Pune: At 103, she religiously runs her ‘puja stall’ she set up 70 years ago

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Perched on a small platform, she is surrounded by various puja-related items such as flower garlands, prasad, incense sticks, camphor and betel leaves.

Unperturbed by the traffic frenzy in the area and the crowd visiting the temple, she is busy making a garland with nishigandha flowers.

In the past seven decades for which she has been running this stall, Nalavade says she has witnessed the city undergoing a sea change. “Wherever you go, there are people and more people. You can only see vehicles and crowd everywhere. Unlike now, our Pune used to be very serene earlier. I don’t like it,” says Nalavade, who stays in Bibvewadi and travels all the way to Kasba Peth every day with her grand-daughter and her husband.

When she was in her 30s, Nalavade’s husband, who worked in Mumbai as a worker in a godown, passed away, leaving behind two daughters. “I had to bring up my two daughters. Initially, I opened a vegetable stall, but around 70 years ago, I started this flower shop outside the temple. And with the blessings of Lord Ganpati, it picked up and helped me raise my daughters,” says the centenarian.

While her daughters passed away a few years ago, she stays with her granddaughter, her husband and great grandchildren.

Even at this age, Nalavade follows a strict routine. Perhaps that’s the reason that her eyesight as well as hearing ability is still intact. Every day, she wakes up at 4 am and by 6.30, she is at the temple. Till 7 in the evening, she looks after the stall, selling various items. Every day, she makes nearly 50 garlands.

Anil Kadam, her grandson-in-law, says Nalavade eats just once a day, at night. Ask her what she prefers and she responds, “Varan-bhaat (dal-rice), chapati and bhaji.”

Suddenly she takes a break from the conversation to attend a customer. “Kai pahije (what do you want)”, she asks him and then promptly picks up the item and hands it to him.

Without Kadam’s assistance, she counts the money and returns the exact remaining amount to the customer.

Kadam says, “She hardly takes rest. When she is at the stall, she is alert the entire day. When she is home too, she sleeps only for two to three hours. She has no complaint of blood pressure or diabetes, diseases that grip people during old age.”