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.