Thousand Full Moon: Shrimati Prabhavati
Abhyankar (82+)
Contributed by: Rohini
Shrimati Prabhavati (Kaku) Abhyankar is the
matriarch of her family. She lives in Mumbai near her two well settled
daughters. A petite figure, with a loving smile, always ready to welcome family
and friends, even in the middle of the night.
Prabha Kaku’s maiden name was Leela Vaidya. She
was born in a village near Dapoli in Konkan. Being the youngest of the ten
children she was her father’s darling. She said he would buy her things and
would take her to the fair. He was a police constable. She is very proud of him
and misses him even today. Her eldest brother was an Ayurvedic doctor, doctor
of Indian traditional medicine. He used to live a couple of floors removed in
the same building as she does. He had come to Mumbai when he was very young and
lived as a paying guest in Girgaon and had started work right after finishing
school. She was visiting him when the marriage proposal came from her husband’s
family who also used to live in Girgaon at the time. She got married at a young
age and moved to Vile Parle in about six months’ time.
She narrated three memorable events to me on the
phone when I spoke to her last. Once when her daughters were very young her
husband was taken ill and was running a high fever. He was admitted to Nanavati
hospital. The doctors were very concerned and said that, that particular night
was critical. When Prabha Kaku went to the hospital early next morning the
Doctor came and tried to wake her husband up by calling his name, she said he opened
his eyes on hearing the doctor’s voice and that was the happiest moment of her
life
Her granddaughter has won many prizes in school
and brought her a lot of joy.
She fondly mentioned the day when her grandson was
born. She said the nurse came out and announced, “It is a Baba (a baby boy) but
Kaku just was not sure what she had heard so she asked her niece again, “Did
she say a Baba or a baby, a boy child or a girl child? Her niece gave her a bid
hug and said, “Kaku it is a baba, a baba!!”
“That too was a joyous moment for me!” She said
with contentment.
