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.)
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