The future wife of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

The future wife of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi
My grandmother Vatsala Joshi (extreme right) with her grandmother, parents and siblings. Pune, Maharashtra.Circa 1937

My grandmother Vatsala Joshi (extreme right) with her grandmother, parents and siblings. Pune, Maharashtra.Circa 1937 Image and Narrative contributed by Yashoda Joshi, Mumbai My Grandmother Vatsala Bhimsen Joshi (nee Mudholkar) was a very beautiful person. She was born in 1928 and was the fifth child of the family. She had 3 elder sisters, an older brother, four younger sisters and 2 younger brothers. She was a great singer as well, and appreciated and encouraged lot of young musicians. She inculcated the love of music and life in all her children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters and nephews/nieces. A very enthusiastic and strong woman she loved travelling. Collecting and wearing beautiful sarees was her passion. She was married to Padmashree awarded, Indian Classical Vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and had three children. This photograph of the Mudholkar Family is taken in Pune with her parents Shrikrishna and Saraswati, grandmother Laksmi and brothers and sisters. Two of her younger sisters were not born yet.

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The first known girl rock band of India

The first known girl rock band of India
My mother Anupa Nathaniel (right) with her closest friend Shalini Gupta, Delhi, Circa 1962

My mother Anupa Nathaniel (right) with her closest friend Shalini Gupta, Delhi, Circa 1962 Image and Narrative contributed by Late. Anisha Jacob Sachdev, New Delhi. This picture with my mother Anupa Jacob (nee Nathaniel) and her closest friend Shalini was taken when they were in school at Convent of Jesus & Mary in Delhi. They would have been around 15 years old. My mother was a Rajasthani, from the small town of Nasirabad near Ajmer. Her father was orphaned when a plague hit the village, he and many others were then adopted by the British. Everyone adopted was converted to Christianity and given the last name 'Nathaniel'. From Nathu Singh, my grandfather became Fazal Masih Nathaniel. He went on to become the Head of the English Language Department at Mayo College, Ajmer. My mother married my father Philip Jacob, in 1968. He is a Syrian Christian  - whom she met while she was studying at school around the age of 15, he was studying at St. Columba's School. One of the most interesting parts of my mother's life was that Shalini, some other friends and she, formed the first ever Delhi University's Girl Rock Band called "Mad Hatter" in their 1st year of college at Miranda House. My mother was the lead guitarist and singer. My mom also got to meet some members of the Beatles through some family. They played Holi with them, and then later she attended a private singing session with the Beatles hosted by her family at their home in Delhi, in 1968. My mother had four kids. She was also a piano teacher, and her youngest child and my youngest sister Arunima is autistic…

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