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It was in 1987 that I was first told about my new assignment-working as personal assistant to Shri Balasaheb Deoras. It was a totally new job for me. All along I had been travelling in the tribal areas in the north-east, running about, holding meetings and setting up rendezous with leaders of various warring factions among political and non-political groups in Assam. I became a swayamsevak sometime in 1954 and after getting my B.A. degree in 1959, became a pracharak the next year. The Sino-Indian war took place in 1962. Sometime that year, Shri Guruji realised the danger along our borders and expressed a desire to deploy more pracharaks in the north-east and closer to the Chinese border. I was sent from Maharashtra along with one Sudarshan Sharma. The day I landed at Tezpur, I learned that the Chinese were about to attack Tezpur. I remained in Assam till 1987.
It was in Kerala, where Balasaheb had gone for treatment, that I was told of my new responsibility. Mananeeya Abaji Thatte was with Balasaheb at that time. In fact people knew Abaji as the shadow of Shri Guruji and Balasaheb. He had a wealth of experience. He knew how to handle the most difficult situations while on duty with a Sarsanghchalak. I was a novice. But abruptly, I was told to switch over to a new responsibility. Balasaheb was a diabetic and regularly took injections. While Abaji was a doctor, I had never even handled a syringe. My first lesson was to learn the use of a syringe. Gradually, I learned more about medicine and everything under the sun about diabetes, my guru being Balasaheb himself. He knew his condition very well and was a very cooperative patient. That is how he could maintain a steady health almost till the end. Even in his failing health, his mind was alert. His daily routine went like clock work. When he could not read newspapers any longer, he insisted on papers being read out to him. He would just close his eyes and listen attentively. If he found something important, he would give the necessary instructions. He showed a keen interest in articles on social issues. His face would light up 9 he came across any news on new experiments in social assimilation. Once, during our stay at Nagpur, we were invited by the Rashtra Sevika Samiti to attend the thread ceremony of about a dozen girls. This was a unique function and Balasaheb took keen interest. The next day, BJP leader Shri L. K. Advani happened to visit Nagpur and called upon Balasaheb to enquire about his health. Balasaheb showed him photographs of the function, which was, for him, a new experiment in social transformation.
Author By Shrikant Joshi
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