Sunday 10 September 2017

Love Jatao to our Grandparents

Hello Readers!
This is the 10th September! ‘Grandparents Day!’ This day (first Sunday after Labors Day (First Monday) in September) is celebrated by Americans as the National Grandparents Day in U.S.A. I am a proud Indian but we all the people have or had grandparents. So I wish to write a blog post and dedicate it to my grandparents.

“A grandparent is someone with silver in their hair and gold in their heart”

I am born in underprivileged middle class family at my native village Barbaspura (near Kachewani Railway St.) in Tirora tehsil in Bhandara (now in Gondia) district in Maharashtra, India. While growing as a child; I was closed to my both grandparents. I could not spend such a long period with my paternal grandparents. But I remember those cherished memories whenever we have spent the time together. So, let me recall some memories with my grandparents on the National Grandparents Day. Before going ahead I would like to mention that this particular blog post is my little effort to tribute and express my love for my both (paternal & maternal) grandparents.


My Paternal Grandmother (Aaji):-

I don’t remember even face of my grandmother (Aaji) whose name was Anjana aka Maina. As my relatives told me that I was playing a tambourine when she was died. No! I wasn’t playing the instrument for fun or enjoyment; I was just a little kid when she passed away. But I can describe a lot about my paternal grandfather.



My Paternal Grandfather (Aajoba):-

My paternal grandfather’s name was Raghoba who lived his last life as a paralytic for the long seventeen years! He was able to speak very few words due to paralysis. I remember those words- Raju (my nickname) which was easy for him to call me, Janabai (my aunty), Soonbai  (his daughter-in-law means my mother), Dasrath (corrupt form of my father’s name Dasharath) and few more names of our neighbors in native village. I remember that how he was flapping a string of toowal’s cradle tied to a bed for my little brother’s sleep. My grandfather was smoking beedis in that period. I remember, once he had asked me to bring lightened beedi; and I too had breathed a smoke in my childhood. That was my first attempt of smoking! hahaha!!Lol!! My father (Babuji) remembers several times that how my grandpa was careful about his son (my father). He says, one day his father had told him that his right body part was paining and on the very same day right part of my grandfather’s body became paralytic. Though I do not have so much cherished memories with him; my father shares so many interesting memories he has in his mind and heart.
My Family Photo captured at our Home in Barbaspura. My Aunt, I am on my Father’s waist and my younger brother Vivek on my Mother’s waist from Left to right.  My paternal grandfather in center.
My Family Photo captured at our Home in Barbaspura.
My Aunt, I am on my Father’s waist and my younger brother Vivek on my Mother’s waist from Left to right. 
My paternal grandfather in center.
I wrote in my so many older blog posts that I took my primary education at my maternal grandparents’ village in Z.P. Purva Madhyamik Shala Indora Khurd (Nimgaon). I remember that I was doing something inventing (?) with our bicycle and a hammer in my childhood. I think that I was studying in std. II at that time when a native neighbor on 5 minutes distance from our paternal house named Pramod Lichade came by bicycle and told me to pack a bag immediately. I packed my bag and sat behind him on career of his bicycle and reached at our home. My grandfather was on the death’s door in serious condition when I met and saw him the last time and later he passed away on the very same day in 1998. In that era, there were no telephones and mobile phones unlike today; everyone has to communicate or to send a message. A message of my grandfather’s demise could not deliver to his only son (my father) even after so many efforts. My father is a government servant, who was serving as a primary teacher in Jalna district at that time. He could not join us for funeral rites of his father; so I fulfilled all obsequies on my grandfather’s extinct body on behalf of my Babuji.
According to genetics, grandparents’ 25 percent hereditary characteristics and virtues transfer to grandchildren by heredity. Today I am just 26 running, but toes of my right foot pain several times as paralytic body does! May God mercy on me but I am very scared of paralysis as my grandfather had the decease!


My Maternal Grandfather (Babaji / Bahaji):-

As I have mentioned above I learnt my pre-primary (Balwadi / Anganwadi), and primary education (Std. I-II½ and III½-VI) at my maternal grandparents’ village. My grandfather Dr. Sukhdeo A. Rewatkar was a popular doctor in his village Indora Khurd (Nimgaon) and villages nearby. I was calling my maternal grandfather ‘Bahaji’ (corrupt form of Babaji’.) He had big interest and good knowledge of politics. I remember, how I was often going to his clinic or in market square (‘Bazaar Chauk’) in my school’s recess for coin of rupee or two rupees. He had six grandsons (we two brothers and my four cousins) at that time (now I have six cousins); but I was an ‘apple of his eyes’ as I was his daughter’s son and eldest among all grandsons, so he loved me a lot. My father proudly tells others about my stage daring and oratory skill. Yeah! I have a good stage daring and oratory skill; but I look it as an influence of my maternal grandfather’s speeches. He too was a good orator which skills transferred to me by my observation and his influence. Really there is so much influence of my maternal grandfather on my oratory skill.
My Maternal grandfather Dr. S. A. Rewatkar
My Maternal grandfather Dr. S. A. Rewatkar
When I decided to leave Indora after VI std. and go with my family in Jalna district for VII std. education. My grandfather had personally dropped me to bus-stop in Indora. At that time anyone could notice tears brimmed in his eyes in thought of my separation. I remember very well, I was in my room at Ramtek preparing for assembly of my DTEd college on 05th March, 2010. That was a black day for me. My phone rang on that morning, when I picked up the phone and received a call; I was SHOCKED after hearing voice from second end. My grandfather was no more! He passed away suddenly! Tears gathered once again in my eyes now while writing this paragraph. I can’t scribble much more about him now. If you read this paragraph with emotions and feel, I think it’s enough to reach you what I want to convey.
At the end of this paragraph I would like to share a Marathi poem written by myself and dedicated to him on fourteenth day (Chaudawi) after his premature death.


श्रद्धांजली वाहतो, सुखदेवा

श्रद्धांजली वाहतो, सुखदेवा
होता गरीबांचा, तूची मसीहा

रुग्णांशी नेहमी तू, बाळगली प्रिती
धन्द्यासोबत कायम, ठेवली राजनीती
मनोभावे रुग्णांची, केली रे सेवा

तुझ्या दवाखान्यात, श्रीमंत येती
गरीब रोगी हासत, घराशी जाती
रुग्णांना तुझे, एकच म्हणणे
आज नाही तर, उदयाला देवा

वाटले नव्हते, लवकर जाईल
तुला काळ इतक्या, लवकर नेईल
आठवण राहील, काळ्या दिवसाची
पाच मार्च दोन, हजार दहा


My Maternal Grandmother(Mothi Aai):-

My Maternal Grandmother
My Maternal Grandmother
My maternal grandmother’s name was Nausalya / Nausala. She protected me every time whenever I gone through obstacles in my childhood. I will remember my maternal grandmother (Mothi Aai) for her riddles and puzzles she asked me to solve in my childhood. I wish if I could collect and write those riddles in a diary. My grandmother too left all of us alone and passed away prematurely on dated 12th January, 2015.




Both my paternal as well as maternal grandparents are not alive  today to read/hear my words which I scribbled in their memory in this blog post today. I wish they had to be alive to listen/read this post! Anyway who can change the God’s destiny? I hope they are reading my each word from the heaven and are blessing us from there. Both my maternal grandparents had an intense desire to see my (at least their elder grandson’s) marriage, wife and children (their great-grandchildren) but their desires could not be fulfilled as they passed away very early as no one expected. I hope they would see all those scenes they desired from heaven and will shower blessings on us from there at the right time.
Anyway these were my cherished memories with my grandparents.



Today, I wish if I could spend the time with them and take selfies on the occasion of Grandparents day. I wish if I could bring them back but I can’t. I wish if I could express my love (#LoveJatao) to my grandparents. Today I really miss my grandparents. Because Grandparents are epitome of unconditional appetite for love and unending tolerance for mischief! They bring joy to our life with their beaming smiles and hugs. Unfortunately, the busy life that we live today, makes it difficult to spend as much time with our grandparents as we would have liked.
Watch Parachute Advansed- An Old Friend TVC 

Fortunately, we have Grandparents day today on September 10, 2017 so  let’s #LoveJatao and make this day a special one.

Thank you very much for reading this blog post!!
I look forward to hear from you how would you celebrate Grandparents Day or how did you celebrate?. Do share a selfie with your grandparents on Sept. 10, 2017 on Twitter or Facebook with #LoveJatao & tag @blogadda to win a goodie from Parachute Advansed.


  •  Note:- This blog post has been written for #LoveJatao Activity on BlogAdda in association with Marico.
  • This blog post is dedicated to my grandparents on the occasion of Grandparents Day on 10th September 2017.
  • © This blog post and mentioned poems’ copyrights are reserved with author/blogger/poet Rajesh D. Hajare ©RDH Sir.


Tags:- #LoveJatao | #GrandparentsDay | #ThodaLoveJatao | #10thSeptember2017 #ParachuteAdvanced | #BlogAdda | @BlogAdda


Author: Rajesh D. Hajare (RDH)
Mo. +91-7588887401, 7744018492