Monday, September 19, 2016

133. Joyous Moments.


Thousand Full Moon: Shrimati Prabhavati Abhyankar (82+)
Contributed by: Rohini

Shrimati Prabhavati (Kaku) Abhyankar is the matriarch of her family. She lives in Mumbai near her two well settled daughters. A petite figure, with a loving smile, always ready to welcome family and friends, even in the middle of the night.
Prabha Kaku’s maiden name was Leela Vaidya. She was born in a village near Dapoli in Konkan. Being the youngest of the ten children she was her father’s darling. She said he would buy her things and would take her to the fair. He was a police constable. She is very proud of him and misses him even today. Her eldest brother was an Ayurvedic doctor, doctor of Indian traditional medicine. He used to live a couple of floors removed in the same building as she does. He had come to Mumbai when he was very young and lived as a paying guest in Girgaon and had started work right after finishing school. She was visiting him when the marriage proposal came from her husband’s family who also used to live in Girgaon at the time. She got married at a young age and moved to Vile Parle in about six months’ time.
She narrated three memorable events to me on the phone when I spoke to her last. Once when her daughters were very young her husband was taken ill and was running a high fever. He was admitted to Nanavati hospital. The doctors were very concerned and said that, that particular night was critical. When Prabha Kaku went to the hospital early next morning the Doctor came and tried to wake her husband up by calling his name, she said he opened his eyes on hearing the doctor’s voice and that was the happiest moment of her life
Her granddaughter has won many prizes in school and brought her a lot of joy.
She fondly mentioned the day when her grandson was born. She said the nurse came out and announced, “It is a Baba (a baby boy) but Kaku just was not sure what she had heard so she asked her niece again, “Did she say a Baba or a baby, a boy child or a girl child? Her niece gave her a bid hug and said, “Kaku it is a baba, a baba!!”
“That too was a joyous moment for me!” She said with contentment.


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