Sharma : When you were a boy or a young man, did you come under some religious influences also ?
Chavan : The only religious influence was, when my mother used to ask me to accompany her to a temple and listen to the story of valmiki's Ramayana. She used to listen to the Marathi explanation of the origional Ramanaya in Sanskrit and then used to explain it to us. I still remember her beautiful way of explaining. I went with her to pandharpur, which is a famous temple and vithoba is the presiding diety there. Yatra was held twice a year there. I went in the month of Kartik-Kartik Ekadashi. It was nearly a hundred miles from our place. We went in a bullock-cart and sometimes walked. I was about twelve year old at that time. Those religious associations of mine were owing to my mother. I went there because my mother wanted it. But otherwise it did not mean anything special to me.
Sharma : If I may put it differently, did atheism ever come in your life ?
Chavan : Not as such. One thing, I did not believe in idol worship. what is the meaning of this ? It is a very absurd thing. I have never felt that there is something like a personal God somewhere.
Sharma : This is a very crude form of belief in God.
Chavan : But otherwise, I never become an atheist as such. I believed in prayer, all through.
