To Grandpa with love..

Today is the last day of Diwali, 2008. On this special day, I wish to write a post about someone I really care about, and means a lot to me.

26th of January, 2008

             Saturday was India's 59th Republic Day. It was the commemoration of the day our country chose to get rid of all kings and rulers of the land, and brought together all the provinces and princely states in the subcontinent to form a Unified India. I watched the India-Gate parade on TV. Each of the regiments of the army had its elite troops marching in sync to their respective bands, saluting our President, Pratibha Patil and the foreign dignitary Vladmir Putin, the Russian president.

            This year's parade was a hogwash where lots of dummies and cardboard cutouts were used in the place of the actual aircraft, helicopters and missiles. It was hilarious to see a gas balloon model of our Dhruv ALH advanced light helicopter, to see GI Joe like models of our aircraft propped up on trucks using lanky poles. Even the BRAHMOS cruise missiles, Agnis and other ICBMs were only props. They did not seem real. Not even from a distance! Only the outdated tanks and artillery seemed real.

            At noon, Dad and I set out to bring home my late grandfather's brother, Govindraya Bhandarkar from Dadar, Mumbai, who had been staying at my other grandpa Vasudev Bhandarkar's place in Nandini Layout, Bangalore.

           After lunch, I brought him to my room and offered my bed for his nap. I was longing to ask him so many things about his life, which I doubt anyone knew. Because I felt this could be our last chance.

           He sat on my bed and I sat on my chair, facing each other. "I'll turn 87 this July" he said, when I asked him his age. I could not believe it. He was of medium height with a lean body type, with sharp eyes and a round shining head with grey hair neatly growing at the sides. He had round cheekbones that gave his clean shaven, moustache-less face a benevolent look when he smiled, baring his sparkling white teeth. He wore double pocketed full sleeved shirts(worn tucked out) and trademark cotton trousers with horizontal slits as front pockets that went out of fashion in the 80's. (revived by Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om !)  Looking at him, I had always thought he could be 70+. Maybe 75. But he was 86! He was so fit and so away from the usual afflictions of old age.

           He said that they were 8 siblings, and that my great-grandpa was a Goldsmith, who had a Jewelry store in the narrow lane leading to Rath Beedhi in Udupi, where the multitude of silk saree showrooms are now located. When my grandpa Srinivas, the eldest sibling was in 8th grade, his dad had an untimely death. He dropped out of school and worked odd jobs to immediately support his huge family. The other siblings were very young, some of them toddlers. "Those days were very hard..", he often said during our conversation.

           My grandpa Srinivas commandeered two buses and ran a transport service with some partners. He worked hard day in and day out. Soon, he expanded his service by adding 60 buses to his fleet, adding more routes, and one day took over the whole company. This prosperous company was christened GAJANANA MOTORS, and I feel proud to say that it is operational even today. Its also listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange. He also ran a car dealership and service centre at Sagar, and Rubber factories in Bangalore.

           Govindray-ajja matriculated in 1942 in Udupi and left for Bombay, the city of dreams. WW II was raging in full force and Bombay bore the brunt of the frequent German Luftwaffe reconnaissance airplanes. The Germans never bombed the city, but nevertheless air-raid warnings would be issued and the people would run out of buildings and head to open grounds, he said. This is a little known fact even today, where people believe Indian territory was unaffected by WW II. Because Bombay was a British stronghold, the threat of an aerial attack on the city was imminent, and this made the citizens of Bombay head for safer places in the countryside. As such, the rents of buildings and apartments went down drastically, as they had no takers. This was the ideal time for immigrants to settle in the city they would one day make their home. Ajja found a good apartment in Dadar-Matunga for an un-putdownable price. He stayed there with his friends who had a Holy Calling. They later went on to become heads of great spiritual institutions like the Ramakrishna Mission at Belur Math in Bengal.
Their ideas rubbed off on Ajja, and he too decided not to marry, though he did not become a monk.

            The British govt. made Bombay the hub of manufacturing war materials. The American made GM brand engines arriving from England would be fitted into armoured vehicles here, and then sent away to the battle front. Millions of hectares of forests were destroyed to supply timber for the rifles and battle ships. Foodgrains, meat, fodder-grass and any available item was shipped to England, and India was plundered to the core. Inflation touched the roof and people died of starvation. Ajja worked as a shorthand specialist in the war supplies depot, he said.

            "London was completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe bombing.." , he recounted thoughtfully. Only the great leadership of Churchill saved Britain, and the American nuking of Japan's cities effectively ended the war, which otherwise would have dragged on for a much longer time. The British were so fed up with Gandhi's Satyagraha that they promised to give freedom to India a few years after the war ended. Ajja said he had actually seen Gandhi and other leaders in speeches and rallies held at Shivaji park. Satyagraha was so popular that, all the Indians were ready to even give up even their lives on his cue. But the British couldn't see us rejoice and partitioned the country before they left. Widespread revolts broke out all over the country where once upon a time, people of all communities lived peacefully. "No one was safe..", he recalled.

             According to the Bombay Buildings Act, structures constructed prior to 1940 would see no significant increase in rent, compared to the current market prices. So even today, my grandpa only paid the same rent that he paid in 1942! I have seen the heritage building and its amazingly well maintained and spacious, with wooden windows, old fashioned black colored antique electrical switches, and trees flanking the compound walls. They don't make such buildings in Mumbai anymore!

             He also told me a secret. One of my uncles was confused in his youth, and was yet to learn a profession and settle down. My grandpa worried a lot about this uncle. Then, sometime in the late 60's, that uncle was sent to Bombay to live with Ajja, for career guidance. He said that he had a hard time controlling him. Ajja made him work out in the gym, involved him in sports, and also taught him a few tricks of trade. Later, that uncle came back home and became interested in Government tenders and contracts. He formed a group of people who went to the Govt. auctions and as a group, agreed not to bid for a tender for more than HALF of its actual price. Then they all equally split the profits.
He is now a multi-millionaire with a flourishing business.

             Sometime in the middle of our conversation, my brother Sachin entered the room and was a keen audience. After this, I left Ajja alone to resume his nap. CAT classes were cancelled on account of Republic Day.

            The next day, Ajja woke me up and handed me a roll of currency. I accepted it after a small protest and touched his feet respectfully. I later found out there were 5 bills of 500 each, a small fortune for a cash strapped teenager. Later, I accompanied him back to my cousin's house in Nandini layout.

            Why did he do that? I did not comprehend. Being in college with just a couple of 100s in my pocket at any point of time, I thought 2500 was BIG money. Was it because he felt happy for the kind attention I paid? People usually do not talk to old people and I don't think anyone had asked him so many things about his life in such depth. That must have immensely warmed his heart.

            All I can say is that, I did what I did out of love, and because I genuinely enjoyed doing it. It gave me utmost satisfaction, during and afterwards. And what happened to the 2500? I bought myself a Guitar with that money and started to rock n roll, at that point of time when I wasn't getting any support from Dad!  :D

(my Grandpa's brother, the Nandini layout Grandpa, Vasudev passed away on 24th August this year. I dedicate this post to his memory. My entrepreneur Grandpa Srinivas passed away in 1990 and the bachelor  Govindraya Ajja lives in Mumbai alone, to this day.)