Maniba and the art of true giving

She walked the talk with quiet tenacity If freedom and feminism combined as second breath within her khadi was second skin She draped the fabric fervently yet frugally Convinced that a pair of clothes was enough she handspun these along with bedsheets from roo cotton which was then woven into fabric Maniben Chandulal Nanavati possessed two sets A couple more of white khaddar sarees were added only because the monsoon damp did not allow drying in time for the next useWidely known as Maniba or Khadi Mata spinning thread for long hours daily she stitched thousands of garments for underprivileged children whom she also schooled Maniben hardly stopped at being a freedom patriot The unassuming sevika went on to remarkably enable the rural poor particularly women to earn a living after training in her network of ashramshalas As a young sevikaBorn on February 27 1905 to the family of cloth merchant Chunilal Zaveri in Vijapur near Ahmedabad Maniba lost her parents early in life She and her sister Kantaben were brought up by their kaka Lallubhai whose pearl trading enterprise extended to EuropeManiba attended primary classes till Std III at Mangrol Jain Girls School in Bombay In years that considered cultured solely girls who were adept at domestic chores and reading religious scriptures she too married at 18 The fortunate difference being that her inlaws proved philanthropists and educationists following the path of simple living and high thinkingManibenrsquos grandson Shachin Nanavati and wife Himadri at Maniben Nanavati Womenrsquos CollegeChandulal Nanavati her husband was a close associate of Gandhiji steeped in his precepts and principles His father Dr Balabhai Nanavati was the appointed physician for Maharaja Sayajirao Gaikwad of Baroda Chandulalrsquos brother Manilal Balabhai Nanavati Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India coauthored the seminal book The Indian Rural Problem with JJ AnjarialdquoMy grandfather wished to have his own business Professionally into coal bunkeringmdashour firm The Eastern Bunkerers later became a subsidiary of Scindia Steam Navigation Companymdashthe Nanavatis have been strongly driven by the urge to contribute to societyrdquo says Shachin Nanavati Manibarsquos grandsonOn the retiya spinning wheelThe visionary Chandulal was keen to bequeath an educational trust a dream Maniba realised in 1954 with the Chandulal Nanavati Vinaymandir in Vile Parle Three years before this she assumed founder trusteeship of the Dr Balabhai Nanavati Hospital inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951 The suburb was a ldquochhavnirdquo the camp where plans for freedom shaped ldquoStalwarts like Vallabhbhai Patel and Jamnalal Bajaj were regular visitors to our homerdquo Shachin says ldquoVile Parle became Barsquos karmabhoomi Gandhiji na rang thi rangaay geyla badhamdasheveryone was tinged by Gandhijirsquos teachingsrdquoGranddaughter Abha Matthan and Himadri Nanavati at Khadi Mandir Vile Parle PicsShadab KhanManiba was naturally drawn to the cause her activities under close and continuous scrutiny of the British On asking the Mahatma what the best way was to serve the nation she was advised to crusade for the development of khadi Inspired she joined the band of satyagrahi women under Swami Anandrsquos leadership and pioneered the introduction of spinning in farflung villages The Vile Parle Khadi Mandir opened in 1934 is still managed by women besides which Maniba was honorary secretary of the Maharashtra Khadi and Village Industries BoardldquoFrom pieces of old ties Ba sewed bandi vests for Adivasi and Dalit childrenrdquo recalls Himadri Shachinrsquos wife who details her grandmotherinlawrsquos typical day ldquoWaking at 5 in the morning she would bathe and pray at the Jain temple After darshan she sat sewing till 11 am Breaking her fast she walked to the station boarded a local to Churchgate and walked to Khadi Bhandar in Fort Working there till 4 pm she returned by train again and staunchly Jain ate an early dinner Evening prayers done she spent at least another hour needling buttons and eyes on outfits stitched in the morning Our home was always filled with karyakartas social workers from Bardoli from Dharampur and places across the country whom she sheltered and guidedrdquo Though unable to finish her schooling Maniba clearly understood the tremendous influence of education She did not want women to feel fettered by limitations ldquoBa never felt inadequate but decided to help women who do She created diverse opportunities and facilities to ensure they werenrsquot bound to the kitchenrdquo says ShachinldquoThese were extremely practical vocational skills keeping them rooted to their backgroundrdquo elaborates Manibarsquos granddaughter Abha Matthan Her mother Arunaben Purohit Manibarsquos daughter was in Arthur Road prison during the Independence struggle Whenever the Mahatma declared an andolan or jail bharo satyagrahis gathered at their home to eat before agitatingldquoMy grandmother prioritised financial independence especially for the girl child and doubly so for tribal girls in districts like Dangrdquo says Matthan ldquoBa knew that when a woman has an extra source of revenue her position in the family equation changes She can dictate dynamics driving her family out of orthodoxy out of prejudice and societal malpractices I went on several trips to ashramshalas with her Kids here got a chance to study and pick up profitable skills in a relevant curriculum Even with cardinal faith in education as a prime mover towards betterment Ba didnrsquot create misfits at these residential schools she established across Gujarat Learning skills for cottage industries like spinning the charkha sewing pottery and local crafts provided them economic upliftment Married or not women could confidently fendfor themselvesldquoBa didnrsquot spout jargon or hollow theories that grate irritatingly on the nerves She just did work That was part of her essential spiritualitymdashnot the orthodox morally superior Jainism you see today which flaunts wealth Hers was true spiritualism unswerving faith blending Gandhian ideals That missionary zeal seeing education as the most important vehicle of change is deeply ingrained in all of usrdquoIncidentally Abharsquos husband filmmaker John Matthew Matthan dedicated Shikhar in 2005 to Maniba who often spun khadi for him ldquoAhead of environmental catchphrases of global warming and deforestation gaining currency this movie explained Barsquos philosophy It drew from viewing her as a powerhouse of compassion She impacted lives completely Without uttering a preachy word she embodied the phrase lsquodignity of labourrsquo and showed therersquos no shame in cleaning your plate after meals despite a retinue of servants or nursing loved ones through sicknessrdquo Echoing Matthanrsquos view Shachin recalls being taught by example ldquoBa was a silent worker not a talker She didnrsquot tell us about being arrested for protesting the salt law while pregnant with her third child We heard these incidents narrated by my father mountaineer Jagdish Nanavati and aunts She chose to travel the country in threetiered unreserved train compartments all the distance to Bihar and Orissa where she offered flood victims relief and rehabilitation Oriyas basically being fish eaters she got mouth blisters subsisting on rice over three months at a stretchldquoIn the 1980s we got a really good and clear idea of her humaneness I wanted to put up a factory on an acre of land we had in Marol which was getting encroached on Fearing that the 200odd basti inhabitants would also be left homeless by builders Ba called their representatives They were stunned when she handed them a gift deed for the plot Overwhelmed by her gesture they in turn gratefully and touchingly collected R2 lakh for her to no doubt donate to one of the charities she supportedrdquo Matthan recounts how Maniba readily welcomed John a Malayali Syrian Christian to the fold ldquoBa was so cool saying lsquoHoon church ma jaroor avees tara lagan maateymdashIrsquom definitely coming to your church weddingrsquo Neither his religion mattered nor his nonvegetarianism Dismissing such manmade divisions lsquoIshwar ey nathi banaavyarsquo she believed Because of her being so broadminded the rest of the family fell in line Ba had a great sense of humour and was involved in our lives in a fun withit way She wouldnrsquot hold herself up in some strict lsquoIrsquom the matriarch and everyone should address me sorsquo stature Warm approachable available any time she was fine with the fact that from college we dropped in at Khadi Bhandar in the middle of her workday to give her a kiss and run off for a filmrdquoManiba died in 2000 at the age of 95 Four months from now in June the Maniben Nanavati Womenrsquos College celebrates its golden jubilee As Principal Dr Rajshree Trivedi observes ldquoWe donrsquot need to step out in search of a role model for our missionmdashwomenrsquos empowerment Shersquos right there in the name of the college our own ManibardquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom