Time out

Whenever a Deshpande identifies himself, the natural query to follows is: “From wh-ere?” The name of the original place, generally the village ruled by their fe-udal forefathers as zamindars, is seen as an inalienable part of their nomenclature. I, for instance, hail from a village called Pohna and hence am kn-own as Pohnekar Deshpande.

But what distinguishes Deshpan-des from others is their reputation of being eccentric and intemperate.Ri-ght from my childhood, I have been told by my own tribe as well as the habitual Deshpande-baiters that no tr-ue Deshpande is free from these basic traits. Though elders in my family did conform to th-ese standards to a large extent, I saw it as a mere coincidence. Many, including my father-in-law, have unabashedly told us that they often skipped Des-hpandes in the list of matrimonial proposals for their daughters, having suffered in the past for the folly of marrying a girl from the family to a Deshpande.

Strong emotional link to family lineage is anot-her of their peculiarities. At the slightest provocation, my father, like many an old-time Deshpande, reels out details about his ancestors as well as other prominent Deshpandes. For long, I ridiculed all th-ese boastful claims with taunting retorts. But,only to discover, in course of time, that I was not any the less made in the classical mould of Deshpandes.

Further soul-searching led me to the realisation that, allowing for some exaggeration, theobservations about Deshpandes weren’t unduly wide of the mark. But the plausible explanation for how people with a particular surname could have striking similarities eluded me. Till I had a chance to watch one of the most celebrated Marathi plays, Wada Chire-bandi, by Mahesh Elkunchwar. The gripping, eight-hour trilogy depicts the post-Independence deterioration of joint families and their value-system, unfolding finer aspects of human relationships. The playwright has Dharangaonkar Deshpandes as the representative family. Their inability to cope with the socio-economic decline of their powerful feudal past, leads to their ruin.

The masterly depiction of the theme apart, what impressed me was the way Elkunchwar picked up subtle peculiarities of Deshpandes. I felt as if I were watching the story of my own family. Interestingly, Elkun-chwar himself is a half-Deshpande from his mother’s side and his family jocularly call him a Deshpande amo-ng Elkunchwars.

Bantering criticism apart, the surname generallyevokes a cultured image, thanks to some of Maharashtra’s most famous Des-hpandes. Pu La Deshpande, Mar-athi’s literary icon, is the most po-pular of them all. The great writer is a greater philanthropist, having donated fortunes to various causes. The late Dr Vasantrao Deshpande still remains one of the most popular Naty-asangeet exponents of Maharashtra. Prof Lax-man Deshpande’s one-act play Varhad Nighalay London la holds the Guinness record for most stagings.

The times have changed. New-generation De-shpandes are raring to go. Generally well-educated and well-placed, they are indeed going places. Gururaj’s is a rich’ episode in their larger success story.

No wonder, even a bitter critic finally opts for a Deshpande as the most eligible groom for his daughter!