There are many books in different languages on the political life of Goa’s first Chief Minister late Dayanand Bandodkar and his eldest daughter, late Shashikala Kakodakar, the first and only woman to serve as the Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu. For the first time, readers will get to read through the personal anecdotes and social life at the Bandodkar household as Jyoti Bandekar releases her debut book, ‘Bhau Aathvancha Parijat.’
late Sunandabai Bandodkar, Jyoti is the fourth daughter with three elder sisters, late Shashikala, late Usha Vengurlekar, Kranti Rao and the youngest brother, late Siddharth Bandodkar. Reminiscing of a pleasant childhood, Jyoti says, “All the family members were very much attached. These were memories which I shared with them. I also tried to bring back good as well as difficult times. We experienced a tough phase as well as some family members passed away suddenly, which was very shocking to me. I was emotional but still I decided that I must write all these memories.”
Jyoti graduated in Arts from a college in Mumbai and on returning to Goa, she followed her passion for the arts. She joined classical singing class and was trained by a very famous classical singer from the Agra Gharana. Interested in painting, drawing and sketching, she learnt the basics of painting from Goa College of Art but didn’t join as a student. She was married to late Laxman Bandekar from Vasco-Da-Gama and he too encouraged her to follow her heart and continue with her passion for art and poetry. After working for 30 years as the director, vice chairman and chairman for The Citizen Co- Operative Bank, Vasco-Da-Gama, she finally found some quite time during the pandemic to think about writing her first book.
“When I was young, I used to write poetry and I had written poems on my father. Later on, I wrote many articles on him as well as about other matters as a school student. He encouraged me and he knew that I liked to write and my family members also encouraged me, because they had seen my work. However, I wrote all this on my diaries which I still have. My family members and friends provoked me to write and publish a book. That’s when I decided I must write. In the month of May 2022, I started writing the book. I wanted to write it earlier but we were going through a tough time. I lost most of my family members and then I lost my husband, Laxman. I had to look into the family business and my daughter was young so I had to look after her. During Covid, since I had some free time, I wrote the book and continued with poetry, sketching, drawing and painting,” says Jyoti, who is also a member of Anand Yatri, a 15 member group of women from Vasco that discuss Marathi literature. What does she remember about her father? “He loved all of us and was very affectionate. He was strict at times. He would like to give us lessons on what to do and what not do. As I was the youngest daughter, he pampered me but he did not differentiate among us. He encouraged my love for art and poetry. He was fond of sports, arts and animals. We had a cheetah, Elsa, in the house. It was brought as a small cub that we used to feed with a bottle. My brother and I were very fond of it and it was with us for 14 years. We had made a special cage for it and as it grew bigger, I was scared of it but my father and brother used to pet him just like a cat,” smiles Jyoti as she recollects her younger days. Speaking about the atmosphere in the house, she says. “Shashikala was like a mother figure to me, she was much older than me and we had an age gap of nearly 18-20 years. After Shashikala was Usha Vengurlekar who lived in Mumbai then Kranti who lives in the USA and then I and the youngest was Siddharth, we had just a year’s gap. We were attached to each other. We respected Shashikala and they were very protective of me. Siddharth and I, were very close and were together always. He was such a sweet boy and we all loved him like anything. He was the only son and all were sad when he left us.” Siddharth passed away on November 7, 1976.
Dayanand Bandodkar passed away on August 12, 1973 when Jyoti was still in her early teens. However, she remembers the day like it was yesterday. “He was playing table tennis at the Panjim Gymkhana in the evening. He came home because he was feeling pain in the chest. He told my mother to call his doctor, a heart specialist, as he understood that it has to do with the heart and also to call Shashikala immediately, as she was living in Porvorim at that time. The doctor came home and all the GMC doctors also came and recommended taking him to GMC. He was shifted to the general ward as they didn’t want to waste time. All the patients were crying and they requested the doctor to take care of him first. There was a huge crowd outside the hospital, and we don’t know how people came to know about the news and they came. There was a glass window and we could see the rush outside,” says Jyoti. She further adds, “We didn’t get much time with him as it was a massive attack. Doctors tried their best but could not revive him and he breathe his last. It was a huge shock for us as he was only 62 years old and very healthy and strong. His last words were ‘Shiva Shambo’, it is a very rare thing that people do at the time of death. It was only my mother, Shashikala and I at the hospital as my Siddharth was going to The States and he was already in Bombay. He came back the next day. It was very heartbreaking.”
The book is 150 pages with rare photographs. Jyoti will be translating the book in English as well to reach a wider audience. “I am very excited as this is my first book as a published author. I am also nervous on how the readers will react but whoever has read the book, have appreciated and liked it. This is the first book on his personal family life, social life, principals, ideas and as a disciplined person. Before my sister, Kranti left for the US in December, the manuscript was ready so I read it to her. She liked it so much that she said you have beautifully written it. She calls me every day and I tell her that I really miss her. We are only two sisters to support each other now,” says Jyoti, who is also a member of Swadhara Saunskrutik Saunstha. Her grandson, Aditya, son of her only daughter, Madhavi Shetye, is in class 10 now. “In school, they have a lesson on my father. Even when my daughter was in school, the teacher used to tell her that don’t say the first Chief Minister of Goa is my grandfather. Aditya keeps asking me, ‘Nanima, please tell me stories about Babusaheb,” says Jyoti. March 12 marks the 112th birth anniversary of Dayanand Banadodkar. The book will be released at the International Centre Goa on March 12 at 10.30 am by Dr Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa in the presence of Somnath Komarpant, a renowned writer and the Bandodkar family.