A marriage made in heaven

 

 

 

‘Aajji’ once narrated how my parents got married. During early 1940, my father ‘Narayan’ was convicted along with his friends for his involvement in a murderous assault on a British officer inside the then Hindustan Aircraft Factory at Bengaluru. He was arrested and tortured for revealing the plot and names of the fellow conspirators. Legally the charges couldn’t be substantiated during trial but since his association with the group was proven, he was let off but was externed from the then Madras State. With the assistance of associates of Azad’s group, he had to go underground in Gwalior. My mother ‘Manu’ hailing, from an orthodox Konkanastha Thatte family, a decedent of Mathematicians of Royal Scindhia dynasty, was studying Medicine, but was actively involved in the covert activities of freedom struggle, where her cousins Dada Vaishampayan and Dr Parchure were the pioneer leaders and organisers associated with Savarkar and following ‘Chandra Shekhar Azad’ in Gwalior. None could question them, their discipline and defy them. ‘Manu’ was advised to stop wasting time in studying ‘Medicine’ and instead take up ‘Nursing’ to care for the volunteers involved in revolutionary skirmishes. Due to her active participation in freedom struggle, she had even been designated as ‘Commander’ of the ‘Manzer Brigade’, Ladies’ wing of the revolutionary organisation. Manu had seen this stocky, dark-skinned fearsome Tamilian in hiding, but could never talk to him as she didn’t know any Southern or English language and he couldn’t speak Hindi or Marathi.

Once there was a big excitement, Chandra Shekhar ‘Azad’ himself was coming to organise and address the Gwalior Unit. Late in the night, in a clandestine meeting, ‘Azad’ addressed the gathering, stressing for uniting the entire Nation. Aware of the rift amongst the group on the basis of cast, religion and region, very specifically, he gave an example ‘political talks and opinions of unity aren’t the unifying factor for uniting the entire country, but intercast and interstate marriages across the length and breadth of the country, shall ensure complete bonding of India as one.’ He further elaborated ‘for example after freedom this Tamilian boy Narayan should marry a girl from north, without any knowledge of her cultural and social background and language,’ paused while speaking he scanned the gathering as though searching someone and his steely gaze rivetted on ‘Manu’ in the crowd, as if selecting her. The meeting got over and after some years, India gained freedom but ‘Azad’ had made ‘Supreme Sacrifice.’

‘Manu’ my mother got a Government job and had shifted to Indore. ‘Narayan’ stayed in North and due to his good command over English had a job with a pharmaceutical company. Both had last seen each other at Gwalior in December 1947 and almost forgotten each other. Once while in Bombay, Dr Atre an old accomplice from Gwalior, located and met Narayan, he was on a specific assignment on the instructions of none other Dada Vaishampayan and Dr Parchure, to accomplish ‘Azad’s’ unfulfilled dreams.

He wanted Narayan to accept alliance with ‘Manu’ as ‘Azad’ had once desired in the underground meeting. My mother’s orthodox family was dead against this alliance as he was a ‘Madrassee’ and very dark to look at whereas ‘Manu’ was very fair, beautiful and dainty girl and there was no match, especially my ‘Azoba’ who had been a ‘Police Daroga’ in his days had an utter dislike for the violent freedom fighters but surprisingly Manu, without any hesitation had said a big ‘Yes’. Well the opposition melted in the face of ‘Obeisance’ for the ‘Dictates, Wishes and Desires’ of Azad, marshalled by his faithful followers Dada Vaishampayan, Dr Parchure and Dr Atre to name a few. These two were married in the court without any fanfare and celebration. Till death parted them, both remained fiercely loyal and honest to the well-being and welfare of the country.