As a first-time writer, I feel joy and pride as I reflect on the journey that led to the creation of this book. It all started with a simple mundane conversation I had with my grandmother. I always felt fascinated by Ajji's educational qualifications, especially her command of English. One day, we were having a conversation about her past and how it influenced her life. And just for fun, I told her that she could apply for any job since she was so qualified, and opened up a Resume template then and there!
Ajji took my comment seriously, and before we knew it, we were having deep conversations about her life, as friends! The more stories she was telling me, the more I was getting struck by the resilience, determination, and courage she exhibited in the face of adversity. Our precious conversations have had a profound impact on my life.
I keep on imagining how she would interact with the conservative society at the time? For instance, I can not even imagine the courage it must have taken for a young girl of thirteen, who is at her home alone, to stand up and say "No" to the likes of Bharat Bhushan, who has come to offer the lead role of Sita way back in 1947!
Even today, when everyone is trying to be an entrepreneur, whenever her former students talk of her, my respect for her increases the way she built her career as a music teacher, and managed everything.
My words are going to fall short when she first told me about how she met and started dating my Ajoba (Grandfather), and started their life together! If this would have been a movie, I, for sure would have found it hard to believe this is a true story.
Grandma Needs a Job started its journey as a coffee table book, but now I am happy it is accessible to all of you in digital format. I thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support, who are always generous with their time and precious input throughout this journey. I have troubled my mother a lot, as she has kept a photographic archive of Ajji's life, which helped with facts and is an invaluable part of the book. I feel grateful for her support. I also thank my aunt Sonu Mavshi (Madhavee Inamdar) for writing the beautiful foreword.
I hope this book inspires all of us to cherish our relationships with our grandparents and to celebrate their stories. I will continue to update this book with unseen photos and anecdotes of Ajji, so it will help us to tighten up her Resume to help get a job increment for my Grandma.
- Ankur Jadhav
(Grandson)