Her life is indeed stranger than fiction. Sadhanatai Amte, wife, confidante and companion of Baba Amte, is a frail, unassuming woman. But when she says that she has lived many lives in her lifetime, you realise her resilience. It is little wonder then that the formidable Baba Amte fell in love with her some 52 years ago, despite his vow of celibacy. He first appeared at her home in Nagpur in a hermit's robe. The purpose of the visit was to finalise the marriage of her elder sister to a friend of his. During those two weeks he spent at her home, she felt herself -- then just 19 -- inexorably drawn to this non-conformist.But what caused Baba Amte to change his mind on matrimony? What made him feel that he would find happiness in the company of an ordinary-looking, conservative girl?
An excerpt from a letter he wrote to her at that juncture explains all:
``...You're a selfless, loving and hardworking girl. These qualities have won me over more than beauty would have...'' In his characteristic style, he
added that an intelligent girl like her should find some direction in her life. Recalls Sadhanatai today: ``Little did I realise that marrying him would change the direction of my life so much. There was not even a pagdadndi (track) in our life.''
Immediately after marriage Baba decided to give up legal practice and stay in the Dalit People's Sewashram, a colony of outcastes in Warora, where there was a common kitchen catering to 20 people -- the very dregs of society. For Sadhanatai, who had grown up in an orthodox Brahmin home, this came as a shock. The first people to welcome the newly-wed couple was a Dalit family. Soon their relatives stopped visiting the couple for hobnobbing with ``untouchables''.
But Sadhanatai decided to make the most of her new life. It was the practical difficulties which proved the most formidable. Their only source of income was Rs 150 that they used to get from a Kolhapur-based trust every month. Since the other people in the colony used to earn even less, it was difficultto run the common kitchen. Vikas, their son, fell ill due to lack of proper food and Sadhanatai's own health began to fail.
Looking back, Sadhanatai found the years from 1946 to '51 a test of endurance. Their family grew, what with the births of sons Vikas and Prakash, but the earnings did not. ``For my sons, even biscuits were a luxury. They went to makeshift schools where the poorest of the poor studied and did not have warm clothes to wear in winter,'' she recalls. When Prakash was four months old, she was down with typhoid. ``My husband used to look after me, take care of the children, draw water from the well and cook,'' she says fondly.
But despite the abject poverty, life had its own meaning. Her husband used to sell books written by Gandhiji and Vinoba Bhave. If he was unable to sell a book, he would go without food on that particular day. He was, at that time, the vice-president of the Warora Municipal Corporation. One day the scavengers approached him for a raise, an argument broke out and Baba
Amte took up the challenge of cleaning public toilets to understand the nature of scavenging. He cleaned 40 latrines every day for three months. The experience changed him irrevocably.
The story of Baba Amte's encounter with a leprosy-afflicted person and how it prompted him to take up the cause of leprosy patients, ultimately setting up an entire 400-acre colony at Anandwan, is too well-known to deserve repetition here, but clearly it was his beliefs and conviction that inspired his wife and her constant support that aided him.
Today, she is always by her husband's side, nursing his spirit as well as his body that has weathered time, despite innumerable operations, cataracts in both eyes, a pace-maker and broken ribs. Whether it was the Knit India movement, the Punjab peace mission, or the struggle against big dams, she was always there in the thick of action yet beyond the limelight. When Baba Amte decided at one point to spend the rest of his life on the banks of the Narmada she was by his side. When
he came back to Anandwan, she was again by his side. But she is Sadhanatai Amte, a woman in her own right.
``Secretary,'' Baba Amte calls out to her, interrupting our conversation, ``you are a bad secretary. How many people have you given an appointment today?'' Taken aback for a minute by the number of people milling around her bed-ridden husband, she quickly regains her composure and answers coolly: ``These people have come without an appointment. Now is that my fault?'' But she receives the visitors with warmth nevertheless, her weather-worn face breaking into her trademark smile.
Return to Anandwan
Baba Amte, 84, has always evoked both appreciation as well as criticism. Baba's recent brief return to his home at Anandwan after eight years fuelled some speculation among followers and sceptics alike. While Baba himself maintained that he had returned to Anandwan only to honour the sentiments of his friend -- P.L. Deshpande, one of Maharashtra's most popular literateurs -- sceptics feel that
there is more to it than meets the eye. Vivek Deshpande met him at Anandwan
You had said you would take jalsamadhi in the Narmada. Why did you break the vow not to return to Anandwan?A: My friend, Bhai (P.L. Deshpande), said that he would visit Anandwan for my sake. If the man, who has donated over Rs 75 lakh from his life-time earnings, is ready to come down to Anandwan despite his ill-health, I think I must honour his sentiments. I was also eager to see my people here.nBut sceptics suspect that you are `disillusioned' with the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA).
Not at all. The Andolan is in full swing and we have gone a long way in the pursuit of our goal. The dam work has been stalled for the last three years. So where is the question of disillusionment?
The NBA leadership has been accused of being `brahminical', it has kept the reins in its hands.A: One of our leading activists, Sanjay Sangwai, has already clarified on this point. The charge is not true. The dam-affected people have
become conscious of their rights. They can now silence even the authorities with their arguments. Many of us are often away for some other work. Medha is constantly on the move. So, in our absence, they have the capacity and the authority to handle the various routine works.
So the Andolan doesn't suffer from the lack of internal democracy?A: Definitely, it doesn't. There is fair amount of decentralisation as far as the leadership is concerned and we have a very able second-rung leadership ready. Yet the fact remains that the shadow of the person who has conceptualised and visualised the movement overgrows the institution.
One of the commonly raised objections against the agitations like the NBA is about their foreign funding.A: We haven't taken a pie! The money which we got in international awards have been deposited in the name of specially created trusts. We do get support from like-minded foreign organisations. And there is nothing gravely objectionable about it.
At the end of adecade of resistance, what in your opinion are the achievements of the Andolan?A: They are many. The NBA has been able to generate a great deal of awareness among the people affected by the project. It is because of the NBA that the work on the dam has been stalled. We have been demanding land for land and not money for land as compensation, for which the government is ill-equipped. Some of the affected people recently returned cheques, each worth over a lakh, to the government. This is clearly a triumph for the NBA.
So you feel that half the battle has been won?A: Not exactly. But I would say that half the battle for generating awareness has been won.
You came in the limelight through your work in the field of leprosy. How do you see the scenario in leprosy eradication work?A: Leprosy control is a possibility but leprosy eradication is a myth. Even if we are able to control leprosy, it would be one of mankind's greatest achievements. And I am sure it will be achieved soon.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
