61. Shower of Pure Joy

Thousand Full Moon: Shrimati Sushila M. Paranjape (84+)
Contributed by: Dr. Raghunath Boradkar 

Shrimati Sushila M Paranjape Lives with her younger sister in Pashan Pune. She is 84 but hardly looks her age. She spends her time chatting with her sister and reading books

Here is her account in her own words, which she calls  Anand-Varshav .

It so happens that sometimes you feel very hot and uneasy and somewhat later there is a mild drizzle and a cool breeze that takes away the ill feeling and calms down the mind. A similar thing happened in my life. From 1955 to 1957 I was under a malefic planetary influence of Saturn [Sade sati] and nothing good seemed to happen. There were all sorts of obstacles in my appearing for the Final B.A. Examination. Destiny had it that I should get my B.A. degree in November 1957 and its then that I got it.

My elder sister was a Maths and Science teacher in a school in Nasik. She was B.Sc B.T. and very popular amongst students. There was a vacancy for a Physical Training Teacher [generally called P.T. Instructor] in her school and they wanted to fill the post. The Principal of the school was a very nice man and he offered me the post in his school if I could get a Physical Training Diploma from the Kandivali School of Physical Training. That was a time when Arts Graduates like B.A.B.T. or even M.A.B.T. were not in  demand and many were jobless.

I there fore decided to get the Physical Training Diploma from the Kandivali School and applied for the prospectus/information and obtained it. The Kandivali School was the only school that offered a Diploma in Physical training, in whole of India. It was Government Institution from the time of the British and was a well renowned school. The Principal, Vice Principal and a few Professors were British till 1950. The school was known for its strict discipline .The course offered was from September to May.

The school was in Kandivali West and was situated on a Hill slope. It had beautiful surroundings and was a scenic spot. Teachers from all over India used to come there for training. Most of the trainees used to be on Deputation and their expenses were borne by the institution .Very few teachers opted for the course at their own expense.

Admissions were given after testing the Physical Ability and some physical skill. The candidates were merit listed after the tests depending on their performance. Some of them received a the stipend. I found out what physical abilities and skills they test and started practicing.

A medical certificate of physical fitness from the Civil Surgeon of the District was to be submitted along with the admission form. I was really physically fit but was under weight. I was 23 then. I consumed lots of tonics to increase my weight.

I was overjoyed when I got admission for the course. This time the course was from August to April. We all appeared for the physical ability and skills test by the end of August. I did well in the test. But there was a Marwari and a Punjabi girl who were better than me and they had really done well. After the test I applied for the stipend the next day as I knew that it was mandatory.

It was September 24^th a lucky day for me. Before the lecture the Principal Shri Kothiwale came to the class and he read out the list of students who had qualified for the stipend. Out of 20 girls two had received the stipend, me and the Marwari girl.

As a matter of fact I was third in the merit list. The Marwari girl was first. The Punjabi girl was second and I was placed third. I and the Marwari girl had applied for the stipend but the Punjabi girl did not and that was to my advantage. Had she applied I wouldn’t have gotten the stipend. Luck had favored me at last.

The stipend was 40 rupees a month and the money was my own. Now I could pay for my expenses. The greatest satisfaction was that I was able to complete the course on my own without any aid from anywhere. This was a moment of Joy and I remembered a Marathi poem Anandi Anand gade ikade tikade chohikade.

Shrimati Sushila M Paranjape

B.A.B.Ed. D.PED

60. Succeeded in compiling the family tree

Thousand Moon: Shri Dattatreya Ambadas Boradkar(82)
Contributed By: Raghunath Boradkar

Shri Dattatreya Ambadas Boradkar is 82 years old. He lives in  Shankar Nagar Nagpur. Fit and very agile at his age , he leads a quiet life . He is a devotee of his Kuldavta Hiramata of a place Jamthi in Vidarbha.

He did his matriculation in 1948 and joined District and Sessions judge office in Rajnandgaon in the then Central Provinces and Berar,[Madhyaprant ani Warhad] in August 1949.He was transferred to Nagpur in 1951. He retired  from High court office after completing  his full tenure of the said office.

He recollects his days with exceptional clarity

One particular memory that he cherishes is about his participation in the RSS satyagraha on 9^th December 1948.He was sentenced to six months rigorous imprisonment and a fine of fifty rupees.He was kept in Jabalpore jail but was released on 23/2/1949 as the Satyagraha was called off. This particular memory is very dear to him and is very proud of it.

Some time after retirement he thought  of compiling a family tree. He had heard many stories from his mother and grand mother. So he started meeting the older relatives and collecting  whatever material could be available. But there was hardly anything available save a few pieces of paper with some names. He used to travel a lot for his office work and so new some people in survey department. That helped him to some extent. One piece of paper that he got had a sort of family tree which started with some Keshobhat. Nothing was known about him. The ancestral place was supposed to be a small village Nachangaon-Deoli near Pulgaon. The village had an old Siddheshvar temple and one of the ancestors was invited as a yadnya was to be performed there. So Keshobhat came and settled there. But it was just a sort of family history and could be considered as a fable.

But Dattatreya Boradkar was determined. He started writing letters to all Boradkars and related people to collect more information. Some responded some did not. Some considered it a waste of time and a meaning less effort. But it didn’t deter him he continued relentlessly and ultimately succeeded in compiling the family tree with the addresses and phone numbers of all the family members and a detailed family chart.

Publishing this small book was a great moment in his life and the years he put in this effort were fruitful. For him this was what is called happiness and contentment and also fulfillment in life.

59. You see me here today because…

Thousand Moon: Sadanand Ramkrishna Joshi (91+)

Contributed By: Rohini

Sadanand (Bhau) Joshi lives with his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in Parle (east). He is in good health and was enthusiastic to share one of his prominent memories with me that evening.

The memory in his own words:

I used to work at Bombay docks. On 14/4/1994 (notice the number of 4s) there was a ship carrying Gold, cotton and explosives in the dock. At around 4:00 pm. There was a massive explosion that was heard and seen from miles away. You see me here today because I was transferred to the head office at fort the day before on the 13^th.

===================================================================

Wow what a lucky escape!

After coming home I Googled the explosion at Bombay Docks and here is what Wikipedia documents:

The Bombay Explosion (or Bombay Docks Explosion) occurred on 14 April 1944, in the Victoria Dock of Bombay (now Mumbai) when the freighter SS Fort Stikine carrying a mixed cargo of cotton bales, gold, and ammunition including around 1,400 tons of explosive caught fire and was destroyed in two giant blasts, scattering debris, sinking surrounding ships and setting fire to the area killing around 800 people.

Link for interested readers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_Explosion_%281944%29

 

58. I have always treated my guests like God

Thousand Moon: Mukta Vishnu Apte (81+)

Contributed by: Rohini

A couple of days before departing from India, I learnt that Mukta Apte’s “Sahasra Chandra Darshan” (Thousand Full moon) celebration was scheduled for mid August. I scheduled to meet her to hear some of her prominent memories. 

When I was climbing the stairs to the 1^st floor, Mukta Vahini’s (as she is called) door was open and she was sitting in a chair facing the door. She was wearing a red blouse and a bright yellow sari with gold thread. She reminded me of the Aiyappa temple that I had visited the day before and how as I had climbed the stairs I had gotten to see the idol clad in bright garments.

After initial pleasantries, Mukta Vahini shared two of her prominent memories with me, one dark the other bright adhering to the fact that those who have seen a thousand full moons have also seen a thousand dark nights.

Mukta Vahini got married in 1952. She came from Pune, a big city, to Agashi, a small town. Since she did not have a mother-in-law she was required to shoulder the responsibility of running the big household of 25 people right away. Her father-in-law was very fond of her and would pamper her like his own daughter. During the seventh month of her pregnancy a traditional ceremony (dohale jewan) was planned and elaborate arrangements were made for the big event. Thirty two (a big number for the small town) ladies were invited. But tragedy struck and just before the ceremony her father-in-law became very ill and passed away in a couple of hours. The flowers that had come for her dohale jevan got used for her father-in-law's funeral!

Mukta Vahini transitioned from the dark memory to the happy one with the ease of an experienced navigator who is skilled at taking all kinds of life experiences in a stride. 

Mukta Vahini kept the Hindu principle of “Atithi Devo Bhava”(May the Guest be God) as the motto of her household. Of the innumerable times when guests have come to her house, she remembers that one day when after feeding everyone in the house she had set her own plate and Anant Rao Devkule (a prominent  Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh pracharak) walked in saying,” A guest has come to your door, a guest has come to your door”. While setting her plate aside Mukta Vahini asked him what he would like to have and he said he was hungry but only eight mouthfuls would satisfy him. She cooked a full meal for him and he blessed her after being content as he took her leave. 

Mukta Vahini narrated another similar incident when the famous Marathi writer Go. Ni.  Dandekar honored her during a gathering by specially mentioning her for providing an excellent meal for him at her house.

Mukta Vahini never made an issue of the heart condition she suffered from the age of 35 and fulfilled all her duties with a smile on her face.  

As I left her room I felt like descending the stares in reverse as per the tradition of the Aiyappa temple I had recently visited. This custom allows the devotees to depart without turning their back to the revered deity.