Remembering Anu Purani

In Memory of Anu-ben

Kanishtha

Exactly seven years ago, my Hindi teacher Ravindra-ji had passed away. In his memory I had written an article, a homage, on behalf of all his ex-students. Even then I had found it hard to pen my thoughts on paper, and I am finding it hard to do so now too, when I want to write a few lines on Anu-ben, to pay my homage to her too. The reason for this difficulty is the film of tears which mists my eyes when I realise that these two wonderful persons who had dedicated themselves completely to the Ashram are no more with us . . .

I knew them as teachers when I was in school, but my special bond with them continued even afterwards . . . It would be vain to say that I was one of their favourite students; I rather think that they gave me more attention because being the only non-Hindi-speaking person in the class, I was unsure of the language. The others had uttered their very first words in Hindi; so the genders came naturally to them. But for me it was a challenge as I had to think twice before deciding whether the word I was using was of masculine gender or feminine! Anyway, whatever the reason, I am grateful that those two special souls have touched my life. . .

On October 6, 2008, at about 9.30 p.m. Anu-ben breathed her last. When I went to her room the next day to pay my respects, I was struck by the radiant calmness of her face. She had had a fall in Udavi on the 25th August, and after that she was in tremendous pain for a month and a half. There were several broken bones and other medical complications. But there was not a sign of suffering on that serene face. In fact one would say that she had faced death with a smile.

Many people knew Anu-ben in many different ways. Hers was a multifaceted personality. Those children who had come here in the early days of the Ashram, knew her as the first Didi of Dortoir. They called her “Awwi” with affection. It is not known exactly why she was called by that name, but there is one story which does explain it. It seems that one of those children in Dortoir, who is of a respectable grandmother’s age today, had just arrived from Karnataka. Anu-ben was washing her hair, and by mistake the water she poured was too hot for the child. So in protest she screamed, “Awwi, what are you doing?” I suppose what she wanted to say was “Awwa” meaning mother in Kannada. But the name “Awwi” stuck, and all the children started calling her “Awwi” with affection. She had maintained a warm relationship with all the Dortoir children till the very end. She would take part in all their activities specially in the “Dortoir group”. This dedicated group cleans systematically one Ashram department every month. Although there is no spring in Pondicherry every month the ‘spring’ cleaning takes place with great gusto and dedication! I am sure Anu-ben’s absence will be deeply felt by all the members of Dortoir.

Anu-ben was a dancer, professionally trained by Sri Uday Shankar, the brother of the renowned sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar. She was a dance teacher of the Ashram and the head of that department. As a child I remember having taken part in so many of her dance dramas. I understood much later how much tolerance and patience she must have had to teach so many mischievous children!

When I grew up a little more, Anu-ben became my Hindi teacher. She and Ravindra-ji used to take classes together. She would tell us mythological stories. Her story-telling was not only with words but with expressive eyes and ‘abhinaya’ too. We would be spellbound. The classes became not only interesting but educative too, for this way we would learn about our culture and civilisation.

Anu-ben used to write stories and articles for the Hindi magazines Purodha, and Agnishikha. Apart from being a storyteller and a writer she was the editor of both these magazines. She bore so many responsibilities lightly on her delicate shoulders.

After I finished my studies at S.A.I.C.E., I had the opportunity to work with her for a couple of years in the translations of the Mother’s works into Hindi. She would translate a paragraph and then tell me to correct it. I would say, “But Anu-ben, you are the teacher and I am the student, how can I correct your work?” To which she would reply, “Here our relation is not that of a teacher and student. We are both children of the Mother. We have to work with sincerity and complete dedication.”

Anu-ben played a big role in “Udavi” where the Auroshikha factory was located. She would go there regularly and teach the children of the employees there, take dance classes for them and help with the administration of the school. She did full justice to the word, “Udavi” which means “help” in Tamil.

Sri A. B. Purani, Anu-ben’s father was a well known personality. He was a freedom fighter and a man of action. Even today the akhadas that he started several decades ago are actively functioning in Gujarat. He came to the Ashram in the early days during Sri Aurobindo’s time. How he came here has been narrated beautifully in the September 2008 issue of Mother India.

When Purani-ji came away, his wife Smt. Lilavati-ji followed suit with their baby girl.

I have written about every aspect that I knew of Anu-ben — as the Didi of Dortoir, dancer and head of the dance section, as a Hindi teacher, writer and editor of Purodha and Agnishikha, a well-wisher of Udavi and my colleague in the Hindi section. If we look at page 673 in the August 2008 issue of Mother India we will know that she had set out on the path of Sadhana even before she learnt to walk! She would crawl into Sri Aurobindo’s room, climb into a comfortable chair and settle down. When her father came looking for her, he would apologise to Sri Aurobindo and ask her, “What are you doing here?” and she would reply, “jeu . . . jeu . . .” trying to say, “meditation”!

One night she got into Sri Aurobindo’s room and was heard repeating “dh . . . dh . . .”, trying to repeat the word, “Sadhana”!

On the 6th of October that long journey on the path of Sadhana, as shown by the Mother and Sri Aurobindo, came to an end. Maybe ‘end’ is not the right word. In fact we can say that on 6th October 2008 Anu-ben set out on another journey, her soul’s journey on another plane towards the Light!

Kanishtha

[Source: Mother India, Jan 2009]