“India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all”.

Will Durant-American Historian

I went for some walks to -Thinking Places-and reviewed some Mother Energies.

My father lost his mother when he was around five years old, and his elder cousin sisters- Padma Buaji and Saraswati Bua-ji being the most memorable amongst them, shaped his thinking and family life in many ways.

So, as I look back on these past months,when their grandsons got married,  I reflected on the  many Mother energies which went into shaping the family .

REMEMBERING I-611 AND B 1260..AND House number 4-Upper Kaithu

On 28.2.17 my nephew Rohit got married, on 18.4.17- my nephew Mudit got married and on these occasions I remembered some places associated with their grandmothers- Padma Dobhal and the Dobhal Family of 1-611 Sarojini Nagar and Saraswati Dabral- and the Dabral Family with their journeys through Moradabad, education, and B 1260 Palam Vihar.

They are my father’s sisters- and the mind’s eye went back to the time when the Bhatt family would stay in House number 4, Upper Kaithu Bazaar- Shimla and pray at Kali Bari and Jakhoo Temples of Shimla..

28-2-2017-Delhi-My elder brother Shri Yogendra Dobhal and Nirmal Bhabhi-ji blessing the newly married couple-Rohit Dobhal and Prabhjeet Kaur-Dobhal

–MY FATHER’S SISTERS..

MY FATHER’S SISTERS…….2015-At Taj Mahal-Saraswati and Laxmi Bua-ji, their links with Agra and Meerut and the many family discussions and teachings we all gained over many loving meals at B-Block 1260 Palam Vihar

MY FATHER’S SISTERS ……..2012- 4-UPPER KAITHU BAZAAR-Bhatt family memories-my father’s sisters-Savitri bua ji on a visit-pilgrimages to Upper Kaithu Bazaar with Surendra-mama ji and my sister Priti Dutta nee Thapliyal

MY FATHER’S SISTERS……1999…C 1804 PALAM VIHAR.. Padma Bua ji ,(Padma Dobhal) with my mother and Sanjoo Bhai’s son, and Bhabhiji and Mamta-Sagar

MY MOTHER’S SISTERS- C 1804 PALAM-1999-October

1999- MY MOTHER’S SISTERS- PALAM VIHAR with Abha and Meena mousi-jis and Smarika and Shounkie Nawani

PRAYERS-CEREMONIES-PALAM VIHAR- APRIL 2017

Family prayers-B Block 1260-Palam Vihar-18-4-17-marriage of Mudit and Nidhi, with Shashi Bhabhi-ji and Saraswati Buaji.

APRIL 2017 ..Prayers and family gatherings- Mudit and Nidhi Dabral wedding-18-4-17

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SOME LEGACY THOUGHTS-CONVERSATIONS

Places, persons, and family memories associated through generations came to mind- as I recollected the many mother energies which go into shaping the family legacy.

Delhi-1968- me on the lap of my Dada-ji-Bhawani Shankar Bhatt-with Jeevan Chacha-ji, my mother-Nirja Bhatt -nee Uniyal sitting beside him and my father Prem Narain Bhatt standing in background.

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Remembering some conversations with Guddu-Bhai- (Shri Yogendra Dobhal) in Lodhi Gardens -Delhi..we have met there over the years, whenever I return to India, we embrace each other with tears in our eyes, and he lightly scolds me- Return-what less do you have in India- in a way which only an elder brother can scold..mixing rebuke with great affection