36. Built the Cheapest Cooperative Society in Thane

Contributed by: Rohini Abhyankar

Shankar (Aba) Marathe was born in Kaasa, Ratnagiri in the year 1928.

He came from a poor family where the primary source of income was ‘bhikshuki’ (local priesthood).

He had seven brothers and two sisters.

Now he has two sons who are both well established in their respective professions.

He remembers the day when the cooperative society that he had worked so hard to get built was inaugurated and the Auditor remarked that to his knowledge, that was the most inexpensive society in all of Thane. Here is how the story was narrated to me by Shri. Aba Marathe…

I used to live in a very dilapidated worn down house. I lived there for 16 years, and one day I came across a piece of vacant land that was for sale. The owner was a member of the Bohari community and he was associated with the rubber industry. I decided to build a cooperative society on that land and resolved to make it very affordable to everyone willing to join the cooperative.

We did some calculations and decided to sell the accommodations at cost price at the rate of Rs. 50/sq. foot. All arrangements were made and it was time for us to buy the land for a cost of Rs. 75,000 and start the construction, but for some reason the owner of the land started dilly dallying when it came to signing the papers. I was worried. The work could not begin till we had the possession of the land. I was very concerned. I gathered up all my courage and went and met with the collector. He reviewed all the documents and telephoned the land owner at his office and firmly warned him that if the papers were not signed by the coming Friday the collector would sign them on behalf of the owner. This did the trick. After a lot of hard work the society was completed. A statue of Shivaji now graces the society grounds. It was a matter of pride and joy for me that I was instrumental in providing decent, affordable housing to the members of the cooperative. The auditor even remarked that as far as he knew, this was the least expensive society in the entire city of Thane.

I have lived here happily for the past 37 years.

35. A moving experience

A moving experience

Contributed By: Rohini Abhyankar

Sushila Joshi age 81 years lives in Girgaon with her 86 year old husband.

She was born in Nasik and came from a well off family and had five siblings.

Now she has a son and a daughter who are both well settled in life with their respective families.

She was a college graduate before she was married and continued her education after marriage.

She did a comparative study of Tukaram and Kabir to earn her doctorate. She has studied the ‘Dasbodh’ and has organized ‘Dasbodh’ study groups for over 25 years.

One day Sushila attended a discourse delivered by a renowned and well respected spiritual leader/‘shastriji’ (a person who is an authority on religion). After his discourse was over, Sushila went to meet Shastriji and as is customary in India paid her respects by bowing at Shastriji’s feet. Since Sushila and her family had high social standing and had conferred an award on Shastriji through the family Trust, he recognized her but before she could say anything he was overcome by emotion and broke down crying like a baby. Sushila was puzzled and shocked and did not know how to react. All she could say was,

“Dada, please don’t cry. If you break down like this what are we to do?”

After some time Shastriji was able to regain his composure and all he could say to her was,

“How are we going to transfer our heritage to the next generation?”

This conveyed to her his worry about the future and the wellbeing of the generations to come.

She was moved by the incidence and remembers it till today.

34. Guruji’s directive changed my life

Guruji’s directive changed my life

Ramakrishna (Dada) Ganesh Joshi

Born in Vasai, Papadi, 1925

Contributed by: Rohini Abhyankar

I spoke to Ramakrishna (Dada) Joshi at his residence in Girgaon, Mumbai on a Sunday morning over tea. We had a long chat where he shared many pleasant memories from his accomplished life. Here is a particularly memorable one…

Ramakrishna came from a poor family. He was the eldest of the six boys in the family. Ramakrishna was a volunteer for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since he was 12 years old.

In the year 1942, when he was in Intermediate Collage, a lot of people left homes to become full time workers (Pracharaks) for RSS. Ramakrishna also registered for Officer’s Training Camp (OTC), a month long training program for the Pracharaks.

It was here that Ramakrishna came in contact with Golwalkar Guruji, the then head of the organization. Guruji knew everyone personally, knew names of all the Pracharaks. He addresses Ramakrishna by name and asked him “Are you planning to be a Pracharak?” Guruji knew that Ramakrishna was a second year college student. He also knew Ramakrishna’s family situation. Guruji asked Shivaram Pant Jogelekar, the regional head, “Will this young man be going?” Shivram Pant answered in affirmative. Guruji thought for a while and said to Ramakrishna that he should become a Pracharak only after completing his college education.

This lead Ramakrishna to complete his education and looking back this seems like the single most life changing event of his entire life. He is very thankful to Late Guruji for his far sighted advice.