Philosopher लेबल असलेली पोस्ट दाखवित आहे. सर्व पोस्ट्‍स दर्शवा
Philosopher लेबल असलेली पोस्ट दाखवित आहे. सर्व पोस्ट्‍स दर्शवा

रविवार, १८ नोव्हेंबर, २०१२

The unforgettable trip to Mulshi Dam near Pune. My Dad: An avid swimmer

The unforgettable trip to Mulshi Dam





The school had arranged a trip to  Mulshi Dam. Mulshi dam is not very far from Pune and is a very nice location for a day outing. Surrounded by mountains and lush green trees it is a place to visit for sure.
In two buses about 80 plus children of age 12 to 14 went for this trip. LG ( My dad) and my mom both accompanied five more teachers and two Peons. Since it was on a weekend they also took Nuzy their Dog with them. Nuzy was a full pedigree dog- a Bull Terrier. She won many competitions in Mumbai and Pune Kennel Club. She was leashed and was sitting quietly with my father in the front of the bus next to the driver.
LG was not feeling well that day and had a slight fever but still he joined the trip with others.
They reached Mulshi Dam at about noon time. The children played in the near by gardens. Then some of the older students and two teachers wanted to swim in the Mulshi Dam. When they started discussing about this my mom started saying that was not a good idea. She kept saying that LG is not well and he can not come so they should not take the children for a swim.
My dad said that this dam has a lot of silt at the bottom so he wanted to make sure that the teachers who were going to take the group for the swim was aware of that and was ready to take the responsibility of the children. Also he insisted on choosing about 20 children who could really swim. So in the near by stream he had them jump and made sure that they knew how to swim and then gave go ahead to the two teachers.
Now rest of the group started eating lunch and were enjoying the Puri, potato phaji and other goodies that they had brought with them but not my mother. She was very upset that the children had gone swimming and my dad was sitting in the shade with Nuzy and was relaxing. She kept nagging him that why did he let the children go for a swim and kept saying that was not a good idea. Now she did it so much so that the remaining teachers started making fun of LG.
My dad got really annoyed and told my dad that she worries unnecessarily and it will be nice if she can be quite now since the children were already gone and the decision was already made and there was nothing much he could do about it. But my mom ... she would not listen she kept on nagging him.
LG got really annoyed and just to avoid any further nagging which he new will end up in a fight, he took the leash fo Nuzy in his hand and started walking towards the wall of the dam with one of the peons.
As he reached on the middle of the dam wall he heard the students shouting that Pathak- one of the child who was actually son of one of the co-working teachers- was drowning. LG immediately gave the leash of the Nuzy to the Peon and jumped from the dam wall into the dam water which was about 20 feet below the dam wall. While jumping he shouted stay there where he has drowned and within no time, with his powerful strocks, with lightening speed he reached the spot where this child Pathak had drowned and went under water to find him.The other two children accompanying Pathak, got LG's message, kept swimming where Pathak had drowned.
It  was really Pathak's luck that day and a miracle really, that in the first attempt LG brought him and carried him to the shore. He lowered him on the ground and  started giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation. He tilted his head and let the water out and did it again. The second time Pathak responded and started coughing and letting the water come out of his lungs.
A life was saved...
LG was exhasted once Pathak came conscious he just almost collapsed next to him. But he was so happy that he could save his life.

My mother had a winning smile on her face and as always she said see my intuition was right. I am so glad that you were on the dam wall so you could save him. See I am always right and you all thought that I was nagging...
My father laughed and said yes Mam you are always right !!!    

शुक्रवार, २ नोव्हेंबर, २०१२

Memories of my Dad

Memories of my Dad



L.G. Deshpande 



Maze Baba.
October 2nd, 2012.
It has been more than 25 years, I lost my dad and yesterday I got an email from the Scout Association that they are going to give a trophy in my Dad's name for the Best Boy Scout and Girl Scout from this year.
A lot of memories of my dad started swirling in my mind making me so emotional. 

I miss him every day, I remember him all the time. I feel his presence and he guides me in all my small and big decisions throughout my life. He is there for me to guide me and show me the right way. It is so strange that most of his students, scouts, and myself we have found out that we would make the almost the same decision if we are put in the same situation. His value system and way of life so much engraved in us, that we think in a similar way.

I am here in Cupertino, CA in the Apple Town but this weekend my thoughts and prayers are in Pune. I am constantly thinking about the ceremony that is going to happen and wishes I could be there. I want to say to everybody in Pune and everybody at the Scout Ground that I am there in spirits and would love to hug those first scouts who will win this trophy that is named after my dad.

My dad was a scoutmaster before my time since I was born after 20 years of their marriage but he was the scoutmaster for life. He has told me so many stories about his days that he spent in Scout that I almost know what happened at that time. Also, I think once a scout always a scout for life. I have started this blog to honor him today and would love to hear more stories of his scouts and students and maybe we can compile it in a book or maybe movie to inspire everybody throughout the world. He was a Parasmani who turned all the people around him in Gold. I would love to collect all the stories of him as a scoutmaster and as an educationist to inspire the upcoming generations.


Please send me your experiences and I will collect and publish them. I am sure that this is going to become the journey of his life.


Best Regards

Jayashree Patil

Some of the comments I received on this blog:


Arun Mokashi - Currently on an assignment on Zanzibar Island in the Indian Ocean in E Africa who is related to L.G. Deshpande says-


"Most important aspect of Mamasaheb was that he was ahead of the time and all his relatives  I did not realize his uniqueness until he stayed with me in Manchester and then in London. 


Whether he is around or not he is always my Role Model. "

Prakash Vaidya from Pune:

"Dear Jayashree, His zest for life & commitment to the cause will always continue to inspire us !"

 Prakash Vaidya









-->