110. Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly

Thousand Full Moon: Shrimati Vijaya Kulkarni (81+)
Contributed By: Dr. Raghunath Boradkar

Shrimati Vijaya Kulkarni is 81 plus. Lives in Rajendra Nagar Pune. She was initially very hesitant to write and had questioned ‘What’s there to write?’ But then she felt why not look back on one’s  life and recollect and re live some of the memories  and share them and she started writing. Interesting!

She was educated in Karnataka mostly in Gadag and Dharwad but her medium of instruction was Marathi. She recollects the time from 1942 to 1947 when the freedom struggle was in full swing. The agenda that was foremost was national integration and the regional identities were not strong enough. There was no strife between Karnataka and Maharashtra or between Kanadi and Marathi. Marathi musical dramas of Bal Gandharva were enjoyed by all especially in Hubli and Dharwad. There were no language issues she says. Her father was a socialist and her uncle was a congress man. He was in jail for sometime. Her grand father was a retired officer.

Her mother was fond of Music and musical Dramas .She also used to sing and act.

She had acted in Shirt Tamhankars drama Maichi Maya and played the role of Maya.

She used to help her mother and also participated in programs of scout and sevadal.

After marriage she lived in Solapur and Pune. She participated in the programs of Bhagini Mandal. She also attended the Kathakathan and poetry recital programs of may authors and poets. They included Shirt Karandikar, Bapat, Mangeshkar,  Madgulkar, Mirasdar etc. She read and was influenced by reading Magazines like Kirloskar Stree and others and also by hearing the famous authors mentioned. She finally came to Pune and lived in Rambaug colony. She tells her about here enjoyable moments. Her Words…

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We were staying in Rambaug Colony Pune.  I was now comparatively free from household responsibilities. So I actively participated in the activities of Rambaug Colony Bhagini Mandal.  I was secretary of the Bhagini Mandal from 1975 to 1980. With the help of the members I organizes many programs. I specifically chose programs that the members liked. Mostly cooking competitions, Bhajan and Kirtan . Katah kathan and poetry recital. I also wanted to organize a Variety Entertainment program for the children and women of the colony. We had many gifted members. Some expert bridge players, some cooking enthusiasts so we could have a program every month.

Once there was a Kirtan by Shrimati Mangala Chitale and after that a cooking competition. Participants had to prepare ‘Vadis’.  Every participant had done her best. I was not a very good cook But I prepared Vadis of milk and curds [Shrikhandachya Vadya] and to my surprise I got the first prize. I was so happy.

I had a cousin Pushpa Phadke who composed poems. She had a book of her poems published. I organized a poetry recital by her and the program was great success. I gave a chance to most talented women in the colony.

We had a very talented girl Manik Kulkarni who used to act. I decided to stage a drama with her help, so also an entertainment program consisting of singing and a one Natya chhata program. Our colony had a specious hall and staging such programs was hence easy. This program was mainly for and by children.

We practiced for fifteen days and then fixed a date for the performance.  All parents had gathered in the hall and it was full. The program started at 7 Pm with the invocation of Lord Ganesh. My friend Neena Bhedasgaokar sang the famous Lavni Bugadi Mazi Sandli Ga. Another seven year old girlseema sang a song Navin Chandrama aaj. The program ended with a small drama. This one hour program was appreciated by one and all and the clapping went on for some time. My compering was also appreciated by all. I still remember the occasion and by remembering this all over again I have re-lived the experience.

What I feel is, what ever small thing you do if you do it with your whole heart it is always satisfying and there is no greater joy in life than this.

Shrimati Vijaya Kulkarni

109. His smile was the greatest reward for me.

Thousand Full Moon: Shri. P. N. Bharadwaj (83+)
Contributed By: Dr. Raghunath Boradkar

Shri. P.N. Bharadwaj appears to be a Globe trotter. He has traveled far and wide. He had been to Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, and New Zealand. He has traveled all over India. He is an artist and likes to sketch famous people and places. This hobby of his has given him immense joy. He wonders why he is so fond of sketching people and feels that every face is different and shows different expressions also the way people stand, sit is different and poses a challenge. He feels that when one sees the sketches one has done, one can re-live the experience. Here he narrates one of his memorable and enjoyable experience in Himachal Pradesh when he visited Palanpur where a famous artist Shri Shobha Singh lived. So here it is.

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We were touring Himachal Pradesh then and had stopped at Palanpur. It was a beautiful place and staying in the tourist centre there itself was an enchanting experience. Here we learnt that the world famous painter Shirt Shobha Singh lives nearby in a suburban area called Andreta  and has an art gallery there. We were so excited that we straight away got in to a taxi and reached Andreta. On way it seemed all quiet and green and fresh air which was very refreshing. Shri Shobha Singh’s bungalow looked like a painting. It was all green. The art gallery was in a hall in his bungalow. When he knew that we had come from so far to see his art gallery he was pleased and his daughter took us around and showed everything. Shri Shobha Singh had create paintings of Sikh Dharma-Gurus on the lines of Raja Ravi Varma. These paintings are very famous and are seen on the calendars. The clay models of his paintings are used as wall hangings and possibly many may have seen them.

After seeing the art gallery we felt like seeing Shri Shobha Singh. He was sitting in his garden and was warming himself in the sun. He had a shawl wrapped around him and was relaxing.  He was over eighty years in age and had a solid Punjabi body with long silvery white hair and a beard rolling over his chest. I greeted him and talked a little about his work. Seeing his very impressive figure I felt like sketching him. He was so famous that I hesitatingly asked him if I could sketch him. Surprisingly he agreed and asked his daughter to give me a good paper and pencil and asked me what sort of pose I wanted. I was a little scared and I suggested him to remain in his sitting position.. I hurriedly completed the sketch and showed it to him. He looked at it carefully and then said ‘this is a very nice sketch and you did it so quickly’. He went on looking at it for sometime and then smiled. And then he looked at me and I could see the admiration in his eyes. The childlike smile on his face after seeing it was the greatest reward for me. I valued it more than any other reward.

Then he said ‘Give me your address. I will see you when I come to Bombay’. He then wrote on the sketch’ Very well done’ and signed it and gave it back to me. He asked his daughter to show us his studio and I was shown the studio. His daughter remarked that he had never shown the studio to anybody. You are the first to see it. I can not put in words how happy and fulfilled I felt. There was a half done painting on the easel and two completed paintings and also innumerable number of brushes and colour tubes.

To me this was the moment of greatest joy in my life and the opportunity to meet this world famous artist, getting a chance to sketch him. And seeing the smile on his face is the greatest reward.

P.N.Bharadwaj