Sharma : Sanskars mean more than mere influences?
Chavan : There is something deeper. That is why I use the word sanskaras which carry much more connotation; there is no proper word for it in English.
We were poor, depending upon what my elder brother used to send for the family. We were kept in the town of Karad because we wanted to complete our education there. My mother used to say : Do anything, but don't give up your education. And I used to ask her: Tell me if I am in a bad company. I used to have constant dialogue with her. She knew my friends. They used to come to my house. She was a mother to them also.
Sharma : What do you owe to her?
Chavan : I owe these things to her because she did not come in my way. I used to take untouchable and Muslim friends to my house. She never objected to that. She responded to this new thing, though she was an uneducated peasant woman from a village. She had a receptive mind which was open to right type of influences in society. She talked with me and tried to fine out…
Sharma : She must have been a very sensitive person. It requires great sensitivity.
Chavan : She was a religious-minded person. She used to listen to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata stories. As she was a widow, naturally, everywhere she was harrassed. But she used to tell us : Don't do wrong things, don't bother about anybody, don't getfrightened fo anybody.
