Prominent Sashtikar Guptes

Raibahadur Balkrisna Atmaram Gupte (Bhaisaheb) (Pg-20) England for higher studies. On the

No Gupte ever enjoyed greater respect, position and reputation

first Independence Day 15th August than Balkrishna Atmaram. Balkrishna was also known as Bhaisaheb. 1947, he was present at India House

Born in Bhivandi near Thane in 1851, he came to Indore at young age in London and there he met

and was appointed on a high post in the Holkar State. He worked in Dr.Krishna Menon.

many departments and was a confidante of Maharaja Shivaji Rao After his return from England

Holkar. People of older generation said that Shivaji Rao’s wife gave he practiced medicine in Bombay

birth to a daughter but she was exchanged for Bhaisaheb’s son who from 1948 onwards.Together with his

was later known as Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III. wife they started a Maternity Home

Bhaisaheb was a prolific writer and his scope was very vast. where many a prominent Maharashtrians have had the hon-

His book ‘Hindu Holidays and Ceremonials’ gives a long list of his our to be born.

publications. Most of them were Govt. Publications. But his erudition His eldest son Dilip joined the Indian Army in 1964

can be seen in the field of History. He published 12 issues of ‘Material and was killed in India-Pakistan war of 1965. On his son's

for the history Chandraseniya Kayasth Prabhu’ in Marathi (pak}lsuh; death Dr.Gupte decided to dedicate his services to the social

bfrgklkph lk/kusa). It was he who established the fact that the Guptes causes and joined the then local party ShivSena. He was

were descendants of great ‘Gupta’ dynasty (Samudragupt, elected to the Municipal Corporation Of Bombay in 1968 as

Vikramaditya etc. councilor and became Mayor of Bombay in 1971.

His books include an annotated edition of Grant Duff’s History During 1975 due to disagreements over emergency

of the Marathas, Holkar Shahiche Powade, Prabhu Marriage and rule with the Shivsena chief Mr.Thakrey he resigned from

some biographies. Shiv Sena and later joined Janata Party and was elected as

He was made Member of the Royal Society of Arts, England. Member of Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from 1977

He got his Fellowiship of Zoological Society of London (ZFS). He was to 1980.

also awarded title of “Raibahadur” by the British. He fell out with the He did a lot of work for the

rulers of Indore in around 1913 -14 and subsequently settled in cause of C.K.P.s . He was a

Belvedere, Calcutta. The most unfortunate part of his writings is that trustee of CKP Cooperative Bank.

most of them are not available, though editors of this booklet have Also he was Chairman of the 10th

preserved some books which were published as early as 1910-20s. All India CKP conference at

* * * Nagpur in 1975. Dr.Hemchandra Gupte (Ex-Mayor of Bombay) (Pg-25) * * *

1913 - 1999

Sumati Gupte Joglekar (Pg-18) Dr. Hemchandra Gupte was born at Kolhapur. His father being Sumati Gupte’s name was

a Magistrate was in a transferable job and Dr.Gupte was put in the synonymous with “Maa” in Hindi

boarding school of Prof.Bhise at Bordi near Daman. He got his medi- films of 60’s &70’s. This famous

cine degree from GS Medical College in Bombay in 1940. In 1946 he

-9-

character artist of Hindi films is a

alongwith his wife Dr Kumudini (Mohile) and young son Dilip left for prominent Sashtikar Gupte.

Started her carrier in 1941 in Marahti film “Navardev” and

after that never looked back. Some of her films - :Shyamchi Aai-

1953, Shevgyachya Shenga-1953, Hare Kaach ki Chudiya, Aadmi

Sadak Kaa, Mausi, Waqt - etc, the list is endless.

She married Vasant Joglekar, Director, Marathi & Hindi films

and is living in Mumbai. * * *

Vinayak Appaji Gupte (Pg-21) Vinayak Appaji Gupte was Dewan (Prime Minister) of Murud-

Janjira State. He was married to a very disciplinarian woman,

daughter of a rich family of Laxman Vaidya of Dadar, sister of DL

Vaidya of Dadar's famous road ‘DL Vaidya Road’. His wish was that

each of his children should be in different fields. His eldest son

Yeshwant became civil engineer. He settled in Nashik after leaving

Murud-Janjira and even today is well known in Nashik. * * *

Sitaram Shankar Gupte (Pg-25) 1920 - 1988

During 1942 - 1948 he was known as a young cartoonist. He

also had a pen name 'Azad' while working as a journalist-cum-car-

toonist & layout artist with English periodical 'Forum'. After closure

of 'Forum' post-Indendence, he joined 'Premier Automobiles' as

PRO. Though he did his LL.B. he never practised law. Also, in later

years he was not seen much as cartoonist. He was youngest amongst siblings of Dr.Hemchandra Gupte

ex-Mayor of Bombay. He was a keen dramatist and acted as well

as produced and directed many Marathi plays and got awards for

Best Direction in “Premier Automobiles” drama competions. During

his time, Khar CKP Samaj drama functions were famous all over

Bombay. He did a lot of social service with many social organiza-

tions. * * *

Vishwanath Vinayak Gupte (Pg-21) -10-

1894 - 1970 Vishwanath Vinayak Gupte after getting his civil enginner-

ing degree came to Bombay to work for his maternal uncle's (DL

Vaidya's firm) which was then called Vaidya-Gupte Co. In 1926-

27 he bought a plot on Linking Road Khar at the rate of 4 annas

a sq yd and built his own house here. 80-90% of old bungalows

in Khar were built by Vishwanath Vinayak Gupte. A lot of

Catholic communiy bungalows opposite Wellington Club,

Santacruz, were also built by him. Vaidy-Gupte was a known firm though ‘Vaidya’ part died in late

1930's. In Khar BPM High School was built by Vaidya-Gupte as

well as the community hall which is current day Khar CKP hall. * * *

Dr.Vasant Shankar Gupte (Pg-25) 1900-1972

Dr.Vasant Gupte was a sort of pioneer in the field of

Gynac & Obstretics in that he was the first CKP to go abroad to

USA (Minnesota) in 1926 for post graduate medical education.

There he met Dr.Krishna Menon and started India awareness

programme in USA. On return, he started his own Maternity

Home in Khar as early as 1929. Those days areas around Khar

like Khar-Danda and Khar East did not have electricity. He used

to go walking to these areas and carried out many a deliveries in

light of kerosene lantern. He was quite liberal in his thoughts and

his line of thinking was ahead of his times. He gave excel-lent

guidance to his siblings and to next generations by instilling good

virtues in them.

Lt. Dilip Hemchandra Gupte(Pg-25)

(Posthumous)

1942-65 Lt. Dilip Hemchandra Gupte was a true soldier like his

forefathers, the heroes of Sashti, Narayan Keshav & Balkrishna

Keshav Gupte. He laid down his life for the country in 1965 war

against Pakistan at the age of 23.

Born on 14 Dec 1942 to doctor parents in his own words "he was

more at ease handling a bayonet than holding an injection syringe".

He was born in Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay). At the age of 4, left for

England with his doctor parents Hemchandra (see K-21) & Kumudini

and had his Montessori education there. Dilip lived in the ancestral

Khar house of his grandfather with parents & uncles till his 5th

standard when his mother Dr.Kumudini Gupte set up their own

maternity home at Mahim opposite then "Shree" Talkies. Studied in

Bal Mohan Vidya Mandir at Shivaji Park, Dadar & Ruia College, took

active part in Auxiliary Cadet Corps, Road Safety Patrol and other

social service activities. In college he joined N.C.C. and was Senior

Under Officer. He also got the best cadet trophy while in NCC. After

that he decided to join the Army and was easily selected for Indian

Military Military Academy. Dilip opted for Corps of Engineers and was commissioned in Indian

Army in Feb 1964 in the Bengal Sappers. After his commission Dilip

fell in love a girl and was engaged in May 1965. Immediately after his engagement ceremony the

1965 Kutch War broke out. His

unit, i.e, 68 Field Company

moved to the forefront of battle in

J&K. Thereafter the company

moved to area Tithwal beyond

Haji Pir pass which is at height of

13000 ft. On 27th Sept 1965 Lt.

Dilip wrote to his mother that his

unit was already sitting in

Pakistan. Although the "cease-fire" was

declared on 23 Sept'65, fighting

on both sides continued to gain

maximum territory before any

-11-

political blockade. On 2nd Oct he wrote that he was being sent

on a very responsible mission and was looking forward to it.

This letter turned out to be the last letter written by Lt. Dilip

Gupte in his life. He was the sapper member of a deep pene-

tration patrol going inside enemy occupied territory to carry out

important demolition of a bridge over river Kishenganga. After

7 days of walking in tough terrain the party reached their

destination. In the pitch dark night, while Lt.Dilip was prepar-

ing the bridge for demolition there was heavy enemy attack

and young Lt. Dilip was killed. Lt. Dilip's body was brought

back to base and given a full military cremation. In the honour

of Lt. Dilip Gupte's sacrifice the "Black Hill" has been named

"Gupte Hill" by Indian Army. There were praiseworthy letters written to Dr. Hemachandra

Gupte by then Prime Minister of India Shri Lal Bahadur

Shastri, Defence Minister, Shri Y.B.Chavan and Army Chief,

General Choudhary praising the heroic sacrifice of Lt. Dilip

Gupte for the country. Lt. Dilip was a family loving person and loved his brother

Dr.Rajan Gupte dearly. When his father Dr.Hemchandra

Gupte built a new hospital in 1963 he said it should be named

with Rajan as first part and hence the property till today is

called as "Rajdeep".

(Sashtikar) Gupte's salute a true son of India who sacrificed

his life for the country. * * *

Achyut Gupte (Pg-21)

No one who has seen Hindi movies from

late '60s to late 70's would have missed the

name of Achyut Gupte. He made big name as a

colour processor of Hindi movies.

Achyut Gupte came to Bombay from Nasik

(Grand Father Vinayak Gupte) looking for a

job. Till such time that he did not get a job,

he worked as ‘all-rounder’ with his uncle

Vishwanth Gupte. He used to work as super-

visor at sites for taking measurements, to

driver for his uncle and to the extent of repairing uncle's cars and getting punctures fixed.

Then he got a job in a film company. He worked his way up as a leading colour film processor and made

a name in Hindi films. His name appears as a single title board

in over 40 films like "Johny Mera Naam", "Joshila", “Aradhana”,

“Heera Panna”, “Chhupa Rustom”, “Humjoli” etc the list is end-

less. He died in 2003 and both his children have settled abroad. * * *

Dr.Vilas Janardan Gupte No Sashtikar Gupte has given a greater literary output

than Dr.Vilas. Born in Gwalior in 1937, where his father was a

judicial officer, he lived in small villages of Malwa and finally

came to Indore for higher education. His interest in creative writ-

ing led him to do M.A. and Ph.D. in Hindi literature. He started

writing stories when he was a student and his first collection of

stories (published earlier in various magazines) came out in

1970. His thesis was on the ‘Contribution of non-Hindi writers to

modern Hindi Literature’. His plays - Aadmi ka gosht, Aapke kar

kamlon se, Pishach vidya, narak-gatha are theme based and

serious. Raja Nanga Hai, Aakhri hathiar, Bina pahiye ka Rath

and Shesh Aakhri Prushth Par are his contributions to Hindi

novel. Prakash Janardan, his younger brother, is Professor of

English. He was President of Madhya Pradesh Govt. College

Teachers Association. He (Prakash) is also the Editor of this

booklet. Yet another brother, Dilip, is a satirist, writing in Hindi.

His articles on film music were published in many newspapers.

Currently he is busy writing ‘A History of Hindi Film Music’. Except the

youngest brother Prafulla, all are settled in Indore.

Shankar Appaji (J-12) & wife Umabai

Shankar Appaji Gupte was born somewhere around

1875. He was in Govt service and became 1st Class

Magistrate. As a magistrate he served at many places and

finally retired as 1st class Magistrate, Bombay. His wife

Umabai (Sabnis) was daughter of Prime Minister of Kolhapur

State, Sir RaghunathRao Sabnis.

-12-

C.K.P. Cuisine

Waalache Birde

Ingredients- Kadwe Waal (sprouted & peeled) - 2cups

Onion (mid-size) - 1 thinly chopped Spices - Turmeric powder (haldi) 1/4 tspn, Chilly powder red - 1

tspn, Dhaney-Jeere powder - 1/2 tspn, Garlic(lasun) paste -

1tspn, Hing (Aoesofiteda) - 1/4 tspn, Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspn

Tamarind pulp 2 tspn, Jaggery - 1 lemon size piece, Salt-1 tspn

Fresh coconut grated/ground - 2 tspn Cooking oil - 2 tspn

To Prepare - Take one large deep frying pan. Heat 2 tspn of cooking oil - test

with putting 2 or 3 mustard seeds till they splutter in the oil. Lower

heat fry mustard seeds, aesofiteda, chopped onions for 30 secs

or till onions turn light brown, Add turmeric powder, dhaney-jeere

powder, garlic paste & sprouted waals. Fry for 30-40 secs con-

stantly stirring. Add 2 cups of water & boil on high heat without

covering the pan. for 2-3 mins then cover the pan and cook for

another 3-4 mins on low heat. Check after this if waal has been cooked by breaking a piece, it

should break with small pressure of spoon (should be firm - not

too hard, not to soft). This is best understood by experience only.

After this add tamarind pulp, jaggery, ground coconut paste,

again boil for 20-30 seconds. Lastly add chopped corriander and

remove from stove. Keep for few mins before serving. (Serves as curry alongwith other items in a meal for 4)

Prawns or Sodey Khichadi

Ingredients- Prawns or dried fish (Sodey) - 3/4 cup Rice

basmati or any other - 2 cups washed. Spices - Turmeric powder, Red chilly powder, Garam masala

powder, garlic paste, Tamal patra, Laung (cloves) - 3,4 pcs,

-13-

Dalchini (cinnamon)- 4 pcs, Welchi (cardamom) -1,

Onions large -2 chopped fine, 1/2 onion chopped in long pcs

Coconut milk - 1 cup Garnishing - Fresh coconut ground, corriander leaves chopped

To prepare- Wash prawns / dried fish add 1/4 tspn of turmeric powder, 1/2 tspn of

chilly pwdr, salt 1/2 tspn, 1/4 tspn of garlic paste mix and marinate for

10 mins. Fry stirring continuously in a pan in 1 tspn of oil. Fry ‘sodey’

for longer time about 2 mins. In rice cooking vessel fry tamal patra, laung, dalchini, welchi and add

onions after stirring for a min or so. Fry till onions turn brown, then add

turmeric pwdr, chilly pwdr (both 1/2 to 1/4 tspn) garlic paste 1/4 tspn,

garam masala and fry while stirring for 30 secs, Then add rice and stir

for 30 secs and add prawns/’sodey’ and again stir fry for 30 secs. Add

3 cups of water, 1 cup of cocnut milk and salt to taste. Cook on slow

heat by keeping vessel covered for about 8-10 mins. Check if rice is

cooked otherwise keep checking at 2 min intervals till rice cooks. Add

garnishing of fresh coconut grated and corriander.

Ninawe

Ingredients- 1 cup Gram flour(Besan), 1/2 cup Rawa (fine ground), 1 cup jaggery, 2 cups coconut milk, Welchi, Jaiphal(nutmeg) powder. To prepare - Fry gram flour & rawa in 1/2 tspn of ghee (butter fat) separately. Mix

jaggery in coconut milk well. Add to it fried gram flour & rawa, welchi & nutmeg, mix well & put on stove. Keep stirring while on boil till the

mixture becomes thick. Steam well by keeping vessel covered on flat

pan with water. Bake in oven by placing on oven tray applied with

ghee, flattening mixture to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness and garnishing

with almond & pista pcs. Bake for 10 mins on high heat, take out cut

in pcs on allow to cool.