Part 4: Opportunity & Growth
Chapter 18: The Gores Visit in Baroda
In November 1962, a couple named Bill and Vieve Gore came to India as members of a UNTAA team. We were expected to host their visit.
I had planned Bill Gore's visits and talks to the management of different industries. While I was busy with Mr. Gore, Mrs. Gore was looked after by Bakul, who took her around the town, taught her how to wear a saree, and showed her the palace of the Maharaja.
Bakul even learned to talk with her in her broken English, Vieve Gore was impressed and gave her many make-up items she carried with her. The American couple was very happy with the way we had planned and conducted their stay in Baroda.
Mr. and Mrs. Gore in Baroda, 1962
They could have stayed longer, but the Chinese attack on India made them cut short their stay and return to the USA.
Chapter 19: Metal Box Company
I changed jobs and joined the Metal Box Company in Bombay. This was a British company with factories in Calcutta and Bombay, and my monthly salary jumped from Rs 600 to Rs 1200, which was more than welcome and made us both happy.
Me and colleagues from Metal Box Company
This was the first time in my life I had some extra money to buy my first gift for Bakul. I alone visited a silk saree shop and started looking at various silk sarees. I liked one particular pink saree very much because its color reminded me of the color of her cheeks when she walked in the sun. I selected that saree. Overjoyed Bakul wore it only on special festival days and always on our New Year's Day when we visited the home of Mama and other elders to seek their blessings.
In her early eighties, she could not wear a saree because of the stroke and tendonitis of the feet. She folded the saree and other things and kept it in a private bag. She had told her daughter Meena that the private bag should be opened on the day she died and clothes there should be worn by her on her last journey, particularly the pink silk saree that I had bought with love
Sir James Lindsay, the chairman of our company, and Lady Lindsay were once visiting our Bombay plant. All the wives of company officers were requested to meet and greet them. Bakul put on her best saree and stood in line with the other wives of the officers. She was the last in line, the last to join the company. The general manager told us that Sir and Lady Lindsay asked who the last beautiful lady was in line, talking about Bakul. When they both came near her on their walk, they spent a few minutes talking with her.
Much later when we were in the USA, Mrs. Vieve Gore had often told me that Bakul always carried her well and had a striking presence wherever she was. Her beauty was striking and had an effect on all who met her.
Chapter 20: A New Home in Bombay
We moved to Bombay in 1964 but had no house to live in. Our old house in Vile Parle was taken over by the conniving landlord, who gave Bakul's mother Rs 4 lakh. Thus, we had to hunt for a good house to live in Bombay.
A ground-floor flat in a new house being built in Chembur was available. The landlord demanded a goodwill fee of Rs10000. The rent would be Rs210 per month. The Indian Statistical Institute gave me the money for my Providend fund. I paid the money and got the house after showing it to Mama for his approval.
This house had a living room, kitchen, and two good-sized bedrooms. Between the two bedrooms, there was a toilet and a bathroom, providing complete privacy to each bedroom. Bakul loved this house and quickly furnished it to her liking with our extra income from a new job.
Once, Shashi Pradhan, a young engineer and Works Manager in our factory came home to pick me up. He rang the bell, and Bakul opened the door. She had just showered and had a big bun of hair on her head. She was wearing a white saree and a sleeveless blouse known as kamkho and looked radiantly fresh and beautiful. I met Shashi in two minutes when we drove away in his car. He turned to me and asked, “Shanti, was she your wife? She stunned me when she opened the door.” At this time, Shashi was a bachelor, so his reaction was not out of line. He became a great friend and later, when we moved to the USA, he came to visit us in our Landenberg home with his wife.
Chapter 21: A Growing Family, Community, & Home
Professionally, these five years were very productive and educational for me. It was enjoyable for Bakul, too, who made friendships with the wives of many officers. Some of our noteworthy friends were Pratibha Pradhan, Sheila Pradhan, Hema Joshi, and Prisca Rosario.
Bakul loved these five years in the Chembur house. Our bedroom was well decorated with a dressing table, a steel kabat, and a radio over it. Above all, there was complete privacy. We also had good vacations to Mount Abu and Ooty in the South.
Two of our children were born during our four years of stay in that lovely house. Meena was born in March 1968, and soon thereafter, Anand was born in May 1969. Both these kids were not only healthy but also very good-looking with fair skin.
Once, there was a wedding of a relative in Andheri, a suburb of Bombay in the north, at our elder aunt’s home. Bakul dressed up the two kids with caps on their heads. They both looked great. She, too, looked magnificent in her pink saree. The elderly aunt (we called Bhagethi Foi) saw them and quickly suggested she should immediately take the kids home lest someone’s evil eye fall on you all, and that might make you sick.
The elderly aunt’s advice must be respected. Bakul immediately hired a taxi and went to Mama’s home in Matunga.
Chapter 22: Unwavering Trust
Metal Box Company gave me a one-year sabbatical leave to go to America in response to Bill Gore’s offer to sponsor my visit. My visa interview was in February 1969.
Bakul was six months into her pregnancy with Anand at the time. I was hesitating to go, but she had so much self-confidence that she told me there would be no problem and that I should go. By now, I had developed so much trust, respect, and confidence in her that I took her advice. I left in February 1969 and started working in the company.
I had one year of productive as well as educational experience working at W.L.Gore and Associates. My self-esteem had also greatly increased.
While I was working at Gore, I received a telegram from Bombay about the birth of Anand. Bakul wrote a letter saying all was well and that I should not worry about them.
My one-year leave from Metal Box ended in April 1970. Bill Gore suggested that if I loved what I was doing in his company, I should come back. He gave me $2000 and suggested I call Bakul to meet me in London, followed by three weeks in Switzerland. He would arrange the booking of our flight and also hotels at $10 per night everywhere. He had done so for himself in the past and felt it was possible to do so.
I did what he suggested. Bakul left with 12-year-old Parsh, one-year-old Anand, and two-year-old Meena in Bombay and with my mother and flew to London. I was at Heathrow Airport to receive her. I was so happy to see her after fifteen months.
There she was, coming out, pulling her bag behind her and wearing an overcoat (borrowed from our dashing neighbor). After delivery, she looked radiantly healthy, with glowing skin and pink cheeks. We hugged each other at the airport and drove away in a taxi to our $10 a night hotel in London. We spent two nights in London and flew to Zurich. Thereafter, we went to Lucerne, Interlaken, Montrew, Brienz, and Geneva. We also saw Mount Pilatus, RigiKulm, etc.
There was sunshine every day. We would walk a lot hand in hand, eat Swiss chocolate, and all the time talk about Bill Gore’s offer to move us if she agreed. By the time we finished the three-week Swiss tour, Bakul felt confident that although she did not have any English education, she had the self-confidence to learn enough to manage in America.
We wrote to Bill Gore that we would return to his company in 1971 after completing my commitment to the Metal Box. Mama’s sudden death made me rethink my decision. My sister Nani, Mama’s younger daughter and Bakul’s cousin, who was also my friend Dr. Markand Bhatt, however, encouraged me to stick to my decision.
Chapter 23: A Leap of Faith
I left first in February 1971 to report to W.L.Gore & Associates in Newark, Delaware. Bakul had to handle the major task of disposing of the furniture in the house, cleaning it, and handing it over to the landlord. She finished this task skillfully. She was ready to fly with three kids to Philadelphia in July 1971. Mother was planning to stay one more year in India before coming over to us.
I decided to buy a house in Newark and furnish it fully so that when the family arrived, they could be as comfortable as they were in Bombay. With help from Mrs. Genevieve Gore, I was able to do so rather quickly. I had already bought a Dodge Dart car when I arrived a few months ago to report for duty.
The family arrived as planned in July 1971. Bakul loved the house with three bedrooms. One bedroom was for us, one small one for Parshuram, and the largest had bunk beds for Meena and Anand and a full-size bed for my mother when she arrived in 1972. The wives of all company officers gave a party in Howard Arnold’s home to welcome us. They gave gifts of pots and pans, dishes, brooms, cleaning supplies, bed sheets, and blankets.
When the party was over we had to be helped to load all the stuff in the car. Bakul was thrilled to have met all the wives of officers and to find out how much they all loved her and the kids. Life in America had begun very pleasantly for her.
