I will tell you a very interesting story about her. It is also well known and it published in a Marathi book, about my life. When I was arrested in 1932. I was called before the magistrate on the third day and he straightaway sentenced me to eighteen months rigorous impresonment and imposed sore fine. It was a shock, because at that time the people used to be sentenced to three to six months. But for a boy of eighteen years old, eighteen months' imprisonment was rather very serious. So one of my school teachers, who was well inclined towards me and our family, wanted to persuade me to apolgise and get out of jail. He went to the police officer and pleaded: Chavan is from a poor family, he will easily pass natriculation in a year or two. The police officer asked him to persuade me. The next day my mother and the teacher came to see me. (They told me that she was asked to sit with the police officer). I was taken out to see my mother, but when my mother saw me with the police on two sides, (mother is mother, after all ) she had tears in her eyes. When I saw tears in her eyes, There were tears in my eyes too, and I immediately sat down there. The teacher thought that possibly tears were out of fear. So he told me that he had a talk with the police officer who had asked me to apologise. Suddenly, before I could react, my mother reacted and said: I have not come to ask you for doing this sort of a thing, this teacher is telling on his own. Don't do anything which will bring shame to you. she felt sorry.
Sharma : The advice must have steeled your heart.
Chavan : Absolutely. I felt proud. I still feel proud of her. She was brave. This was a very dramat incident in my life. I do not know hoe I would have reacte if she had weakened and tried to persuade me to apologize. But on her own she told me not to apologize. She said that the teacher himself wanted to accompany her to the cutcherry, to which she had agreed. But she did not understand the political implications of it. This was the human side of it.
