THE SHUTTLE TRAIN CONNECT

SUDHA ( DEO )  JOSHI

01 February, 2017 @ Addison, Illinois, USA.

THE SHUTTLE TRAIN CONNECT

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During my childhood  ( 1932 to 1940 ) the train journey from Nagpur to Raipur was an overnight 12 hour journey. Now in the 21st Century, a  fast train shuttle traverses the same distance in approx. five hours.  

A few years ago while we were in Addison, Usha and I were listening to the morning discourse of Anandmurti Gurumaa of Ganaur, Haryana. During the discourse, Gurumaa was replying to some questions received from her listeners on Youtube. She pulled out one question and identified the question was from Sudha Joshi of Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh. I said there would be only one Sudha Joshi in Rajnandgaon and that is our Bebi ( बेबी ), Waman Dada’s daughter.

Subsequently during our visit to Nagpur for participating in the 50th Anniversary of Surendra’s Martyrdom in the 1965 Indo-Pak War we were staying at Dattu Bhaiya Bhagwatwar residence @ 76 Shivaji Nagar. The following day’s newspapers covering the ceremonies held at Maj. Surendra Deo Park in Dhantoli had posted a photograph of Usha, Me and Shyam Deo sitting as guests on a front couch draped in white sheet; courtesy of Ashwin, Neela and Vivek. At that time Bebi (Sudha) was coincidentally visiting her daughter Mrs. Patki in Nagpur. After seeing our picture in the newspaper and having read the morning newspaper,  Bebi promptly came to Dattu Bhaiya’s residence to meet us. That was a very affectionate and heart warming gesture on Bebi’s part. It seemed like our tryst with destiny.

We talked with Bebi for a few hours during the morning and what she shared simply and sweetly with us opened my heart for her brave and sweet journey of life to date. In spite of being my close Deo niece relationship, this was the very first time in my eight decades that I had the opportunity and coincidence of talking one-on-one with her. Bebi had just come to Nagpur from Rajnandgaon to visit her daughter, Mrs.  Patki,  for a couple of days. During our conversation, Bebi warmly invited Usha and me  to accompany her back to her Rajnandgaon home as she was returning the very next morning. The shortage and intensity of time prevented us from honoring her open hearted invitation.

I have personally never visited Raheli in MP,  which is the ancestral township of our paternal great Grandparents. Bebi’s father, Waman Deo, wae my first cousin ( सक्खा चुलत भाऊ ) and I had met him personally whenever he had visited Nagpur. I had overheard that he had a daughter from his first marriage and his wife had expired soon after delivering the first  child, a baby girl. Hearsay. the baby’s mother ( my वहिनी  ) was originally from Vidisha, MP ( ? ).  The said baby girl is my niece Bebi that I had heard about but never seen during my first 4-5 decades of life.

Subsequently Waman Dada had remarried bearing three children namely Sanyogita, Shreedhar and Keshav. Eventually Waman Dada sold his farming interests in Chimariya and the family migrated to Nagpur where he had built his own residence in Hanuman Nagar.  Nagpur. Since 1957 whenever I had returned from USA to India for a visit, we had frequently visited my uncle whom we addressed as  भाऊ,  Waman Dada, Vahini and the three budding and flowering children. During those visits, I do not recall any mention of Bebi.

Soon after losing her Mother at infancy ( when ? ) hearsay Bebi was nurtured and brought up by her Grandparents who were my eldest uncle ( Bhau ) and aunt ( Kaki ) in Raheli (how long ? ). Obviously Bebi grew up without the memory of her natural Mother  and any sibling during her critical infancy and early childhood.  During her childhood stay at Raheli, Bebi would have had affectionate interactions with her आत्या including गोदी, मालती, कमळी, कुसुम, आणि सिंधू . त्यापैकी आज केवळ मालती आत्या ( ९७ ) भिलाई शहरी राहात आहे .

While meeting with Usha and me in Nagpur at Dattubhya’s residence in September  2014, Bebi described some of her early childhood poignant experiences. In her own words in Marathi she narrated :

“ On my very first day at school @ Kindergarten level, my teacher asked me, what is your name ? I replied Bebi, because that is how every one addressed me at home and in the neighborhood. That was the only name that I had ever heard and that had become the very beginning of my self-identity. Then Sudha Deo became my following identity. Narrating further, Bebi mentioned that as a growing up child, she was transferred for  furthering her schooling from Aunt in Indore ( कमल आत्या  मोघे )  and later to Aunt in Ujjain ( मालती आत्या  मोघे  ). “

Bebi was narrating the above personal story account with a pleasant smiling demeanor.  That self revealing narration by Bebi shook me from my very foundation; prompting this composition.

Those of us who take the presence of our natural Mother, Father, Siblings and pleasant childhood for granted may experience a tubelight realisation ( जागृती ) through the above narration of Bebi.  

I wish to continue this composition further about Bebi after procuring answers to my pertinent questions and curiosities about Bebi.

Bebi is now married ( how long ? ), has children ( how many ? ) and grandchildren ( how many ? ). Her self fulfilling identity may now be Mrs. Sudha ( Deo ) Joshi. I do not know as yet how and when did she get married.  But I know for sure that she has been living in Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh for a few decades ( how many years ? ). Hopefully there is at least one member in her immediate family that uses eMail and will carry on a communication with me on this specific subject matter.

I wish to continue writing this topical composition on Bebi ( Sudha ) primarily because it is my personal need to do so and equally because she is an affectionate Niece and an adorable human being. Her pleasant demeanor says it all very audibly.

Bebi herself and Malati Tai ( Deo ) Moghe ( now 97 )  are the two prime sources that would provide for me pertinent info about Bebi’s adorable life journey so far.  I will equally appreciate receiving pertinent info about Bebi from every other sources that are closely connected with Bebi. Amongst these I include Shreedhar Deo, Sanyogita Gawali,  Milind Moghe and his sisters, Mrs Patki, Ajit Deshpande and his sibling in Raipur and Texas ( Kusum’s children ), Neeraja Biwalkar  ( Sindhu’s daughter ), and anyone else whom I may have inadvertently omitted in this context.

This winter Usha and I have skipped our annual 6-monthly sojourn to India and therefore we must mutually communicate primarily via Internet Email. You may communicate with me in English, Hindi or Marathi as you please.

With my two paternal uncles and four aunts ( आत्या )  I have always felt abundantly blessed with the presence of several affectionate first cousins, nephews and nieces; and equally so from the relationships on my maternal side namely Nakhare and Tikekar.

Take care of yourselves and stay happily contented.

Suresh Kaka