PADMAKAR GANPATRAO TIKEKAR - पद्माकर गणपतराव टिकेकर

PADMAKAR GANPATRAO  TIKEKAR -

पद्माकर गणपतराव टिकेकर

21 Jan. 2017

प्रेमपूर्वक श्रद्धांजली

--------------------

Today the absence of Padmakar from amongst us is causing excruciating pain of emptiness. It is especially so for Padmakar's immediate family including Manoj, Chetan, Shilpa and Co.

In such moments, all intellectualization of life ceases in face of the reality of constant change. Each one of us, a throbbing member of the larger Tikekar Parivar, is missing Padmakar in individual specific ways, while Padmakar seems to be freely detached from any earthly baggage and bondage of emotional attachments.   

Kamu and I were probably of identical age and Padmakar about two years younger. During our teens, Padmakar and I attended Yogasan classes conducted by Shri Janardan Swami’ in the open Verandah of the Normal High School in Bardi adjacent to the railway lines. Therefore Padmakara memory is inalienably tied in our daily Yoga and Pranayam exercises and equally so,  in our mutual childhood memories under the self enriching roofs of the Tikekar and Nakhare bungalows linked with the Tikekar road. Sweet memories of the past cause pain in the present. That is Life, it is the duality and reality of existence in the Ocean of constant change.

Padmakar was the last living offspring of Dadda ( Ganpatrao Tikekar ) and Mai. Their children were Ananda, Kamalakar, Padmakar and Sudhakar. Besides them, Dadda’s children from his first marriage were Indu,Sadu and Babu, All of the above have now been embraced by timeless tine. Today we pay our homage to all of them with a sense of gratitude that they were and will continue to be a part and parcel of our remaining lives. This is also a moment for our passionate remembrance of Dadda ( Ganpatrao ) Tikekar and his self enriching joint family legacy. Those of us who are currently in our Eighties are living witness to the legacy. Under the protective umbrella of the Tikekar Bungalow several closely related family units were simultaneously nurtured and bloomed to seek their own eventual independence. From my childhood personal relationships and memories with the Tikekar joint family enterprise included the presence of Indu Maosh, Sadu Mama,( with Nela Mami and Ashok ), Babu Mama. Badibai ( with Manya Mama and Dinkar Mama along with Vimal Mami and Ashok ), Shankar Mama ( with Sindhu, Brahma, Vasat, and Manda ) , Bhaskar Mama ( with Indira Mami, Dattu and Vinu ), Under a single seamless roof and a common kitchen, each member of the joint family has been the recipient of the basic Literacy of Life.. By virtue of our maternal Grandmother, Mothi Aii, being Dadda’s younger sister, we five Deo siblings were also enriched by the Tikekar legacy. For that core reason, I am personally and eternally grateful.

Just like Padmakar, I have remained as the last survivor amongst us five Deo siblings. Our sister Sarojini had the privilege of being born in the Tikekar Bungalow. Consequently, our connection with the Tikekar legacy goes far deeper than the foundation of the Tikekar bungalow.

Nithin, son of Ananda and Suhas, has eloquently covered the golden legacy of  his entrepreneurial G-Father Dadda ( Ganpatrao Tikekar )  in his published book. Starting his career as a laborer manually breaking down quarry stones with a hammer for the Railways, Dadda flourished as an independent contractor for the Central Railways to lay down several miles of train tracks and eventually built the two large bridges in Nagpur city spanning over Ajani and Sitabuldi Railway Stations. In addition he was a builder along with tyo friends namely Ladda Babu and Premji Babu. The spacious residential houses built by them including their own residences are easily identifiable from their simple and elegant architecture. Dadda  crowned his career as a generous Philanthropist and an Independence fighter along with Mai during the British Raj.

An old cherished photograph of our maternal Grandfather, Bhaiya ( Dr. Purushottam Ganesh Nakhare ) watching Mahatma Gandhi stepping out of the Tikekar Bungalow to attend the Indian National Congress Committee meeting held in Congress Nagar during the Nineteen Thirties bears witness to the precious Tikekar enterprises. An enlarged photograph of the incident described above hangs in Nitin’s living room. Hopefully, this narration will enable our younger generations to visualize as well as smell the fragrance of Tikekar spirit of sharing and serving selflessly as exemplified by Dadda ( Ganpatrao Tikekar ).

In the demise of Padmakar this week and our personal experiences with Life so far,:  It feels that in the physicality of death “ Life is in constant pursuit of total freedom from the dualities of existence“.

भारतीय संस्कृतीत ॐ अथवा एकोंकार च्या ध्वनितरंगात आणि तसेच निर्वाण मनः स्थितीत सर्व जीवनाचे सार सामावलेले भासते। तसेच सत-चित्त-आनंद, सत-श्री-अकाल, आणि गायत्री मंत्र अश्या छोट्या आणि सोप्या मंत्रात देखील सारे विश्व रूप आणि स्वरूप  उमजण्यास सामावलेले आहे।

मंत्र जागृती नंतर ना सुखं, ना दुखं, शिवो हं, शिवो हं।

मंत्र जागृतीस अथवा आत्मसाथ होण्यास, हयात असलेले सद्गुरू ची कृपा भासते।  

मृत्युन्जय  आणि  श्राद्ध पूजा ;

पिय पद्माकर मृत्युंजयास प्राप्त होऊन, आत्म स्वरूपात विलीन झालेला आहे।   

Our innate silent conviction prompts that Padmakar is now at peace in the flora and and fauna of conscious awareness. It is the शांती वन, devoid of any physicality.

The traditional and meaningful religious rituality feels very desirable for stabilising  the minds and throbbing hearts of the living relationships that Padmakar has left behind unintentionally in pursuit of  his onward journey of self transformation.

परंपरागत आपल्या कुटुंबात सहभागी होणाऱ्या गुरुजी घराण्यास माझा मनःपूर्वक नमस्कार. माझ्या तरुणावस्थेत मोठे गुरुजी आणि त्यांच्या नंतर त्यांचे चिरंजीव गुरुजी नात्याने शंकर, मधू आणि वसंत माझ्या घनिष्ट परिचयाचे होते।  हे सम्बन्ध निरंतर आहेत।  पद्माकर च्या श्राद्ध पुजेस त्याच कुटुंबाचे चिरंजीव प्रतिनिधी उपस्थित असावे. त्यांना माझा मनः पूर्वक नमस्कार।

श्रद्धा पूर्वक यथा योग्य जन सेवा करून, प्रत्येक मानव ह्याच जन्मी सर्वोच्य ब्राह्मण पदास प्राप्त होतो।    

प्रिय पद्माकर च्या आठवणीत, सर्वातर्फे खाली दिलेला शांति पाठ अर्पित करीत आहे।  

.

sureshdeo32@gmail.com