return to his guest house to study for his UPSC. In a way he also enjoyed impressing students with his knowledge of the subject and command over English. In his own words, “I was like a peacock that enjoys spreading the fan of his colourful plume and dancing and finding fulfillment in that!” Sharad Deshpande, his student at that time, who later ran a successful advertising agency in Pune, recalls, “Joshi Sir spoke very little and had a serious personality. His mixing freely with the students, chitchatting with them was unthinkable. We were quite scared of him.” Then an incident occurred which led to drastic change in Joshi’s attitude. As usual he was having his dinner in the guest house when the waiter serving him haltingly, sheepishly asked, ‘Did you recognize me, Sir?’ Joshi looked up with blank face. Then the waiter added, ‘Sir, I am one of your students. Khandekar is my name.’ Joshi was flabbergasted. He just could not believe what he had heard. A college student of his and serving him as a waiter! Suddenly an image from the past flashed in front of his eyes. He recalled what he had often heard from his father. About how his father had studied as an orphan in Kolhapur and had to feed himself every day by begging madhukari in different homes. Joshi recalled, ‘I was suddenly moved to tears. I found it difficult even to swallow the mouthful. The faces of other students came to my mind. They too could not have been much different from this boy. It was as if Khandekar had removed a screen in front of my eyes which had blocked the larger world around. I was not seeing anything beyond me, my examination, my future, my dreams. Suddenly I began to see the world beyond all that.’ Soon the college authorities entrusted Joshi with an additional duty of looking after College hostel. As a warden he 36
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Sharad Joshi : Leading Farmers to the Centre Stage
