Contributed by: Dr. Raghunath Boradkar
Shrimati Sumati
Gajanan Khadilkar is 89 years old. She is fond of reading and has a good
knowledge of Ayurved and home remedies. Here she tells us about her cherished
memory which she calls a Golden Memory.
It must have been 1971
or 1972. We had just moved to Aranyeshwar area in Pune. It was a small colony
of 15 to 20 bungalows. We had rented a big place in a Bungalow. My husband was
transferred to Dound and he used to come to Pune on Saturdays and Sundays. I
was in Pune with my three children. My elder son had just gotten a job in
Phillips the other two were still in college.
After completing my morning chores like cooking and all that I used to
be alone in the house till evening.
Mr. and Mrs. Ambekar
were our next door neighbors. They had two daughters Anjali was four years and
the Megha was two years old. Mrs. Ambekar was a graduate and used to work some
where before marriage. They were extremely good natured and helpful. We became
very close to each other very quickly. Mrs. Ambekar always used to say that she
would start working again when her daughters were grown up. The two girls used
to come to our house often and we were very fond of them.
It so happened that
Mrs. Ambekar suddenly got a job offer from Kirloskar press. But she was not
willing to accept the job as she could not find any one to look after her
daughters. But I encouraged her to accept the job and promised to look after
her daughters while she was away. I told her that the girls were like my grand
daughters and that we were very familiar so I asked her not to bother about
paying me and never mention it again. On my assuring her she accepted the job
and started working. For full two years I looked after her daughters. They used
to be with me from 10am to 4pm. Their father used to come home at 4 pm and then
the girls went home.
Later they got another
place in Subhash Nagar and so they shifted there. Before leaving Mrs. Ambekar
came to see me and gave me a gold necklace of three Tolas (about 33 gm). She insisted
that I accept the gift not as a payment for looking after the girls but as a
memento. While parting she hugged me with overwhelming emotion.
In 2006 I underwent a
major surgery on my thigh bone and was bedridden for nearly two months. My
grand daughter who was carrying at that time was with us and she looked after
me and helped me. So I gave that necklace to her as a present for my soon to
come great grandson or daughter from his or her great grandmother.
Shrimati Sumati Gajanan
Khadilkar.
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