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INDIAN
EXPRESS:09-08-2000.
Manoj More PUNE,India
On Thursday afternoon,
when a funeral procession was snaking through the major thoroughfare of
Chinchwad in Pune, it caused quite a flutter in the suburb. Curious
onlookers stopped in their tracks, gazed intently and some of them even
joined the procession. In defiance of age-old traditions and norms, a
25-year-old female held a traditional earthen pot in hand and led the
funeral procession of her father, who had died in the morning following a
massive heart attack. Not only die Deepa Salvi, the youngest of two
daughters, walk ahead of the funeral procession but performed the final
rites, too, as per the age-old custom. As she lit the funeral pyre amid
chanting of mantras, hawk-eye mourners watched in disbelief.
In a traditionally
male-dominated Indian society where most of the family rights and
privileges are reserved with the sons, the Salvi family came as a welcome
change. Instead of relegating the females to a secondary role, this family
gave them prime position. It was because of this that they drew accolades
from a cross-section of the society in the twin industrial township of
Pimpri-Chinchwad and beyond. Living up to their father's long-held wish
that only his darling daughters would lay him to rest, the Salvi family
bid him a perfect adieu. Reminisces Deepa, "My father always parroted
one line: If anything happens to me, the two of you should perform my
final rites. "Only then will my soul rest in peace. So what, I don't
have a son? You are no less than my sons." Adds Deepa: "He
always treated us like sons. Never gave us the feeling that females are
inferior to males. Go out and win the world, was the motto he cherished
deeply." Proud of "a man who was cut above the rest," Deepa
points out that both the sisters were given free hand in everything.
"He practised the doctrine of laissez faire, never forced his
decisions on us. From allowing us to choose our career to making all
important decisions of life, we were free to chart our own course",
she adds.
Though from an
agrarian background and a 12th Standard dropout, Shrikrishna Salvi, a
Telco retiree, always accorded top priority to education. A testimony to
this is the fact that all his daughters are well-educated. Deepa has done
B.Com, diploma in administration and DCM. Her elder sister, Hemangi
Telukoti (29), who is married, is also a B.Com with DBM and MMS to her
credit. She is working with the Rupee Bank. Originally hailing from
Ratnagiri, Salvi was a sportsman -cricket, volleyball, weightlifting being
his favourite sports -till the sleight of hand snatched him from this
world. Eulogising the Salvi family, activist Gulab Birdawde says,
"Though I was not very familiar with the family, I joined the funeral
procession after what I witnessed. It was a bold decision and will
certainly go a long way in changing the rigid mentality so deeply rooted
in our society." Applauding the family, corporater Shamim Pathan, a
teacher with the famous Fatechand School of Chinchwad, says, "The
family has set an example in itself. We have to shed our orthodox beliefs
in this modern world. Women have equal rights in the society and that they
should given their deserved place
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