him before the lecture. So, we decided to go directly to Anandvan guest house. For VIP persons, that guest house is booked by the programming authority. I told both to come to the entrance of Anandvan at 5:00 pm.

The next day, after the general shift, I went directly to Anandvan. When I reached the Anandvan gate, Vikrant and Pranav were not there. So, I asked the gate security about them. The guard told me that two children went inside. I entered inside and saw some friends waiting for Mr. Ketkar. I inquired about Vikrant. They told me their smartness story, how they entered the guest house and requested for an interview. Mr. Ketkar's assistant and guard discussed with both of them. Both brilliantly handled the situation.

When both came out from the room after half an hour, they told me the whole report. Many questions were asked, and some questions were also asked by Mr. Ketkar himself. He showed them a photo with an article published in that day’s newspaper. In that photo, a shepherd boy held a small sheep on his back, and a city boy held a school bag on his back. He asked for their reaction to the photo. Vikrant answered him that at the same age, the shepherd boy managed the load, so we also must manage our school bag. Mr. Ketkar explained both about different views on that photo, guided them, and answered many questions.

Both of them were quite happy and confident when they came outside. They enjoyed the interview. Vikrant was in the 6th standard, and Pranav was in the 5th standard at that time. Both of them explained the details about the interview in the Sunday's Muktangan program.

At the age of 11/12, they took the interview confidently, and that was a milestone in their life. Vikrant and Pranav were never afraid to have any discussions or interviews. Vikrant is the first MBBS student from KEM Government College from our township. Our Muktangan members have taken many interviews of big personalities, rural area people, senior citizens, and retired government officials. Among them, Mr. Kumar Ketkar’s interview was memorable."