Thousand Full Moon: Shrimati Vijaya Ramchandra Apte
Contributed By: Dr. Raghunath Boradkar
Shrimati Vijaya Ramchandra Apte
, daughter of Late Shri Jagannath Narayan Limaye and late Sou. Savitribai
Jagannath Limaye is now 83 years old.She
was born in a small village Mirjole in Ratnagiri district. Her father was a high
official in Ingersol Rand, an American Company in then Bombay. She now lives in
her own flat in Dahanukar colony Kothrud Pune. She has maintained good health
and is a devotee of Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami of sajjangad. She quotes from
Dasbodh a stanza ’jagi sarva sukhi asa kon ahe
Vichari mana tuch shodhoni pahe’ (who in this world is completely happy?
Oh thoughtful mind, why don’t you look around and see for yourself) and thinks
that it is an eternal truth. Life is therefore a package deal full of joys and
sorrows. She tries to follow his advice in real life.
She has done her matriculation from Bombay Board her B.A, from Pune
university, B. Ed from Nagpur University and M.A. from Ravishankar Shukla University
Raipur[Madhya Pradesh].
Here she narrates two instances from her life that gave her the utmost
joy and pleasure. First is when she got her B.Ed. and the second one is when
her daughter got her M.D.
Here is what she has to say:
We were staying in Ratnagiri then. Our house was named Savitribhuvan. I
did my BA. From Gagate College and later on got my Hindi Visharad from Pune
University. On 5t may 1954 I was married to Shri Ramchandra Yashvant Apte from
Nagpur with usual fanfare. Marriage is a transitional period in one’s life and
in my case it turned out to be a very happy transition. Shri Apte popularly
called Rajabhau had a towering personality and an amiable temperament. He made
himself dear to all.
The first year of marriage was very enjoyable. Soon on 25th
may 1955 there was a new arrival in the form of a baby girl. Her naming
ceremony was performed at my mother’s place with great enthusiasm and she was
named Vinita.
This was the happiest moment in our life. But destiny had other plans
in store for us and the joy was short lived as Ch. Vinita passed away even
before she could complete a year leaving us in profound grief. A Life was
nipped in bud. With the help of near and dear ones we got
over the grief and returned to normal life soon.
Time passed and we had another baby girl Shuchita born to us. When she
was six months old we shifted from Nepanagar to Bhilai as Shri Apte got a better
job with a higher salary. Then after one and a half year we got another baby
girl Shubhada . She really turned out to be a bestower of good fortune as her
name suggested. Shri Apte got a raise in the salary and a bigger quarter. His
sister got married and everything seemed fantastic. We happily returned to
Bhilai but to be struck by bad luck again. On the very next day of our return
Ch. Shuchita developed fever which turned out to be Typhoid. Everything
possible was tried but she did not respond to the treatment given and she too
passed away and left us in grief. It was Ch. Shubhada who helped us in getting over our grief.
It was when she was in third standard that I decided to do B.Ed. My
close friend Sou. Shevalkar helped me in getting the admission form from Nagpur.
Luck favoured me and it so happened that before I filled the form the B.Ed.
college Principal Shri Puranik who had come to visit his niece [Sou.
Ghiranikar] called on us. He advised us that we should write our Nagpur address
rather than Our Bhilai address on the form. We therefore wrote our Nagpur
address on the form and applied for admission.
In the meanwhile My Father and Mother in law who were staying in the
house in Nagpur left for Bombay. The house was therefore locked. One day my
sister in law went to the house for getting it cleaned and found the admission
letter and promptly sent it to me. So I could attend the interview and got
admission for the course. This certainly was a stroke of good luck. After some
efforts I got Hindi and English as subjects to teach. Not only that but as I
was not a Hindi speaking person I got a scholarship of hundred rupees per month
for opting for Hindi. I was overjoyed.
Once I went to my maternal aunt and my brother Shri Aba Ghangurde who
were staying near our college. I casually said that as I stay far away I can’t
reach the college on time because getting a rickshaw is a problem. Hearing this
they promptly said ‘Why not come and stay here? It will solve the problem. I
immediately accepted their proposal and went to stay with them. That solved all
my problems I studied well and passed with 66% marks. My daughter Shubhada was
looked after by my sister in law so well that she stood second in her class.
I went back to Bhilai got a job in a school and later on did M.A.
Hindi. These were the best days of my life.
My second happy memory centres round my daughter Shubhada. As we had
lost Vinita and Shuchita we were extremely protective about Shubhada. She was
an apple of our eye. She did well in all fields in her school and college days
and won numerous prizes and our hearts were filled with contentment. I really
thank God for giving us such a ‘Sarvagunsampanna Kanyaratna’
In the premedical test conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Govt. she stood
tenth out of 14 thousand students. She stood third in her final M.B.B.S.
examination. Because of her extra ordinary performance she could get the
subject of her choice for post graduate studies and that was paediatrics. She
was 22 by now and had completed her first semester of P.G. studies. We had no
thought of getting her married. But God willed otherwise and there was a fine
proposal and that too from a Doctor so we went ahead.
Soon after marriage Sou. Shubhada had to discontinue her post graduate
studies to attend to some household duties at Raipur. It disturbed us a little
as she had to discontinue her M.D. Studies. Shubhada shouldered her family
responsibilities with grace and dignity. After giving birth to two beautiful children
and completing her studies for D. Ch. And clearing the Public Service Comission
examination in the first attempt by Gods grace and the best wishes of her near
and dear ones she got selected for M.D. training at the B.J. Medical College
Pune. For this to happen a decade had to pass.. She cleared her M.D.
examination at the first attempt and her and our long awaited desired was
fulfilled. I was very happy. I was reminded of a saying in Hindi ’Bhagwan ke
ghar der hai lekin andher nahi’ (There is delay in God’s house but there is no
darkness) unfortunately her father Shri Apte could not be a witness to this
joyous moment as he was no more.
Shrimati Vijaya Ramchandra Apte M.A. B. Ed.
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