Author: Piyush Pandey
Publication: Outlook India
Date: December 5, 2005
URL: http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20051205&fname=8Piyush+%28F%29&sid=1
Introduction: To her parents, Bhagwati, but
to her kids she may well be Saraswati
Born in 1921, married in 1940, she came to Jodhpur from a small village in
UP called Fatehpur Chaurasi. She had only studied up to middle school (Class
VII) when she married a Reuters journalist-cum-publicity officer for the government
of Jodhpur. I wonder if she realised then that her tryst with education had
just begun.
The first gift she got from her husband was
a couple of books. She remembers how she cried on getting this gift because
other women her age normally got bangles and jewellery. Despite a full-time
role as the youngest of three bahus in a joint family, Bhagwati found the
time to read the books. The Saraswati in her came alive. Thereafter, she read
everything that came her way-everything meaningful in Hindi literature or
translated from any other language or culture.
Over the years, she gave birth, in a row,
to seven daughters and through their lives she paid tribute to Saraswati.
Her first born, Hemlata, completed a double MA, a post-graduate course in
journalism and a PhD by the age of 27 before she got married. I guess with
just her first kid she had more than made up for her "middle pass"
education. As the family legend goes, the mother helped the daughter several
times over when she was doing her MA in Hindi literature!
Her second girl, Sudha, went on to do an MA
in English literature. The third, Uma, a post-graduation in sociology. But
to Bhagwati, education with degrees was not enough. The girls were simultaneously
learning music and dance. I know she would hate me for sharing this fact,
but her father-in-law rebuked her, saying, "What are you doing? Raising
them to be dance girls?" The actual words used were much harsher but
it didn't stop Bhagwati from fulfilling her dream of raising complete women
who could face the world with pride.
The magic of this woman is that she did not
get stuck in her successes-she changed with the times and its challenges.
When her fourth daughter, Rama, a post-graduate in history, got selected to
represent India at the 1971 'The Man & His World' exhibition in Montreal,
all hell broke loose. Friends and relatives asked, "How can you send
an unmarried girl to Canada for six months?" All she said was, "I
can send her with faith, confidence and encouragement."
Rama Pandey went on to work for BBC in London
for eight years and was also a leading newsreader for DD for many years. She
went to Holland on a film-making scholarship and still makes documentaries
and serials on children, women and the soul of Indian heritage.
Ila Arun is her fifth. Not the brightest at
writing exams. And the only one not to do an MA! Bhagwati did not force her
either. Ila wanted to do music and theatre. She earned herself a scholarship
to NSD and off she went to Delhi. I still remember people complaining to my
mother that "your 12-year-old goes to school on a cycle singing loud
folk songs along with the servant". Bhagwati never asked her to turn
down the volume. Today, I think she is happy that she didn't. I am sure that
when she quietly watches TV, looking at the dean of 'Fame Gurukul' with moist
eyes, she must feel happier than Greg Chappell.
Every large family needs a family doctor.
And Deepa, her sixth child, gave Bhagwati the pride of producing one of the
finest. A double MD in Paediatrics and Allergy, Deepa runs her own clinic
in the US. When you walk into it, you wonder if it's a clinic or an art gallery.
It's full of her paintings, one more beautiful than the other. There are many
potential buyers, but the painter isn't willing to sell.
Bhagwati's story began by reading a couple
of books and her youngest daughter Tripti has just finished writing her fourth.
A tourism expert, deputy director, Rajasthan Tourism, Tripti went on a scholarship
to Salzburg, Austria, to study tourism.She has performed dance and compered
tourism shows around the world, and travels with her mother far and wide.
She says, "I practice tourism with my mother kyonki ghoomne ka shauk
hai unhe."
Today Bhagwati's daughters are fulfilling
her commitment to Saraswati through their own daughters. Sudha's daughter
Swati is a leading oncologist at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, and an Odissi
dancer. Her second daughter Shruti is the country head of HBO, India. Hemlata's
daughter Diva is a scholar and an award-winning painter in Bhopal. Her second,
Disha, runs an advertising agency. Uma's daughter Ashima looks after the creative
content in the sales and promotion department of Turner Entertainment Network
across seven countries. Ila's daughter Ishita Arun is an actress and a VJ.
And Deepa's daughter Neha is studying to be a lawyer in the US. Ten-year-old
Tavishi, daughter of Bhagwati's younger son Prasoon, is preparing to beat
them all.
Bhagwati has two sons. Both work in advertising.
But this is a story about women, so let's move on to their wives: one son
is married to an nid designer, Gayatri. The other to a mosaicist, Nita. I
guess Saraswati attracts Saraswati.
Bhagwati's story began with two books in 1940.
Saraswati's chapters still continue to be written.
