20. The girl will ride in a chariot

Maii (Leela)

Interviewee: Maii, Interviewer: Rohini, in person, Date: 5/25/11

Maii called me today morning around 10:00 AM and said that she was feeling fine now and that I could go to collect the happy memory that she had promised. I was eager and was standing outside her door in less than an hour. The house was quiet and I could hear Buster barking as he sensed my arrival. Buster keeps Maii company during the day till the family returns home from work and school. Maii asked me to give buster a treat to make him happy so we could talk at leisure.  We settled on the couch in the big tiled family room.

Age: 86 yrs.

Birth place: Thane, Maharashtra, India

Background information: Maii was born in 1925, was one of the six siblings and spent her early childhood at Mumbai and did her schooling in Pune. Maii is quite frail and seemed more so today as she was recovering from an illness. She is an upright old lady with deep set eyes a sharp memory and an amazing capacity of finding common acquaintances. As I realized today she is quite a story teller too. The following is a story as narrated to me by Maii.

The girl will ride in a chariot

I was 16 years old then. My father was worried about my marriage. He was not sure how much dowry he would have to give. I was very thin even then and very aware of my ordinary looks. My older sister was very beautiful and yet my father had to give a dowry…it was a norm that time. It was around Christmas time, a palm reader came to our house. I clearly remember him even today. He was dark, was from the south, wore a head gear (pheTA) and had a white scarf with red border (long uparNa) and was carrying a stick. Since my marriage was uppermost in my father’s mind he called me and asked me to show him my palm for a reading. He looked at it very briefly and said to my father “do not worry about her marriage. It will be fixed soon, next month actually. But do not hold the marriage ceremony in February, which is not a good time for her. Push it out by a month and this girl will ride in a chariot!”
On hearing his words I was happy but I laughed at the chariot part. Here we were barely able to afford a Tonga (a horse cart) unless we had some luggage with us and he was predicting that I will ride in chariots.

But let me tell you something…what he had said came true. My husband came to see me while he was on his way to ‘Athani’ their village near Miraj. He said he was agreeable to the proposal. My father asked me what I thought, what could I say? And had I said no would my father have listened? No….I said if it is ok with him then it is ok with me too.

My husband's family suggested a wedding date in February but my father remembered what the palm reader had said and so postponed the date saying that he wanted me to take the Matric final exams scheduled in March….So I got married in April. I stayed at the village for a while he (Maii’s husband) was in Bombay. But I joined him soon and time went on. After about eight or nine years things started to change for us. He got promoted with a big jump in salary. There was no turning back from then on... We would travel in First class compartments initially then in Air-conditioned coaches and finally by airplanes! Those were the chariots the palm reader had predicted. These were the chariots for me…I always travelled in style with grace of God. But who knew it back then…I had even laughed at the palm reader's prediction... but only God knows what lies ahead! We don’t know. It is all because of good deeds from past lives….

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River Indrayani and three small children

I had a neighbor in Pune, who thought of me as her daughter. She had three small children. When her youngest baby boy was born her husband renounced the world and became a ‘sanyasi’ at Alandi, a holy city on the banks of Indrayani river. My neighbor was furious with her husband’s decision. She went to Alandi and fought with the Ashram's holy men. She questioned them on how they could induct a man into the hermitage despite his family responsibilities. The Ashram was helpless, since what was done was done, but they were kind to her and said that they would give her all the money that was collected in the temple on full moon and new moon. That became her sustenance...

I was nine then and we had gone to Alandi to receive my neighbor’s money. There was a bridge being built on Indrayani then. An engineer had come to Alandi on the project. He had two young children who were my age. So I would take my neighbor’s children 5 and 3 and would go to the engineer’s house to play. I was returning home one day. I had to climb down the brick steps, the kind you find on ‘ghats,’ then walk some flat land, and then climb up the steps again to reach my house via short cut. (You can imagine a very wide un-paved arroyo with steps on either side). I was coming home with my two little friends and as soon as I stepped down from the steps I heard a very loud roaring sound, I quickly turned around and saw an immensely huge wall of water approaching us very fast. In the blink of an eye I picked up the baby and we ran up the steps as fast as we could. Before I could turn around Indrayani had gushed past us. I was trembling and started to cry. We went back to the engineer’s house. He asked me to sit down for a while and came to drop me off the long way this time…
Once we reached home the engineer told everyone that it was due to my presence of mind and quick action that all three of us were still alive else no one knows where we would have ended up!

That neighbor was glad I had brought her children home safe and sound and I was glad we all were alive with the grace of God!

19. He can whistle a tune of any song.

                                                                  Ganesh

Interviewee: Ganesh, Interviewer: Gauri

My Father-In-Law is now 87 years old. I first met him after he had retired from government service but I heard from people around that he had a very honorable job. He is very smart. He could not pursue his passion for music for some reason, so he encouraged his kids to learn vocal and instrumental. His English Vocabulary is very good. My husband always gives credit to him for his command on English language and the support he got for his career in music. If somebody needs help in writing an essay or updating a resume, he is always there to guide. He can whistle a tune of any song.

He shared a memory about his nephew Harish who at that time was only 2 years old and was known to be a high-energy, rambunctious kid. One day when My father-in-law came home from work, a relative broke the shocking news that Harish fell off the balcony of their 2nd floor apartment in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai while sitting on the edge. Everyone was devastated to hear this and rushed to his sister's house with their hearts in their mouths. They were expecting the unthinkable, but what they witnessed was a miracle – Harish was hale and hearty, playing with his toys. He was extremely fortunate to have fallen right between a concrete water tank and a rock but landed in the soil made especially soft by the recent rain showers, so all he suffered was a minor bruise. One can imagine the relief in everyone's heart and the experience of a divine power looking after the family. My father-in-law can never forget this incident. He always puts his Family first, always worries about the members who are away in different countries. He is always proud of the achievements of his family members. We all love you Baba-My Father-in-law.

18. Teaching Sanskrit

                                                            Suneeti
Interviewee: Suneeti      Interviewer: Gauri

It's a great honor to write about my Mother-In-Law whom I refer to as Aai (meaning mother). Her name Suneeti which means a person with good moral character and wisdom really suits her. She is always there for anybody to help and guide in whatever way she can. There were many untimely deaths in her family including her father's and elder brother's, so she had to shoulder the financial responsibility among other things. She started working at very early age, guided the youngsters in the family to be successful in life and was a beacon of hope for all.

At her current age of 83 also she teaches Sanskrit to high school students, plays carrom with her friends, tries to be physically and mentally fit and is always ready to learn new things at every possible opportunity. She has taught me how to play Table-Tennis. My husband is a Hindustani Classical singer. She taught me how to play a musical instrument, so I could sit with him on the stage instead of just doing the back-stage work.

When I asked her about one good memory about herself, she found it hard to think about a single one since she has had numerous wonderful experiences. She promised to get back to me in 2 days. Since she is always interested in academics, she remembered an event from college. She took an exam with six other classmates. It was pretty difficult, so everybody was scared about the results. To make matters worse, somebody came to her house on the eve of the result announcement and reported that none of the candidates had passed the exam. She was really upset and broke into tears. Her father got mad at her and asked her to stay optimistic. The next day the results were out and lo and behold, she was the only one who passed with flying colors! She has cherished that memory ever since.

Aai is a great Role Model. She is a big support to our family. I wish her a very good, happy and healthy life. We all lover her very much.

17. In those days going to Delhi, was like going to the Moon today

Vasant (Bapu)

Interviewee: Bapu, Interviewer: Rohini, Via: Phone, Date: May 18/11

Today is Full Moon, a very special day for Bapu, my father. Today’s full moon is his 1000^th!  Thousand Full Moons...What a land mark…I am very fortunate to be able to document one of his happy memories for my project on the actual day of his Sahasra Chandra Darshan (viewing the 1000^th moon).

Age: 81 yrs

Birth Place: Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India

Background information: Bapu grew up in Ratnagiri.   He, a son of a school teacher, grew up with three sisters. His mother had passed away when he was very young. A self made man indeed!  He completed his schooling at Ratnagiri and went to Bombay for higher education. Worked for the defense lab, completed his Ph.D. and worked at a big company in Delhi till he retired. He is certainly a scientist at heart with a variety of other interests. He has raised three children and is actively pursuing his linguistic and literary interests.

Rohini: It’s a big day today, what did you do?

Bapu: I just saw the moon! It has been cloudy thus far, but I had told your mother that I will be able to see the moon and surely I did.

Rohini: Great! So have you decided what story you want to share today?

Bapu: Yes… It was when I had just graduated from college. I had enrolled myself at the employment exchange and was waiting to hear from them. My father Dada said
I should go back to Ratnagiri and accept the job to teach at my school where Dada also was a teacher. He informed me that there was a vacancy and they would gladly offer the position to me. I contemplated for a while and told my father that I will come but with condition, if and when I hear from the employment exchange, I will leave. I even wrote a letter to the school principal. My condition was accepted and I taught for the entire month of July.  During the ‘Ganapati’ vacation, I had planned to return to Bombay. But the night before my departure, I received a telegram that my interview was scheduled. That worked out perfect.

I was interviewed and was selected. My posting was in Delhi! Where I came from, in those days going to Delhi, was like going to the Moon today. The news travelled very fast, “School master’s son is going to Delhi.” As if the Almighty picked me up and put me in Delhi…This was even included by a famous author (PL) in his book…of course in the story the names were changed.  Now since I was going to Delhi, one of my aunts, who had been waiting to visit her nephew in Delhi, decided to come with me along with some other folks. When I went to Bombay Central station that day, to leave for Delhi, the entire community had come to see me off…It was a joyous occasion. So many people!  I can still see them, I can tell you even now, the names of all those who had come (and he did list many!!!). I can clearly see their faces and expressions…yes it was a happy day…......

We talked for a long time after that…and I became a recipient of a treasure trove of memories…

16. Guiding many people to health the Yoga way

Sadashiv (Tatya)

Interviewee: Sadashiv (Tatya), Interviewer: Rohini, Via: Phone with help from Shekhar, Date: May 12/11

I had called Shekhar, Tatya’s son-in-law, and had requested him to assist me with the phone interview with Tatya in case we had trouble hearing each other, and Shekhar graciously agreed.

Age: 88 yrs

Birth Place: Chachana, Maharashtra, India

Background information: Tatya did his schooling in Chiplun and moved to Bombay to find work. After doing a variety of jobs in construction, in a mill, in a government ration office, he settled in Indian Railways from where he retired after over 35 years of service. He expresssed thankfulness for being able to do volunteer work (for RSS) while fulfilling his responsibilities on the job. He has raised three daughters and written a book on Yoga that has been translated in to English and four different Indian languages.

After enumerating many general happy instances, Tatya narrated the following story when he was asked how and when he started serious yogic studies:

When I was in the Railways, I had gotten ill with some stomach ailments. I met a Yoga Guru who suggested that I attend and try his classes. How my Yoga Guru turned to yoga is also an interesting story.  My Guru Shri.  Dixit also used to work for the Indian Railways. He had Psoriasis and hence was shunned by his co-workers because of his skin condition. He requested a transfer from his boss and moved to a remote forest area where a railway track was being laid. He met a sanyasin (a person who has renounced the world) who cured him completely of his skin ailment by teaching him Yoga. So when Shri. Dixit asked me to attend his Yoga classes, I went to him and as expected my stomach ailments were gone. I decided to learn Yoga from him and pursued it for next 12 years. I started my own Yoga classes in Sikandarabad, and did a lot of research on Yoga methods while I was in Pune. This lead to a book on ‘Sookshma Yoga’, a technique of breathing and movement.

Tatya practices Yoga daily even today and is still guiding many people to health by the Yoga way.

15. Sledding down "Rose’s Hill” and building snow forts in our back yards...

Patricia

I am an 83 year old woman.  I am writing to tell about a happy time of my life.  I have had many happy times. But I guess my most memorable time would be as a child.  I grew up in a very small town of 1200 people.  It was  post-depression era, but life did not seem hard at the time.  We always had food to eat and a wonderful vegetable garden in our back yard.  We had many friends, in fact we knew everyone in town and all the adults looked after us children as if we were their very own.  The winters could be harsh, but then we had the fun of sledding down "Rose’s Hill” and building snow forts in our back yards.  Our family played cards and board games indoors in winter.  (No televisions then).  I was 13 when World War II began. I remember that as a very patriotic time.  We bought defense stamps and collected tin foil for the war effort.  Many American men volunteered to go into the service of their country, and many gave their lives to protect our way of life.  Even fathers with children served.  Such happiness when the war ended and our loved ones came home!

I do not have any outstanding stories to relate, but I do know that I was fortunate to have been raised in a small town and was taught good values.  Place of birth, Moundsville, West Virginia.  Grade school and High School there and then moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1947. Completed nurse's training at St. Joseph's Hospital in 1950.  Worked many years in OB/Gyn department. I especially loved working with mothers and newborn babies.

14. "...educating women and telling them to be vigilant about their rights and freedom"

Sindhu

Interviewee: Sindhu, Interviewer: Rohini, Via: Phone, Date: 5/5/11

I had called to talk to Sindhu’s husband and was not really planning on talking to Sindhu on this call as I knew she was recovering from a hip surgery. But as my conversation with her husband drew to a close she expressed the desire to talk to me. I was honored.

Age: 82 yrs

Birth Place: Pune, India

Background information: Sindhu has lived in Mumbai all her life.

“In fact, since the day my mother brought me home from the hospital, I have been here. In this very building… for 82 years! I was in apartment number 26 for 21 years before marriage and in number 25 for the past 61 years after marriage,” said Sindhu.

When I asked her to share a happy memory with me, what she said first is what I frequently hear from many of the folks I interview. She said she is happy that she has good children, loving family etc. When I navigated through the years a little she lit up on one memory, I wish I could have seen her expression but that is the down side of a phone conversation… oh well.  I had to be satisfied listening to her ‘lit’ voice.

She mentioned that during 1975 the then Prime Minister of India Mrs. India Gandhi, had declared a state of Emergency. It was the darkest hour in the history of modern democratic India. There was a lot of restriction on free speech; people were put in jails for raising their voices in protested.  Sindhu had always been an active social worker. She was an active Samiti member, an organization that led a grass root movement for the education and upliftment of women. In response to the state of emergency, Sindhu and 12 other women from the Samiti came together and formulated a ‘Bhajani Mandal’ a group that sings devotional songs. One of the group members wrote the devotional songs that in the true sense were ‘patriotic songs’ something that would wake up the masses! This group went from city to city and village to village singing and educating women and telling them to be vigilant about their rights and freedom.

“We even managed to collect some money that we donated to the Samiti for the welfare of women”, said Sindhu who sounded very content even over the hiss and noise of the long distance phone call.

“Yes those were happy times…” Sindhu quickly come back to the present. It seemed to me as though she did not want to linger in the past for too long.

I respected that sentiment and after a few more polite exchanges got off the phone.

13. "Welcoming Goddess Lakshmi..." and "The Police Salute"

                                                             Nana
Contributor: Shailesh
Background - Mr. R. K. B., also known as Nana is 85 years young man who has not only struggled with adverse condition in his early years, but has used adversity as an opportunity to setup a fledgling business all by his own and then at the later stages of life, gone on to devote his heart and soul and time and money for social activity and religious service.

He started his working life as a mill-worker. For those who don't know, the power looms of vintage central Mumbai were notorious for a lot of labour abuse and infamous for angry strikes by workers struggling to feed their families 2 meals a day. They say that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. It was in this era when he not only made a bold decision to quit service, but also successfully set up a jewelery business based on the foundations of fairness and transparency and powered by hard work and dedication. Once the business was in auto-pilot mode, this man turned his attention to social service. 26 July 1989 was a dark day in this man's native village - Jambhulpada. In the aftermath of torrential rains and flooding of the local river, he arrived at a town which wore a look of a deserted village - a place where local people were shy of coming back to their homes fearing a repeat of the flooding. He rebuilt his hometown - a  large part through his own personal finances and in many ways garnering support from government and samaritans. Today that village boasts of a full-fledged high-school, a medical facility, an old age home - for the uninitiated, these facilities are luxuries in most of rural India. He is currently spending most of his time and energy in re-establishing an old Ganesh mandir based in Jambhulpada - The Siddha-Lakshmi MahaGanapati Devasthan - and fortifying it into a facility where the village folk meet every evening for a devotional end to the hot and tiring day. In many ways, it has become the identity for the village now and attracts devotees from all over Maharashtra through the year, and especially on 26th December each year when a Ganesh-Yaag (divine sacrifice) is held at the temple.

I have this story narrated by this great son of God -

                                      "Welcoming Goddess Lakshmi..."

In Hindu religion, when a man brings home his wife after marriage, the belief is that Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth comes to his home in the form of his wife. 'Arranged marriage' or a union which is decided by the elderly in the bride and groom's family was the norm those days as opposed to a couple choosing each other these days. In many cases, the bride and the groom got a glimpse of each other for the first time during the marriage itself! It was 1953. Nana was getting quite a few marriage proposals and had finally selected 2 possible brides out of which he had to choose one. He left the choice to his mother, as was the custom those days. His mother guided him to choose one Miss Indu  as the one with whom he could share his life. He agreed, and 2 of his brothers met Miss Indu's brother for discussions on the modalities of the marriage. In Hindu culture, the bride's and the groom's families have to gift each other's extended families with gifts, pleasantries and sarees, etc during the marriage. In the discussions, Nana's brothers disagreed to the modalities that were acceptable to Indu's brother. They decided to snap ties and returned and informed their mother. On hearing this, Nana was upset and informed his mother about his disappointment on the outcome. He was a long-sighted man and the reason of rejecting a proposal based on petty customs was unacceptable to him. His  mother agreed. He went to Indu's brother and informed him of his decision to pursue with the relationship. Despite continued disagreement from his brothers, Nana persevered and finally, got his way. Thus entered Goddess Lakshmi in his life - with whom he has shared last 55+ years of togetherness.

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Contributor: Ninad
                                                   "The Police Salute"
Nana was reading a newspaper one day when he read the news of his old friend Mr. J getting transferred to Mumbai as the Police Commissioner. Nana was excited by this news and decided to pay him a visit and catch up on old times. Thoughts were racing through his mind - from wondering whether he would even recognize him at all to what kind of tantrums will a high-flying police commissioner will throw. He finally decided to go to his office and see how it goes. When he arrived at the office, the commissioner was not yet in. He asked the constable outside his cabin as to when he would come and whether he could meet him. The constable, true to his duty, enquired if he had a prior appointment. Nana replied in the negative, but gave him his visiting card. The constable replied that the new commissioner was extremely strict and would most likely see him at the end of the day - when he was done with meeting all the people waiting to meet him, else probably would not even meet him at all! Nana decided to wait. Sure enough, sometime after that Mr. J arrived and walked right past him. The constable followed Nana’s friend to his cabin and handed over visiting cards from all the visitors. A few moments later, the constable came rushing to Nana requesting him to go in. Before Nana went in, his friend ordered the constable not to send anyone in till Nana was in. On entering the cabin, Nana's friend not only recognized him, but also showed a lot of warmth and offered him a seat. The two old friends revived old memories for some time and then finally bid goodbye. Nana came out and to his astonishment, found the constable saluting him! To top it off, he even escorted Nana to the gate.
In India, where a large part of the government establishment and related services is corrupt, rude and brash, getting a salute from a police constable was surely one memory to cherish for the rest of his life for Nana!

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Contributor: Shripad

                                                     "The secret donor..."

Nana spent a lot of time trying to rejuvenate Siddha Lakshmi Maha Ganapati Mandir in Jambhulpada. Obviously, the financial support required to carry out the kind of ambitious projects that Nana had in mind, was beyond a single person's ability. Nana, through his established business network, had a the uncanny ability and a strong divine support in finding donors who supported his aspirations financially.

One fine day, Nana received a phone call from one such donor. "I wish to donate a sum of money to the devasthan." - The donor. "Where are you?" - Nana "Jambhulpada" - donor "You will be able to donate in the mandir - you will also get a legitimate receipt for the donation." - Nana "I wish to handover the cash to you and only you." - donor "Well then, can you come down to Thane?" - Nana "Instead, can you meet me in Powai? At the IIT gate? Tomorrow evening..." - donor "Sure" - Nana Nana explained this to his family. Though Nana was overjoyed from the prospect of a donor, the family was apprehensive of possible fraud and felt it could be a trap set to trick him. Nana still expressed his desire to go. The phone rang again the next day - "Nana?" "Yes" "I am the donor. Can you meet me near Powai on the highway today instead of the gate?" - donor "OK. I will come.""I will be in a white car. Please come alone in that car." - donor "Sure" At this point Nana's family was dead sure of foul play and insisted Nana to avoid this request as either a prank call at best and as a serious threat at worst. Nana replied that he had the backing of Siddha Lakshmi Maha Ganapati and will still go there. He took his driver and parked near the decided place. Still in the car. Sure enough, a white car arrived and signalled. Nana's driver responded. The car door opened and Nana walked up - alone. "Please can you occupy the front seat?" Nana sat down. "Here. This is the money I wanted to donate to the mandir. Please accept." - donor Nana saw the sealed envelope. "How much?" - Nana "50 thousand" - Donor "And yes, I don't want a receipt from the devasthan. I assure you this is not black money and this money has not been earned in bad karma. My family saves money each year which we donate. Please do not disclose my identity to anyone. I am sorry you had to face a lot of trouble in reaching me" - donor  A little shaken, Nana returned to his car and spoke to his driver - "He says it is 50 thousand. I have not opened the envelope. Lets go to Jambhulpada immediately." They reached the mandir. Nana then called various trustees, and explained that he wanted to open the sealed envelope containing the money in front of the trustees. The trustees agreed, and opened the envelope and counted the money. It was indeed fifty thousand rupees. The trustees then brainstormed on the best possible formality to accept the donation legally into the devasthan, and then deposited the money into the devasthan bank account.

Nana still remembers this incident very vividly and has never disclosed the identity of the secret donor!  

                               

12. Once they set me up with a match on TV, I don’t need anything else!!

Ineterviewee: Shakuntala, Interviewer: Varsha, Date 5/6/2011

I visited Shakuntala Kaku while she was visiting her dear friend in my neighborhood. As I entered the house around 4 on a quiet spring afternoon, I found her enjoying an afternoon snack, reading a hand-written article. Her friend, my neighbor offered me some tea so I could give her company as Shakuntala Kaku doesn’t drink tea at all! We settled at the kitchen island with our respective tea / snacks and I asked her if she was ready for her interview. “Ask me whatever you want, I am prepared!!”.

Age: 81

Birth Place: Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Background Information: The only sister to three brothers, Shakuntala was third sibling, born in a well to do family. Her father was a lawyer by profession. She mentioned how there was music in the family and how she had taken some Violin lessons for a few years. She loved to play Badminton and belonged to the elite ‘A’ group. “It was very difficult to enter our A group” she reminisced. Like her brothers, she aspired to be a doctor when she grew up, but times were different then.. “if you educated your daughters very highly, then it was harder to find a husband who was even more educated!!” So in spite of having the grades to enter medical school she enrolled into a B.Sc(hons) curriculum. Her father encouraged her to do teacher training after that.  After marriage she moved away into neighboring state and lived in various places before settling in the city of Indore where they raised a family and Indore soon became “home”.

“I would say my happiest memory is that of watching my daughter’s success in sports! Like me, my daughter played Badminton. She was a good player and got good opportunities. She would always make the local papers and “Nayee Duniya” (local newspaper New world) would always carry her photographs on the sports page. We felt very proud of her achievements when she represented India in several tournaments abroad. She travelled to UK, Indonesia and Australia to represent India’s Badminton team. She also played in the Asian Games in 1982. “As she rapidly narrated her daughter’s successes she seemed to be reliving the joys of those years all over again. “Oh yes, those were good years! Even though my daughter wouldn’t let me attend her games, I came to know of all the details of all of her tournaments!”

I asked her if she missed sports after all these years and she promptly stated “Of course I do! But now with your TV and Internet I get to watch so much more! I watch Tennis and Cricket and had a great time watching the world cup cricket tournament last month. Once they set me up with a match on TV, I don’t need anything else!! “, she said with a laugh!

I had to wind up the interview as it was time for me to go pick up my son. It was nice to see a daughter picking up the same sport as her mother, making great strides into it and perhaps fulfilling aspirations of two generations in one shot! I would have loved to stay a bit longer and witness the long volley down memory court of this sports loving octogenarian!

11: And before we knew it, the storm was upon us...

Appa

Interviewee: Appa, Interviewer: Rohini, Via: Phone, Date: 5/5/11

I had called Appa (he is also called Datta but Appa is how most people have known him most of his life) three days prior to this conversation to explain the project and ask for a suitable time for the actual conversation. He received the idea with great evenness that is the characteristic of the age and promptly asked me to give him three days to think about a suitable happy memory to share.

Age: 85 yrs

Birth Place:  Maharashtra, India

Background information: Appa was born in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. Had four siblings of which two were step as his father had remarried after his mother had passes away; when he was just a boy.  Lived and worked in Bombay for most of his life, has three daughters and a son who are all well settled. Currently lives with his wife and is happy playing the “second innings” the life after retirement as he termed it, referring to the much popular game of cricket.

When I called at the designated time Appa had a visitor so I offered to call later but he was eager to give me a gist of what he was planning to share with me and we ended up talking for a good  40 minutes. He kept asking me whether I had time to listen to his story while all the time I felt as though it was me who was keeping him from is guest…

Appa: I have thought about this incidence that I think everyone will want to hear. I will write it out well and send it to you. But let me give you an idea about what it is. You do have time now, right?

Rohini: Of course I have time, please continue.

Appa: I was just a boy then. We were going to Ratnagiri on a boat from Mumbai.  Me, my other mother (step mother), elder sister were traveling with my Aunt’s husband (Dada) and his daughter who was younger than me. As our boat pulled out of the harbor (bhauchaa dhakka) a man from another boat that was going along side us, jumped in to the sea. There was a lot of commotion generated. Our boat turned around and the man was captured and held on the deck. They were not sure of the man’s intensions and so he was restrained on the deck of our boat. The grownups thought it was a bad omen…

Are you listening? Will this memory work for your collection? This, right now does not sound like a happy memory but let me proceed, the end is happy, you will see…

Rohini: Please continue this is just fine… as a matter of fact, it is quite exciting …

Appa: As our boat progressed towards Ratnagiri, we passed other boats that were going to Mumbai and as there were not many modes of communication back then…the people going in the opposite direction warned us of a big storm brewing near Ratnagiri coast. And before we knew it, the storm was upon us.

There were big waves, water was gushing on the deck and the captain started blowing his whistle.  The whistle system was designed to warn the passengers of the rising water level. Ten whistles meant the boat was about to sink…water burial for all…

Appa was talking quite fast now. Maybe because he wanted to tell me the story real fast and attend to his guest or may be he was experiencing the anxiety and thrill from re-living the moments on the deck of that boat caught in a storm.

Appa continued…We heard the seventh whistle; water was on the first floor of the boat. Dada (my uncle) kept saying that he wanted to reach me safely to my father…Dada looked very worried. Our boat tried to pull into a harbor but there was no room so the captain decided to proceed and find another safe spot…

After being in the storm for a while the captain decided to transfer the passengers on to smaller launch boats. I remember one big wave that engulfed the launch boat but we came up. One of the passengers lost his hat…the wave took it away.

Eventually we reached safety and Dada my aunt’s husband heaved a sigh of relief! I will never forget the expression on his face; as though a ton of weight had been lifted from his shoulders… now, he could hand me over to my father, safe and sound!

Appa promised me to write this story in details and mail it to me. I volunteered to summarize it in English and share it on the blog for everyone to read.

I spoke to his wife (82) while Appa attended to his guest and got another wonderful memory from her, but that my friend will be another post…

10: A Boy Scout volunteer and a gunner in World War II

Interviewee : Dean, Interviewer : Anonymous
Background info : Age 86 years, lives in Arizona, USA.
He seemed quite pleased with the purpose of the thousand full moons project and was very willing to share happy memories of his long life.
"There are so many...I am married, this is my second marriage-my first wife passed away after a long married life and both the marriages have been very happy.....it gives me pleasure to see my grown children have families of their own and taking care of their children and grandchildren...."
I agreed that a happy homestead and propagation of his family must give him joy, however, could he share a specific happy memory or period, related to his family or his life outside his home, perhaps?
I could sense his brain shuffling through his memory files and pick one
.
" I worked as a volunteer for 20 years with the Boy Scout program for disabled children..kids with Down's syndrome and such, that was a very satisfying period of my life. I remember one night, we awarded 7 scout eagle awards at a time, and the children were so proud of themselves, it was very nice to see."
I admired him for doing this, it was a very noble thing to do indeed.
" Can I share one more memory? I know you asked for just one, ....."
I felt honored by this, I was happy to hear his reminiscence.
" I was a gunner in World War II, and I was part of the team that bombed Hitler's premises at the end of the war. We did not get him of course, but we sure bombed his place."
What was his role in this mission, I asked.
" I was the gunner , I protected the bomber plane from enemy attacks, so they could proceed with their mission of bombing. The war ended shortly thereafter and I was very happy to come back Home. That was a happy time, the end of the war."
Indeed. I imagined Dean the young gentleman, guiding disabled boy scouts, Dean the young patriot, the brave gunner in the World War II.
I thanked him for sharing his memories, I actually was thanking him for inhabiting this planet that we all share.

9: I remember I won a purse for telling this story...

Aileen

Interviewee: Aileen, Interviewer: Rohini, location: Aileen’s Daughter’s home, Date: 5/3/11

At 3:30 on a bright summer’s afternoon, Aileen was wearing a blue summer dress with white flowery print. She was sitting in a comfortable chair in the living room, with glasses on and her walking stick close by.  Aileen welcomed me with a pleasant smile and shook my hand. My worries about whether she will understand my accent were quickly dispelled as Aileen, after I explained my project pointed out, that she had many more full moons to her credit than the requirement of 1000!

Age: 88 yrs

Birth Place: Chicago, USA

Background information: Aileen is of Swedish descent, was born in Chicago in 1922, had one brother and raised five children. Apart from being a wife and a mother she held many different jobs such as a secretary, sales person and a realtor.  She has 17 - 18 grand children and 44 great grand children. “Not a year goes by without me holding a baby in my arms, that makes me happy,” said Aileen very casually.

“Will you share a happy memory with me?” I asked.

“I don’t have one, I have so many…” She gave me all the background information and said, “Now you ask questions and I will answer.”

We talked about her school and college and how it meant that one had to get married if they didn’t go to college. How she got married after two years of junior college…at this point her daughter interjected,

“You eloped, didn’t you?”

I was all ears but Aileen just smiled and continued.

Accompanied by her friend and her friend’s fiancé, Aileen had gone to see her fiancé in Tullahoma, Tennessee where he was stationed. She remembered it being a long weekend that turned out to be much longer…Since her friends deserted her mid way she had to be with her fiancé. But times were different then, she could not be with him unless they were married.  So they got married.

“I remember I won a purse for telling this story,” she said.

“Where and when was that?” Aileen was reaching in to her memory bank.

“It was in Chicago. Long after we were married, there was a shoe store and they were celebrating their 25^th year. They had invited radio and T.V. Crew.  There were four or five other people sharing their respective marriage stories.  I told my story and I won a leather purse. They gave me a purse…the first expensive purse I had,” Aileen chuckled; the laughter reached her eyes.  She looked beautiful.

“They gave you a purse? I did not know that,” said her daughter.

“Yes, they gave me a purse…”

Isn’t the working of our mind very intriguing?  When we stumble upon a happy memory many more come flooding in…

We chatted some more and then I said goodbye so Aileen could open her purse and enjoy the treasures she found within…

Note: The purse in the picture above is not the purse that Aileen received at the store.

8: I remember it vividly...

                                                                Helga

About twenty or twenty five years ago, my husband and I were in Puerta Vallarta, and were standing on the beach with a small crowd of people.  It was early evening and we were watching the sun slowly edge toward the horizon.  We were looking at a large, orange circle, very slowly disappearing.  Then suddenly it slipped away and as it did, I felt something wash over me from above.  Although I am not religious in the conventional sense, I felt this was a religious experience for me and felt very calm afterwards.  I remember it   vividly.       

As for personal details, I was born Oct.1929 in Vienna, Austria and grew up in The Bronx, N .Y. I am married with two children. In my forties I went back to school  to become  a social worker, and after retiring, find enjoyment in many hobbies, like water color painting, playing bridge, reading and in the evening watching old movies with my husband.  My first name is Helga.

Note: This beautiful memory was sent to us by Helga herself. We thank Helga for sharing her serene spiritual experience with us.