History of Tambe family- Part 4.

 Anna-Vaini Pariwar

Chapter 1

 The story starts with my father, Ranganath (We all called him Anna).

He was born in the year 1900 in the village of  Kalaghatgi, then in the Bombay province, but now in Karnataka.  My grandfather had some farm land in Kalaghatagi. Ranganath was sent to Dharwad for schooling, and I suppose he stayed with his maternal aunt, who was married to Vamanrao Jathar, a lawyer in Dharwad. Their son Raghunath (We called him Bhau) was a year or two younger than Anna, so I suppose they became friends. Anna went to Basil Mission High School in Dharwad. I have seen that school building built of stone so many times, and the school is still very well-known. The Jathar family was well established in Dharwad. They owned some properties in the Dharwad area, including the well-known Laxmi Theatre in the Malmaddi area.

( In a coincidence, not very uncommon in those days, much later in life, my maternal aunt Ambu married Raghunath (Bhau) Jathar. So, she could be called my Mavashi as well as Kaku.)

Anna, I believe, did some years of schooling in Dharwad and then in Sangli, where he passed his Matriculation. He attended college (Willingdon College?) for a couple of years, passing the Intermediate Exam before quitting his education and starting work. I do not have many details about where he worked in his initial days. I do know that he worked in the Satara District Co-operative Bank and other banks in the region.

In the meantime,  my mother, Mainakka, born to Raghunathrao Alawani in 1911, was growing up in the coastal town of Karwar, in the then Bombay Province, but now in Karnataka. She was the third sibling out of six, with two older brothers. Two younger sisters and the youngest brother followed later.

 Raghuanthrao Alawani was an educationalist. A graduate of Fergusson College at the turn of the century, it was a rarity at that time for a middle-class family. He taught for some years and then became a Government administrator of Education in that region. Mainakka had a rare hunger for knowledge and education, and in an era when girls were married off early without any schooling, she insisted on and studied till completing the 7th standard. Her father supported her resolve, and her elder brothers (Ramachandra and Narayan) too encouraged her and helped her in her studies. There were no schools for girls exclusively, so she often had to be the only girl in a class full of boys.

In those days, it was almost mandatory that marriages took place, not only in the same religion, same caste, but even in the same sub-caste. In due course, a groom from a Karhade Brahmin family was located from Sangli and in 1924, at the age of 13, she was married to Ranganath Tambe. 

She now became Kamala Tambe.

Thus began the story of my parents, Anna and Vaini!

Chapter 2

I do not have many details about the places where they lived after marriage. Anna worked in banks in different small towns in the belt between Satara and Karhad. He worked for the Satara District Co-op Bank. The places mentioned, which I remember were Rahimatpur, Shenoli and one or two more small towns. Life must have been tough. Vaini must have been a great organiser, I imagine, even at that young age. They had made some friends. She used to mention the name Velajibhai, a travelling salesman, who used to visit often and had become a long-term friend.

Their life, I believe, definitely took a significant turn when Anna was assigned to the newly opened branch of the bank in the growing industrial town of Kirloskarwadi in the same area. Laxmanrao Kirloskar had started the first factory here, and the township, which still consisted of makeshift houses, was still settling down when Anna-Vaini moved here. What was different was the entire social structure established by the Kirloskars. Laxmanrao himself had modern thoughts and believed in providing an outlet for feminine thoughts. They had a club called Deval Club, where women were encouraged to attend along with men and speak at functions. This was something which I am sure Anna Vaini had not seen anywhere else. For that matter, it was revolutionary in Maharashtra. It is this culture Vaini revelled in, and which I believe contributed a lot to her development of character in the long term. Shankarrao Kirloskar had already started the Kirloskar magazine, and Stree magazine was added to the list. These two publications were the staple for all young people, feeding modern thoughts. Anna Vaini spent 3-4 years in Kirloskarwadi in such an energising atmosphere.

(Incidentally, this early connection of Anna Vaini with the Kirloskars, and their grace to remember it after all those years, much later gave me the vital introduction and entry into the Kirloskar group.)

Anna then shifted to a bank in the nearby princely state of Aundh. Here was another model place for modern thought. The ruler Balashaeb Pant Pratinidhi and his son Appasaheb Pant were the pillars of modern thought and introduced many new systems. Aundh was considered a model state.  Once again, Anna Vaini must have really enjoyed their stay here. They liked the place so much that they bought a piece of land and built a house there. Their first-and the only one. Vaini used to describe how they had designed so many details inside the house. They must have really loved that house. Tai and Bhau were born while they were in Aundh. Aundh was a picturesque town, and Tai used to talk of the temple on the hill. Vaini used to talk about the museum that housed so many rare paintings. Anna Vaini had a very strong emotional connect with Aundh.

After such a wonderful stay in Aundh, I am not very clear about and was never told by them, as to why they left Aundh. But leave they did, in around 1940/41.

The next destination was another princely state of Mudhol, and Anna worked in a bank there. I was born in Mudhol. (There was a sister elder to me, Kunda,  who unfortunately died in her infancy.)

We spent 6-7 years in Mudhol until Independence in 1947. I do not have too many memories of Mudhol. I remember that we stayed in the house belonging to the Bhide family. (Much later, I renewed contact with Gopal Bhide, who was studying Ayurvedic medicine in Nagar, where we were staying in the 1950s.) Tai and Bhau went to school here. The rulers were not Maharashtrians, but from Rajasthan, I think. I heard the story of a wedding in their family, held in Rajasthan, to which Anna was invited. At that wedding, each person was given a silver dinner thali, a large piece that stayed with us for a long time. The only memory I have is that a school bully, ironically, the son of the head of the police in the town, pushed me once from a culvert onto a dry sand bed below, a fall of some 10 feet. Luckily, I broke no bones and only had an assortment of scratches.  Bhau and Tai both were sent to Dharwad as there were no good schools in Mudhol. They stayed with Ambumavashi. They were very young and must have had a very difficult time staying away from their parents at such a young age. 

Belgav

The country became independent in 1947, and so Anna's job changed again. Now he started working for the Cooperative Societies Department of Bombay state. His first posting was Belgav. Bhau and Tai were now back with the family. We stayed in Belgav for 3 years,  and I do not have too many memories of Belgav. Our house was close to that of a Judge, Mr Dalvi, and Tai was friends with their daughters.         I started school in Belgav. Well, 'started' is a misnomer, because I never stayed in school and ran back home almost every day. Vaini got frustrated with me and in desperation, called for the help of a neighbourhood tough guy to discipline me, and left the rest to him. His method was to hold me by my legs and dangle me upside down in a very deep water well in the house and threaten to drop me there, unless I agreed to stay in school all day. I was terrified and just about managed to mutter yes. That made me stay there for a few months, just enough for me to appear for my annual exam of the 2nd standard. My attendance in school must have been less than 50 %, but I apparently knew enough to pass the annual exam.

The year was 1949, and Anna's transfer order came. It was to be Ratnagiri in Konkan, back to the roots for Anna, as it were.

Chapter 3 -Konkan

Ratnagiri

Although I used the words 'Back to the roots' for Anna, ironically, he could not visit our family village of Khedkuli (at the time, we all thought it was Nivsar, a nearby bigger town nearby), during our stay at Ratnagiri. The travel was difficult, involving crossing the river on a footbridge often submerged in water.

My memories of Ratnagiri are quite hazy. I remember our tiled roof house in one of those well-known lanes of Ratnagiri named as 'aaLi', We had a fair-sized yard in front of the house with Coconut trees and jackfruit trees in the corner. Snakes abounded, we were told, though we hardly saw any. Neighbouring children told stories of snakes, how they climb up your legs quickly and bite. Or of ghosts who lived in the trees. We had scorpions, too. In those days, we had wood-fired stoves. Ash had to be cleaned first thing in the morning before the startup. Too late, we realised that the warm ash was a favourite resting place for scorpions. Vaini had a painful bite once. She also suffered a mysterious attack with profuse sweating and breathlessness. Finally, we had to call a herbal medicine man, who gave his opinion that it was her reaction to a large snake, Dhaman, passing on top of the roof.

I also finally found a school that I liked. Nice squat building with an open ground with flower beds.I remember that an imaginative teacher installed a cabinet to run the class for one day. I was chosen  Prime Minister! I remember a chirpy pigtailed girl in a pinafore dress in our cabinet.

Outside the home, I remembered the Bhagawati temple on the hills, the view of the sea from the hill, and the King Theba palace nearby. It was the first time I saw the sea and I remember my astonishment at seeing such a huge water body. I remember watching ships at sea, boats at the jetty, smell of fish.

For Tai, this was a major year as she passed Matriculation and started speculating about colleges. Bhau was just a couple of years younger. I was blissfully ignorant about the stress they carried.

A year passed, and as expected and dreaded, Anna's transfer arrived.

We were to move to Pen, the neighbouring district.

Pen 

I have even fewer memories of Pen than Ratnagiri. Pen was not on the coast and was much less scenic. We lived in a small but nice house owned by a gentleman Bhau Deo. He used to play harmonium and sing a bit. We had a well in the yard from which we drew water. (( Many years later, Tai, Bhau and I visited this house in Pen. A grandson of Bhau Deo showed us around. Tai remembered a great deal of our Pen stay. Bhau visited his old school from where he passed his SSC exam.)

I only remember a night when Shakutai had her Mangala Gour in our house in Pen. Many women in the neighbourhood were invited. There was singing and some traditional dances. I could not sleep upstairs and came out sleepily and sat on the staircase watching that function.

Tai was now studying from home for the Nagpur University external course BA. As for me, I do not remember anything from my school.

Another year passed, and Anna's transfer came out. Our next home was to be in Alibag, another district in Konkan. The year was 1951.

Alibag

I remember many things about Alibag. Our house was owned by the Joshi family. The locality was nice, not far from the seafront. Joshis stayed in half of the ground floor, and we stayed in the other half. At the back was open ground with coconut trees and an open area. I did a bit of gardening here and grew tomatoes. I had a scary memory of this house. The Joshi family had a son who had a mental illness, and sometimes he could turn violent. He was hence restrained in the corner veranda. In normal times, he appeared harmless. When under attack, he screamed and was restrained in a chair. Unfortunately, our path to the back garden led close to the veranda where he sat. I literally prayed and took quick steps to reach the garden.

We went to the sea often. There was a sea fort at Alibag. This could be approached by walking only during the low tide. We had to watch out for the change of tide, as there were cases of people stranded in the fort for the night during high tide, which lasted several hours.

I saw Holi being celebrated for the first time. For the main Holika Dahan, we needed fuel. Wood items were collected, often stolen. All was forgiven on Holi day. They distributed salted boiled beans (Pavate) with pieces of fresh coconut. I still remember how good that tasted.

The young local group met in a nearby temple and sang bhajans. I had gone there with Vaini once, and at that time, one of the Bhajan group asked me to join them in singing. They liked my voice and asked me to come again. I remember singing ''Jhala Mahar Pandarinath.

While in Alibag, we had a major health issue in the family. Vaini was found to have developed a tumour (later found to be benign) in her stomach. At that time, there were no suitable medical facilities in Alibag. We had to go to Mumbai. We went by boat to Mumbai (There were no direct roads to Mumbai, and ferries were involved). We went by bus to Revas and took the ship to Mumbai. My first sea journey. WE stayed with my elder cousin Ambutai in Dadar, in a small dwelling in a chawl. I am not sure how we managed to cram in all. The surgery was successful, and a large tumour was removed. We returned by ship again.

The year was ending, and in came Anna's transfer order. He was to be posted in Ahmednagar. We were leaving Konkan and would be in the heart of Maharashtra.

Our life in Ahemdnagar from 1952 to 1960 (for me), and till 1965 (for Anna Vaini), formed a very significant part for each one of us. So, Ahmednagar will be a separate blog post.

My early years in Bangalore-Part 2.

 

We pick up the narrative around the middle of 1966.

First, a significant change occurred at my workplace. V Subramaniam, our section head, left the Company. Then, I believe it was around early 1967 that Ashok Nagarkatti joined us from BHEL. He had worked in GEC UK. He brought a breath of fresh air to KEC. He was always well-dressed, wearing a tie to work. He started calling us by our first names and insisted we call him Ashok. He came with no baggage, so he had no prejudices about language, etc. He was clear in his mind about the goals for our department and how to plan to achieve them. For the first time, I started liking the work I was doing. Ashok initiated the big project of developing an entirely new series of large motors, which we named the K series. This was to replace the old T series, which used the old designs that we had received from Brush Electrical of the UK in the 1950s. Knowing my aptitude, I was given the task of the mechanical side of the designs, while my colleague looked after the subject of the insulation system of high voltage coils.

As the product started taking shape, there were many exchanges of views, and there were numerous discussions around the drawing board where I was constructing the general arrangement drawing. The Chief Engineer was invited, and I remember even Mr Kirloskar came a couple of times. Finally, we were all satisfied with the shape and functionality of this machine, which was to be the model for the entire series of large motors. The next stage was making component drawings, and I detailed this to the other draftsmen working with me. Work started moving briskly. Then came the ordering of components. Most of these were steel fabrications. I had to visit the vendors to explain and inspect when the components were ready. In parallel, a new facility for making high-voltage coils was being organised. Finally, all components arrived, and it was time to assemble our first motor. Like all large equipment, this motor was made against a customer's specifications. (It so happened that the order was for a frame larger than the smallest, K 450, so we started with that size.) It was a big moment when the motor was taken to the test bed and started for the first time. We had invited the customer too for the testing. Everything went off well, the motor was sent to the customer, and it worked well at the site.

This then was the story of the first machine in our K series motors. I was very happy to be a part of the exercise.

Then the new orders started coming, and more varieties and sizes were manufactured over the next 2 years. I travelled for the commissioning of some of these motors at customers' sites. Some sites were in remote areas like coal mines, steel plants, and I gathered varied experience during these travels.

In the meantime, another opportunity came my way, rather unexpectedly. We used to supply vertical motors to drive deep-well pumps. These motors sat at ground level, and a long shaft connected the motor to the pump located several metres below the ground level, typically, 80-150 metres. The present setup was obviously an expensive system. Hence, submersible motors were considered, which, together with the pump, will be installed at the bottom of the well. This was a totally new concept. Not many people were making such motors. We took up the project with the help of the pump manufacturers Johnson Pumps, in Calcutta.  An imported motor, manufactured by US Motors, was available for study in a workshop in TN, We were not supposed to take it out, though. I was asked to go and study the motor and make sketches, and generally advise if the project is feasible. I spent two days at that workshop, took out as many components as possible, and made sketches. On my return, I made a detailed report about the market possibilities, as well as the feasibility of manufacturing this motor.

My writing skills had obviously improved. My report first went to the Chief Engineer, who sent it to Mr Ravi Kirloskar, who in turn sent it to Mr N.W. Gurjar, our Chairman.

On the report, Mr Kirloskar, in his trademark green ink, had remarked, ''Good report!'' That really made my day. To be noticed by the top echelon at that young age was really morale-boosting. 

The project was approved, and we decided to manufacture the first batch of three motors as prototypes. I was just given one draughtsman as an assistant, and I got down to work. All the components were unconventional, so we needed a great deal of searching to locate vendors. I travelled to their places, explained our needs. Finally, all was in place, and the manufacturing started. I had to spend a lot of time on the shop floor. Finally, the motor with its unusual cylindrical shape was put to the test with water inside. There was a great deal of curiosity, and a crowd had gathered to witness the testing. I muttered a quiet prayer when power was connected. It started purring smoothly! My project was successful!

In due course, I took this motor to Calcutta to the factory of Johnson Pumps for testing with their pump.  All this was new territory for me. The people at Johnson were very nice and friendly, and we completed the test successfully. The GM of the company, I think the name was Ramachandran, invited me to dinner at his house. I had not seen such luxurious houses before, and I was duly impressed, though a bit overwhelmed.

In parallel, I was getting more active in the Maharashtra Mandal as well. I was elected the secretary of the Mandal. This meant not only attending regular meetings but also arranging various programs. Our President in my first year was Mrs Indutai Kirloskar and then Mrs Sulutai Marathe. I also entered stage activities, much to my own surprise. At that time, the Mandal staged one main drama during Ganeshotsava, a full three-act show that was usually performed at Ravindra Kalakshetra. The towering figure of Appasaheb Deshpande was our director. I attended the practices in 1965, which were staged in the Mandal hall, but did not take an active part. In 1966, I was offered a small part but after a few sessions, the director found me not suitable, so I was eased out gently.

However, there was a surprise in store for me. Another smaller group called Anand Mandal in Malleswaram also organised their own Ganeshtsava. Their director, a lady, Mrs Deshpande, asked me to act in a humerous one act play portraying the character Bandu, created by my favourite author Gangadhar Gadgil. So, finally, I appeared on the Seva Sadan stage in Malleswaram playing Bandu in front of a small but appreciative audience. This was a slapstick comedy, and I discovered that I had a fair sense of comedy. 

Another play happened soon. My friend Jawadekar planned a one-act play by Padmakar Davare, ''Badam Rani Choukat Gulam". He wanted me to play the lead role of 'Manohar' or 'Manya'. A good-looking girl in Malleswaram, I forgot her name, but something Navare, was playing my love interest. It was a great cast, with my friend Prakash Ankalikar playing my uncle, and Kaka Akolkar playing the state ruler, the girl's father. The practice sessions took place in the girl's house, which was at the corner of 8th Cross and 11th Main Road. After dinner and till about 10 or so. Very convenient since within walking distance for all. After about a dozen sessions, we were ready, and the play was staged on the Maharashtra Mandal stage in front of a packed house. I was quite nervous in the beginning. but when the audience responded to the first joke, the nerves disappeared, and we were all in full flow. The play was a great success and I got many praises. All credit to Jawadekar.

In 1967, I was finally given a role in the main play. This was playing a public prosecutor in the play based on the famous real-life sensation of the Nanavati murder case. The name of the play, ''Aparadh meech kela''. I enjoyed our practice sessions, which took place close to my house, at Kaka Akolkar's house on the 13th cross. They started after dinner and often continued till late at night.  Again, a formidable cast was assembled. Rajabhau and Sulutai Marathe, already with a big reputation, young Jawadekar, Kaka Akolkar and me. The storyline was strong and had plenty of scope for histrionics. My role was small, but what I enjoyed most were our practice sessions. They were lively, often full of humour, but for me, very educational. I saw Appasaheb Deshpande's directorial skills at close quarters. He was essentially old school, trained under the famous director K Narayan Kale. He gave great weightage to the correct delivery of the dialogues, somewhat less on other aspects of stage craft like movements, or the stage setup, lighting, music arrangement, etc. He was a tough task master, sometimes making actors repeat the dialogue multiple times.  I was asked to adapt smoking a pipe as an accessory for the public prosecutor. This took some doing, as the pipe had the habit of going out so often. I enjoyed holding it in my hand though.

 The 6 weeks or so passed swiftly, and we finally arrived at the famous Ravindra Kalakshetra auditorium on a Sunday morning. For me, it would be my first appearance there. As always, the show was fully booked. We were going under the makeup and other final preparations. Finally, it was on. The play progressed very well, and the responses from the audience were very encouraging. I appeared in the final act of the courtroom trial, clad in the lawyer's black jacket and made my impassioned speech as to why the accused must get the death sentence. The play was very well received by our Bangalore crowd.

While all this was going on, I had turned 25, and there was talk about my getting married. Suggestions started coming in. I visited a house in Pune during one of my official visits to meet a prospective bride. There was nothing special in that visit; it was just one of those experiences, that's all.

There was just one more girl I met after that, and she was Vijaya Dixit

More about that in the next chapter!

History of Tambe family -Part 3

 

Tambe Family- 3

Third generation

 

I will talk now about my generation of the family.

’My generation’ will be a bit of a misnomer though. The age difference between my eldest uncle and the youngest was so large, that my cousins not only were much older than me but in some cases even older than my mother! Many of my nephews and nieces were older than me!

Here is a list of my cousins:

 

Martand Kaka’s children

 

* Champutai (Desai)

* Namutai (Dhamankar)

* Dwarakatai (Laghate)

* Ambutai (Desai)

* Anutai (Sabnis)

 

Mukund Kaka’s children

 

* Shridhar (Shidu dada)

* Madhukar (Madhu dada)

* Shakuntala (Shakutai)

* Keshav (Keshav dada)

* Govind (Govind dada)

 

Dhakate Kaka’s children

 

* Indumati (Indutai Kirane)

* Prabha (Prabhatai Dewaskar)

* Kusum ( Kusumtai Namjoshi)

* Aravind

* Nandita (Bakre)

 

Note: Vishnu Kaka died childless, and Nanu kaka never married.

 

It is interesting to note that the age difference between the oldest cousin Champutai and the youngest Nandita is around 40 years!

 

Martand Kaka’s children

 

 Champutai was my eldest cousin, married to Sadashivrao Desai, who worked in Kirloskarwadi. He was an artist, I was told. Their son Bhaskar, older than me, worked with Kirloskar Brothers, first in Kirloskarwadi and then in Pune. So we met quite often, being in the same group. We also travelled together once or twice outside India. Champutai did not speak much, but was a calming presence. Her end came mysteriously and tragically. One day, she just disappeared from the house and despite all efforts was never found. No one is sure whether it was memory loss or any other health issue. Very sad.

 

The younger sister, Namutai, was married to Mr Dhavale, who passed away early. They had three children. In an unusual event in that period, she married again to Mr Dhamankar, a well-known jeweller in Akola. I visited their big house, and I remember him well. Namutai was jovial and laughed a lot. She attended all family weddings.

 

The next cousin, Dwarakatai, I never met, unfortunately, or if I did, I was too young to remember. I met her son, Pandurang, a couple of times.

 

Ambutai was married to Dada Desai and lived in Dadar, Mumbai. They had a small apartment in a big building on Ranade Road. I remember visiting them often. Around 1950, Vaini had a major surgery to remove a tumour from her stomach in Mumbai. At that time, I remember Ambutai’s family was a big help. We often used a ship journey to reach Mumbai from Konkan. That was some fun. I distinctly remember the area around Ranade Road in those days. Ambutai and Dada travelled a lot, and they also used to visit us regularly. I remember Dada wearing Khaki shorts, canvas shoes, with long stockings while travelling. He used to work for the Railways, I think.

They had three sons. I always used to wonder how they managed to live all of them in that small apartment. I was not yet familiar with the problems of Mumbai, and the creative solutions they found for space were unusual.

 

Now, my cousin Anutai, I have never met her husband, Mr Sabnis. She visited us regularly, and sometimes her sons Jayant and Mandar too. She was a nurse by profession. She lived for a time in Sangli and then in Satara. I met her there about 10 years ago, months before she passed away. She was full of knowledge and stories about early family history. It was always fascinating to listen to her.

  Mukund Kaka’s children in Sangli

 

I probably had more contact with them because they stayed in or around Sangli. In fact, Shrikantbhau had the maximum contact with them as he spent two years in Sangli while studying in Willingdon College.

 

The eldest, Shridhar, Shidu dada, was probably the most handsome among the cousins. His wife was charming too. He worked in the Postal Department and used to get transferred. I remember visiting him in Madhavnagar. He attended many family functions and was kind and loving.

The last time I met him was when I was deputed to leave for Malaysia and was spending some days in Kirloskarwadi in 1971 as part of familiarisation.

At that time, his younger brother Madhu Dada was working in Kirloskarwadi too, and so was Bhaskar. So one evening we all gathered at Bhaskar’s house and had a few drinks. I think Govind Dada also came over from Sangli. That was the first time I think, I was treated as an adult by all these senior cousins. It was very pleasant.

 

Madhu Dada did several different things at different times. He worked for State Transport, he worked in Kirloskar Brothers, and he was a part of the Territorial Army. He was well built, tall, with a soldierly appearance. He made it a point to attend all functions in our family. I recall he came to Bangalore for Ashwini’s reception too in 1999.

 

Keshav Dada was slender, dressed mostly in white pyjamas and a white shirt. He was soft-spoken. He had a background in Seva Dal and had socialist views. As a result, Shrikantbhau felt closest to him.

 

Govind Dada was working as a doctor’s assistant in Sangli. Later, he shifted to Ratnagiri, where he had his own medical practice. We visited their house in 1996 on our way to Nivasar.

 

Their sister Shakuntala (Shakutai) was never married and stayed in Sangli till the end. Hers was a quiet presence in the house.

 

Dhakate kaka’s children.

 

Indutai, to my recollection, was very pretty, well-read, talked a great deal and was a teacher. Indutai used to live in Mahim, and it was a novelty for us that Asha Bhosale was living in the same complex then. She wrote some books as well. In later years, she shifted to Pune, and for the last several years, I have lost contact with her.

 

With Prabhatai, I had even less contact. She used to live in Mahim.

 

Kusumtai lived in Ahmedabad. One day, much later, I received a letter from Dhakate Kaka that Kusumtai’s son-in-law, an Air Force pilot, was stationed at Bangalore. He asked me if I could visit him. I do not recall what exactly happened, but the visit could not take place. It's a pity, since Kusumtai was also in town.

 

Arvind was slightly older than me. I met him more often. He came for Suman Tai’s wedding. I think he was working in the Telephones Dept. I lost contact with him later on. In fact, Tai and Sanjeev had more frequent contact with that family and gave me their news.

 

Nadita was younger than me and hence the youngest cousin. Again, sadly, no contact with her at all, except through Sanjeev.

 

A general impression of mine.

As a class, most, if not all, Tambe daughters were assertive, loquacious, and outgoing. And this continues even in the latest generations. Boys were comparatively quiet, somewhat introverted.)

 

 

History of Tambe family-Part 2

 

Tambe family 2

1880-1920

 

 

This chapter in our family starts when Nagesh (my grandfather), son of Ramchandrapant, probably got restless with life in Khedkuli and probably saw that there was no future in Konkan, and decided to migrate to the Ghat region.

In all probability, he must have stopped and prayed at the Laxmi Pallinath temple in Pali on his way. It is not clear if he was already married when he left Konkan.

The history of his early days and struggles is not very clear, at least to me.

The fact that the family had some land in Kalghatgi in Dharwad district shows that there was some connection with that area. What is known is that he entered service in the erstwhile princely state of Sangli and rose to the post of Mamlatdar( Head of Administration) of one of the Talukas in the state. He built a two-story house in Sangli in the Khan Bhag area.

He was a handsome man, as one can see from his painting which hung in the Sangli house and is now in the custody of Shirish. It is a wonderful portrait and shows clearly the way in which many of us have inherited some of his facial features.

 

He had six sons and a daughter.

Arranged age-wise, they were:

* Martand.

* Mukund

* Narayan

* Vishnu

* Ranganath

* Ramakrishna

(Note how all the names of the son are either Vishnu’s or his avatars)

 

 

 

 

* And a daughter (whose name I do not remember)

 We only called her Atyabai. And the brothers and sisters-in-law called her Akka.

She was widowed young (married in the Phalnikar family), and stayed in our Sangli house till the end, with occasional visits to the Phalnikar family.

She wore the widow’s dress, nine-yard red sarees, sometimes white, with the shaven head covered.

Ajoba’s sister was also in the house in earlier years, called Thoralya Akka by all, and Vaini used to tell us how much she learned from her.

 

I never saw my grandparents, as they had passed away before I was born.

Nor have I seen my uncles Martand, Mukund and Vishnu.

I have seen uncles Narayan (Nanukaka), who never married and worked in Sangli, Ramakrishna (Dhakate Kaka), Atyabai, and Mothya Kaku (Mukund Kaka’s widow).

 

Vishnukaka was studying medicine and had just got married when he died suddenly. Meenakshi Kaku, the young widow, returned to live with her parents in Karnataka, and all contact with her was subsequently lost.

Until I went to Bangalore and looked up her brother, Mr L G Gurjer. I went to their house and met her. It was a very happy meeting for both of us. Later on, Vaini visited Bangalore, and Meenakshi Kaku came over to visit us. For the two of them, too, it was a historic meeting as they were meeting after so many years. I kept in touch with her till her death. Shrikant Bhau and Vahini were also with me when we all went to their huge coffee estate in Koppa to meet her. That was the last time I met her.

 

Nanu Kaka was delightful. He was dressed in white pyjamas, a dark coat and a white cap. He worked as a compounder in a clinic. He did not talk much but had a wry sense of humour. My favourite memory of his was when he used to bring the famed Sangli Khare Dane in a huge newspaper cone when he returned from work, which we all devoured quickly. And on one occasion, a brass pot full of sugar cane juice!

 

Mothya Kaku was a quiet person, spending her time mostly in the kitchen, but watchful and caring for all.

 

 

The description of the Sangli household will not be complete without mention of a remarkable lady whom everyone called Nurse Bai. She was not related to us, but I think she took a small part of the house on rent and stayed on the upper floor. We had a Jhopala at the front, and she was often seated there in the evenings. She was a stern lady and a disciplinarian, and I was a little scared of her. She was from Konkan and quite well-to-do. It was a mystery to me why she continued to stay in Sangli even after retirement.

When we were living in Alibag, we travelled to her family's house and land, and it was quite impressive.

 

Dhakate Kaka worked in the Postal Department and used to be transferred from place to place. He was very tall, probably the tallest among the brothers. He used to be dressed in a dhoti, shirt, coat and a cap. We visited him at some of his postings in Konkan. He was well-read and took a lot of interest in the writings of Ramakrishna Paramhans. He also read Bengali authors.

The Kalghatgi land was given to tillers, and as in many other cases, we were lucky if we got anything from the tillers regularly. An anecdote about Dhakate Kaka was that he was deputed to go and collect the dues from the tiller. He came back after two days with bags full of fruit and other farm goodies and talked happily about the bounty. Of the cash from the tiller, there was no mention whatsoever!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of Tambe family-Part 1

 Tambe family

1860-1880

 

I will talk about our family's history, to the extent I have heard it from my elders.

The story starts with Ramchandrapant Tambe, my great-grandfather, who lived in a small village near Nivsar in Ratnagiri district. The time was around 1860-1870. He had a small house, some land behind the house, and a stream flowing just behind the house. Some plants and crops were planted for bare necessities like coconut, betel nut, mango, jackfruit trees and paddy.

Life must have been really hard with hand-to-mouth feeding.

To support the family, my great-grandfather took up the activity of making earthen idols of Ganesha and selling them from village to village, carrying the load on his head. Being a Brahmin, he must have been officiating at the odd religious functions for the villagers.

During these days, he had a dream one night in which Lord Ganesha appeared. He told him, ‘’ Why are you wandering around  selling my earthen idols when I am right next to you?’’ Ganesha then told him to search in the stream, and he would find Ganesha. My grandfather rushed to the stream and, sure enough, after some searching, found what is known as the Swayanbhu Ganesh idol —a rock smoothed by years of water flow, saffron-brown, and shaped like Ganesha with an Om in the centre.

Overjoyed, he took the idol, built a small stone shade over it and started regular worship. Word spread around and more and more people from not only Khedkuli but surrounding villages started visiting the makeshift temple.

As the founder and now the priest of the Ganapati temple, Ramchandra Pant was respected and, more importantly, some regular income started flowing in.

Subsequently, a larger temple was built, but the original stone shade is still there over the idol. In this century, another Khedkuli-origin Tambe, the well-known Vaidya Balaji Tambe, gave a substantial donation, and the temple is now much bigger with a hostel for visitors who come in large numbers for the annual festival.

 

 

Although we lived in Ratnagiri in 1949, we could never visit Nivsar, as it was very difficult to access the village, particularly during the rainy season, as there was no bridge over the river close by.

Finally, I made a trip to Khedkuli with Vaini, Bhau and Shubhada Vahini, I think in 1997. This was a very emotional experience for all of us. The priest at that time, of course, was another Tambe, probably a cousin many times removed. He welcomed us with Pohe topped with coconut from his trees. We saw the stream behind the house, where the water was still very clear.

I made a second trip with Abhi when we were visiting Ganapati Pule for Aditya’s Munj. This was probably in 2007. We hired a car and drove there. Once again, the same scene, but the temple is now much enlarged and renovated. The same priest family and the same welcome.

I felt very happy that I had taken my son to the place of my ancestors.

 

 

Near Khedkuli is Nivasar town, which we had mistakenly assumed for many years as our original village. Nivasar is now a railway station on the Konkan Railway.

About 40 km from Nivasar is the town of Pali, on the Mumbai-Goa highway, where the temple of our Kul Daivat Laxmi Pallinath is located.

 

 I visited this temple on both of my trips.

I vividly remember during the first trip, the priest telling Vaini, ‘’ You have now done your duty by bringing your children here. Now your children must bring their children here.

So, when I took Abhi there, it was some kind of fulfilling that promise.

 

 

My early years in Bangalore Part 1

 I arrived in Bangalore in November 1964.

I completed my Engineering in June that year. I had a brief interview first in Pune at KOEL with the big bosses (Mr. SLK and Mr. RLK), and then a formal interview in Bangalore in August before the appointment.

I had never been to Bangalore earlier, except for a day during our educational (?) tour. My mode of arrival itself was not without drama. I had chosen the Pune-Bangalore mail to travel. It reached midway Hubli around 1 PM the next day. The scheduled stop was 50 minutes, but the train had arrived somewhat late. I thought I was smart and decided to go out to Kamat outside the station for lunch. When I returned, I found that the platform looked different. It did, because the train had left in 25 minutes! I was terrified. I ran to the station master’s office and told him my sad story. He was shocked but helpful. He sent a message to the next big station requesting them to remove my luggage from my seat. He then arranged a ticket for me on the next train due in the next 3 hours. Fortunately, his son, my age, was also travelling, so that helped even more. Together we pulled in my luggage at the next station, Haveri. Most of it was intact, including the book I was reading. So, I reached Bangalore 3 hours late, shaken, but still in one piece!

A relative had arranged for me to stay at a lodge called Ganesh Prasad on the 18th cross, Sampige Road (now no longer in existence), until I found a house. I carried my bicycle with me, which was my mode of transport for the first few years.

The next day, I landed at my workplace early, at 720 in the morning. We started work those days at 730.

First to meet the head of HRD, Mr. Rau, a short, squat man with beady eyes. Hr recited a few ground rules, gave me some written material to read. I was now sent to the Engineering dept., a 3-story building at the western end of the huge 46-acre compound which housed our complex. I first met Mr. S G Ramachandra, the Chief Engineer, a tall gentleman with gold-rimmed glasses and shifty eyes. He spoke softly, but even then, I could sense the unease when talking to him. He then sent me to V Subramaniam, my section head for Large Motors Design. A thin man, wearing thick glasses, rather humourless, brilliant as I later discovered.

My recall of the first couple of years at the office is not happy.

It consisted of unfamiliar work-making drawings by myself, and a sense of harassment from some of my colleagues. I think it arose in some measure from the fact that I was Marathi-speaking and hence an outsider. Secondly, Mr Ravi Kirloskar chose me and hence sort of forced me on them. It started with the head of the Department and then the section leader and a few others. I found the going tough as there was a lot of pressure on me.

I found several colleagues my age and made many good friends.

Nagendra Tembe was in the same Dept, and Derek D’sa was in Sales. Talwalkar, Jawadekar, and Ambekar were some of the prominent friends. We met regularly at the crowded lunch hall at 1130. (Yes, lunch was early.)

Food prices were subsidised. We used to get a full thali for 70 paise, chapati for 14 paise each, Idli for 7 paise, and so on. It suited our meagre salary perfectly.

After a year of sharing a small place on the 15^th cross with Ambekar, we came to know that the Damle family, whom we knew slightly, were vacating their house on the 11^th main road. One evening, Ambekar and I dropped in to see them about the house. The owner of that house had established a routine that he gave the place on rent to whoever the previous tenant recommended. So we wanted to make a good impression on the Damles. Our talk ended well. We shifted to this new place, No 7, 11th Main Road, by the end of 1965. This continued to be my residence till I left for Malaysia in 1971.

The house had a bedroom, a verandah, a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The house was on the first floor, and there was a balcony all around the house. The first question to be decided was who will use the bedroom and who will sleep on a bed in the living room. We decided to flip a coin to decide that. My lucky stars were on the job, and I won the use of the bedroom. I used to use the bicycle to reach the workplace, leaving the house at 715. It took only about 6-7 minutes to reach, and then the rush to reach the punching clock in my department before 730. I ate lunch at our canteen, and it was early at 1130. We finished the work day at 430 in the afternoon and thus had plenty of free time in the evening. 

That is how I was introduced to the Bridge group in Malleswaram. I had played some Bridge in my college, then with my Mama during my holidays, that was more the fun Bridge,  but never serious Bridge like the one I was about to enter in Bangalore. 

This group played duplicate team Bridge twice a week, sometimes thrice a week.

Families like Dixit, Damle, Palshikar, Shende, offered their houses to host the game. The setting of two teams playing the same boards in different rooms itself was new to me. The group had painstakingly prepared plywood boards, with slots for keeping cards and rubber bands holding the cards and directions and vulnerability well marked. 

That was a very good setup. We played typically 16 boards, 8 in each half. The host provided tea and snacks at halftime. Scores were compiled at the end, and the winner declared. The sessions typically covered about 2 hours. Most houses were within walking distance for me. The standard of play was very good, and much better than what I had encountered earlier. I was a quick learner, though, and soon managed to merge with the group with almost equal skills and was considered a decent player.

The social circle was also expanding. The Bridge couples were very hospitable. They referred to our merry band of young entrants as 'bachelors'. Often, they invited us over for high tea or meals. For all of us, starved for home-cooked Marathi food, this was a Godsend and an enjoyable evening with their families. Many had school-going children, but not sufficiently grown up for the possibilities of starting a romantic connection! Come to think of it, none of my friends married anyone from Bangalore. Brides were almost always from Maharashtra, and almost always, an arranged marriage.

I became involved almost immediately with our Maharashtra Mandal, which was located in Gandhinagar. This was the central cultural centre for all Marathi-speaking people in Bangalore. Kirloskars were very much involved in the Mandal. I joined the managing committee almost immediately and in the next year became the Secretary. Mrs Indutai Kirloskar was the President. It was a lot of fun, as a group of us used to visit the Mandal in the evenings, read Marathi newspapers, play carrom. Our dinner mess was nearby and that helped.

I enjoyed my years of working with the Mandal. 

More about my Mandal activities, events in my work life, from 1966 onwards in the next installment of this blogpost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Malaysia, a nostalgia trip. Part 1: 2004

After we left Malaysia in unhappy circumstances in 1986, I had not thought that I would be going there too often and too soon

Two trips did take place in 1986 and 1987 in connection with winding up the affairs of the company, but they were not pleasant occasions.

We did make a trip with Ashwini and Abhi in 2004. Abhi had just come back from the USA, and Ashwini was visiting India. We spent a week in Malaysia during this trip. We stayed at the Equatorial Hotel in the Golden Triangle, on Bukit Bintang Road. This was the first time we were spending so much time in the heart of KL. We hired a car, and Abhi and I took turns driving.

We visited each of our old houses in PJ. The first stop was the house in a lovely setting in front of Taman Jaya. This was our first house in Malaysia, where Ashwini arrived as a child of 20 months. This was the place where we installed our first refrigerator, the first TV, the first sound system and later the first car. The biggest attraction was the huge park, Taman Jaya. And the Buddhist temple nearby, which we visited. A quick round of the shops nearby, including the Raju shop for Idlis, and then our next stop was the nearby Jalan Gasing, on which No. 33 was our second house. This is a busy road in PJ. I used to stand at the gate in the evening with Ashwini, and she would identify car models as they sped by.

Our next brief stop was in front of our comparatively small house in Section 9 PJ, where we stayed for just over a year and about which none of us were very enthusiastic. This was where Abhi took his first steps as a 9-month-old. 

 Our next drive took us around New Town PJ, past the Thrifty supermarket, and then on to SS 3/2, where we had occupied a lovely two-story house on a quiet, secluded road. Huge yard with trees. This was the house where Abhi grew up running, playing ball, tricycling on the big lawns, and when bored at home, opening the gate and just starting to run around the neighbourhood, putting all others on alert many times. We enjoyed the neighbourhood and, in particular, our first large and decent house.

I recall we did not go and see our Klang house during this visit.

We had a couple of nice roadside breakfasts of Roti Canai just opposite our hotel on the busy road.

And many pleasant meals of familiar dishes like Nasi Goreng, Mee Gorneg, Satay, Rojak.

The highlight of our trip was the drive to the East Coast of Malaysia.

Abhi and I shared the driving.  I had driven earlier on this road a few times, but it was the first time for Abhi. The route is very scenic, going through thick forests on either side. The route takes us from the West coast of Malaysia to the East coast. This is not a very populated area, and Malaysia's vast National Park covering two states, accessible mostly by waterways, lies to our left in the thick forest. The tourist spot of Genting Highlands is on this route.

 Our first stop was Kuantan, the capital city of Pahang state. We reached there in time for lunch, for which we chose a Chinese place. Kuantan is pretty laid back, pretty town. The beach is not great, just a place for people to be around in the evening. After lunch, we proceeded up the East Coast towards Trengganu State. Now the road turns really pretty, apart from the usual scene of coconut trees, small houses with flower beds, we get our first glimpse of the sea dramatically. We climb up a steep road and, suddenly on our right, the expanse of the South China Sea. From there, it is a drive along the coast. Our destination is a small coastal village, Rantau Abang. We have been here before, and we are searching for the place called Awang's Bungalows. A rather optimistically named collection of very basic wooden cubicles on the beach. Very little had changed since our last visit. The beach was clean, the food was simple, Malay style and good. The only big change was that the state had since turned into a non-alcoholic state. So we had to make another drive to a nearby shop for beers, which we could only have inside the cabins. We stayed here for two nights and immensely enjoyed the beach. The beach is famous for the visit of very large deep-sea leatherback turtles, which lay their eggs on the coast and return to the deep sea. the egg-laying season is July-Sept. I have seen these before at the same beach, but this time we were not so lucky. One night, there was an alarm, and we walked out a longish distance, but the turtle had changed her mind and went back to the sea. The turtles choose this coast, as the seabed slopes down very steeply from the coast, and they can reach the depths of the sea very fast. In the old days, the fishermen used to purloin most turtle eggs, and very few were left to hatch. Now the Government has a hatchery and their staff collect the eggs and have them hatched under care and release the baby turtles into the sea.

We watched a beautiful sunrise the next morning. Most of my viewing has been of sunsets over sea or rivers, and this was a rare one of a sunrise, as the sun came up over the South China Sea. It was a bit cloudy, but still a thrilling experience watching the sun come up, sitting on the sand.

There was a larger crowd on the second day as a group of girls from a nearby college visited. Forget the swimsuits, many of them were wearing full-length Hijabs! True to form, Abhi made friends with some of them and chatted. The swims were nice. I only went into the sea as a short ritual, but Abhi and Ashwini had good swims. One must remember that the sea here on the East Coast can be treacherous. The reason is that the seabed slopes down very steeply. At some places, we are waist-deep in 4 paces and up to our heads in 10 paces. One needs to be very careful while swimming.

The owner had a pet parakeet of ornate appearance who he had trained to speak. He sang the popular children's jingle ''Bangun pagi, Goso gigi, makan Roti, Pergi Sekolah'', in an amazingly human-like voice. In particular, I will never forget the way he pronounced 'Goso' with a nasal accent, which would have put a Puneri Kokanastha to shame!

On our return drive, we diverted into a nearby forest for a picnic lunch. The forests consist mainly of teak trees. They were huge, and everywhere was quiet, with only crickets chirping, some birds calling. We had a nice, peaceful time. Our return drive was equally nice, with a stop to eat satay at a roadside stall. We reached our hotel in time for a nice Chinese dinner.

We also visited Singapore just for a day. We stayed at Ashwini Deware's house (though she herself was travelling). Abhi met his old friend from Miami school and planned to stay longer with him. Some shopping in Singapore and then Ashwini and I left for Bangalore.

We enjoyed our short nostalgia trip to Malaysia, visiting all the houses we had spent part of our life in, enjoying the familiar sights, and of course visiting the Rantau Abang beach!