Taste of Life: Gandhian who used charity rituals to feed kids, ignite patriotism
Lakshmibai Thuse mobilised ‘Vanarsena’ and ‘Manjarsena’ along with women to participate in social and political activities in the 1930s
Pune: Religious practices structure the lives of communities and groups. Rituals involving food construct and maintain our relationships in the world. The pervasive human drive to forge significant connections in life could be achieved through food rituals.
On August 2, 1938, representatives of the “Apanga Sevashram”, an organisation that sheltered the disabled at Ujjain, visited Poona and approached the wealthy with a request to donate money to their organisation. They also invited men and women from different walks of life for a meeting at the residence of one Ramchandra Vinayak Gokhale at Sadashiv Peth. The Marathi newspaper “Dnyanaprakash” reported that Yashwant Krushna Khoche, the secretary of the organisation, had appealed to people to donate money they would otherwise spend for rituals in “Chaturmas”.
Poona of the late 1930s witnessed an annual gathering of representatives of “public welfare organisations” as they were called then during “Chaturmas”, the holy period of four months, coinciding with the monsoon. They would urge people to donate since they knew that the religious rituals involved charity too. Members of the Jain community would often lead the list of donors. Some families organised feasts for inmates of homes for the old and the ill. Lakshmibai Apte from Hubli organised feasts every year for the inmates of the “Pune Anath Pangu Gruha” in memory of her late husband in “Shravan”. “Shira”, rice, dal, and motichur laddoo were served.
However, a resilient and determined woman became synonymous with charity during “Chaturmas” in Maharashtra in the 1930s. Along with other socio-political activities, she worked tirelessly to secure funds and food for children participating in the freedom struggle. Her name was Lakshmibai Thuse and the children were part of a non-political organisation called “Vanarsena”, the monkey brigade.
Not much is known about Thuse’s personal life. Born and brought up in Khopoli, she worked in Poona as a midwife. Deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy, she joined the Congress in the early 1920s. She participated in the Home Rule League Movement and contributed actively to the “Swarajya Fund”. She was a member of the Provincial Harijan Sevak Sangh. She regularly visited the so-called “harijan bastis” and attended to the ailing women and children. She was known to seek donations from wealthy Congress leaders to buy milk, ghee, and dry fruits for pregnant women and toddlers. In 1937, she became a member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
While all those involved in the Civil Disobedience Movement and subsequent protests were aware of the importance of the “Vanarsena”, Thuse formed a special bond with the organisation. “Vanarsena” was founded by Indira Gandhi in 1930 to help the Congress party during the Civil Disobedience Movement. It had around fifty thousand members all over India in 1935 who made flags, conveyed messages, and participated in processions and protests. Children below fifteen years of age were members of the group. In some cities, “Manjarsena” was formed as a group of girls.
In Poona, Thuse mobilised “Vanarsena” and “Manjarsena” along with women to participate in social and political activities like picketing, demonstrations, and morning marches. These processions were led by her and other women, followed by young college students, “Vanarsena”, “Manjarsena”, and men. The boys wore khaki shirts and trousers. Girls wore khadi sarees or frocks. They flaunted Gandhi caps and waved the national flag.
In November 1930, the “Vanarsena” staged a fast unto death in Ahmedabad to stop the sale of foreign clothes and the shopkeepers finally relented. “Vanarsena” members in Poona, inspired by their counterparts in Ahmedabad, staged a similar fast under the supervision of Thuse and shopkeepers agreed to their demands at the end of the day. Thuse served them sherbet and “pithala–bhat” she had cooked after their mission was successful.
“Shravan” was the month of abstinence. “Vanarsena” would stand outside shops selling liquor and raise slogans. Men would be embarrassed to enter the shops after seeing schoolchildren urging them to stay away from alcohol.
Boys and girls would often be hungry after picketing, protests, and processions. Thuse was moved by this and decided to take the lead to feed the army of child volunteers. She started by carrying laddoos for them. However, it was beyond her limited means to feed all the children. Hence, she appealed for charity and cleverly associated it with “Chaturmas”.
She initially urged Congress leaders and supporters to invite the members of “Vanarsena” and “manjarsena” for a feast of laddoos before and after “Chaturmas”. Various families organised a special ritual called “Chaturmas yaag” every year in “Shravan”. The “yadnya” would be followed by a grand feast where the city’s who’s who participated. She started inviting herself with the children for such feasts. Nobody dared refuse her and more than a hundred child volunteers at such occasions.
It was customary for Brahmin households to invite married women and pre-pubescent girls for lunch on Fridays in “Shravan”. Why not invite a member of “Vanarsena” or “Marjarsena” too, Thuse asked them. Several families obliged.
In 1935, she established the “Stree Sevika Sangh” to bring together women who supported the Gandhian principles. Funds were collected from the public, especially during “Chaturmas”. Some families followed the custom of making “churma laddoos” (a popular sweet made from coarse wheat flour, sugar, and ghee) in “Shravan”. They were meant to be consumed on Monday nights or Tuesday mornings. Volunteers from the “Stree Sevika Sangh” would go from door to door requesting laddoos for children.
Thuse knew that not all volunteers came from well-to-do households. Many had come to Poona to study and live with relatives. Being a trained midwife, she understood the importance of nutrition and she ensured that children did not go hungry.
In Poona Cantonment, members of “Vanarsena” would take out a procession every morning in the first week of August. August 1 was Lokamanya Tilak’s death anniversary while some groups observed August 5 as Gandhi Day. Throughout the week, the “Vanarsena” would sing patriotic songs and discourage people from drinking alcohol and using foreign goods. They would gather again in the evenings where senior Congress leaders would address them. After the speeches were over, they were given milk and fruits. “Dnyanaprakash” mentioned on August 7, 1930, that leaders and the common public were so impressed by the dedication and passion of the children that Chanduram Dalsukhram, the secretary of “Satyagraha Mandal”, appealed to some influential citizens to donate wholeheartedly towards the expenses for food for the young freedom fighters.
The marriage of religion and charity was not a novelty. However, asking for religious charity for political purposes was an ingenious idea because charity associated with religion was always attractive for the supposed divine benefits it offered. People otherwise had no money for charity in those days.
Continuation of social practices and movements often requires the mobilisation of a large number of individuals. By associating food and charity in “chaturmas”, and especially “Shravan”, with the freedom struggle and “Vanarsena”, Thuse created a wide base of citizens who associated themselves with the national cause.
Her request for charity also helped reinforce a sense of national identity in the society. It ensured a broad participation of citizens of Poona in the freedom struggle. Even those opposed to the ideology of Gandhiji and the Congress wholeheartedly contributed to providing snacks to the “Vanarsena”. After all, feeding children, that too during the “Chaturmas” and “Shravan”, was sure to fetch virtue, they believed.
Gandhiji knew that social and religious practices were closely linked to a community’s worldview. Thuse implemented this in her engagement with “Vanarsena” and “Manjarsena”. Her contribution, and that of the children and those who fed them, to the freedom struggle should not be forgotten.
Chinmay Damle is a research scientist and food enthusiast. He writes here on Pune’s food culture. He can be contacted at chinmay.damle@gmail.com
