Magazine of March - 2010 - Rups.net

On Your Birth CentenaryMr. B. G. Kalthod03.03.1910 – 18.12.1984My dear husband, Shri Bhavanishankar Ganpatrao Kalthod, was born on 3 rd March, 1910.Thisyear is his birth centenary year and I could not but help reminiscence about his life. He was born inKundapur to a middle class family, his father’s income was mainly from the produce off his meagrepiece of land. To feed a large family of seven children, Bhavanishankar’s father had to supplementhis income by sculpting idols of Lord Ganesha for Ganesh Chaturthi and decorating mantvis forweddings.As a boy, Bhavanishankar inherited love for the arts and helped his father in his crafts. A sportsmanby nature, he excelled in all sports, developing into a very good badminton and bridge player. Hiscuriosity and enthusiasm for learning made his science teacher teach him photography and thetechniques of developing and printing photographic films, which helped him in his later life. Havingdeveloped this into a hobby, he would make enlargements of small photographs and then paint themas there was no technology of coloured photographs in those days. His love for drawing and paintingwas so great that he painted a portrait of PP Pandurangashram Swamiji when he was in his final yearof school and presented it to Shirali Math. I had the good fortune of seeing this painting hanging onthe Math wall several years later when we had a chance to visit it. Being an ardent devotee of theGuru Parampara, he always volunteered to help at festivals in the Math.He had to curb his wish of joining the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai as he had to start earning. Beingthe eldest son of seven siblings, he had to support his family. He was really a great human being,always calm and collected with a sharp intellect. A simple man, always ready to help his brother andsisters, in whatever way he could. He loved his family dearly. The only regret he probably had wasthat he never had children of his own. But, perhaps, this was one of the reasons that he shared agreat bond with all his nieces and nephews. His family and friends respected him immensely andheld him in high esteem.He had a good rapport with his Japanese bosses and as a result of his efficient and hard work inthe company, Mitsubishi, he was the only employee who was gifted a three-week fully paid holidayin Japan, with family.I am grateful to God for having blessed me with a wonderful twenty-four years of life with thisgentle and understanding man who never had an adverse opinion about anyone. He lived for othersand always tried to make everyone happy.This noble, hardworking and dedicated man will live through his kind deeds and I am sure willnever be forgotten. I am sure, most Chitrapur Saraswat families have at least one still life or naturepainting (which he excelled in), photograph or portrait of either one of the Swamijis in their homes,with his trademark signature on it - ‘B.G. Kalthod’. He will always live through his works of art.In his memory, his family is instituting a scholarship for a deserving Chitrapur Saraswat candidatestudying FINE ARTS or PHOTOGRAPHY. Details may be obtained from the KSA Office.Remembered byWife and Relatives54Vol. 91, No.3, March 2010Kanara Saraswat