She is close to 90 and has sent me her hand written write-up that has humbled me for two reasons. One because her entry is the 100th entry on the blog that celebrates the rich tapestry of life in the form of treasured memories from our octogenarians and two because her articulate writing, the stoic manner of expressing delicate feelings is an inspiration to diligently keep aspiring for excellence.
I have posted her original work along with my summary in English with a desire that this should reach as many readers as possible.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mrs. Gokhale opens her write-up with a sentence "As shade following bright Sun is the rule of nature so is joy following sorrow a rule of family life" and goes on to describe how she moved to Dharvad with her husband who planned to start Math tutoring as a means of making a livelihood. They had good friends there and settled in a comfortable life while lifting the social responsibility by carrying out volunteer work for the 'Sangh Parivar'. Her husband was a people's person well liked and respected by the community. She goes on to narrate that the then prime minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in the country as the election she had won was declared null and void by the supreme court of India due to irregularities. As expected being a Sangh Volunteer Mrs. Gokhale's husband was arrested. Instead of losing courage she rose to the challenge and went on to question the police about her husband's whereabouts and would go and see him whenever an opportunity presented itself. Once she was able to see him from a distance at a railway station while he was being taken from one jail to another. She says she thought of him as the great Maratha warrior Sambhaji! and returned home with his image in her heart. As time passed jail time and rotations continued. Her eldest children participated in 'Satyagraha' (Truth Insistence protests) by 'Sangh' and Jamat-e-Islam to pressure the government to release the innocent, conscientious, good folks detained in innumerable jails across the country. Over there in Delhi, driven by the desire to boast to the world about being the leader of a democratic country Indira Gandhi declared elections and reaped the fruits of her misdeeds. She lost the elections! It was a stinging slap in the face from the so called illiterate masses of India. Now the tide had turned. All the detainees were released and Mrs. Gokhale's husband came home. She welcomed him with the traditional 'Arati' in her hands, a welcome befitting a victorious soldier! She remembers standing in the door way till her husband asked her whether she was just going to just stand there looking at him like a new bride or whether she was going to allow him to enter... She spent the rest of the day singing to herself the song which says "Its joy joy and joy everywhere"
===================================================================
मी विजया ताईला ऒळखतो. ती माझ्या मोठ्या बहिणीच्या वर्गात होती. हे ह्र्दय द्रावक लिखाण वाचून ती उत्तम लेखिका आहे ह्याची जाणीव झाली. हे लिखाण विकसित करून श्री. गोखलेयांच्या 'आकाशाशी जडले नाते' पुस्तका प्रमाणे 'पृथ्वी वरील ऒढ व ताण' अशा सारख्या मथळ्या खाली आम्हाला वाचायला आवडेल. - डॉ. व. म. केळकर (बापू).
ReplyDelete