My dear svajana, I wish I could be with you to celebrate the publication of the English translation of Tatyasahebancha Alpaparichaya and

express my gratitude to Bhagavan Dattaguru both, for providing me with this opportunity and helping me accomplish this work. On this auspicious occasion, I would like to share a couple of thoughts about this book with you. I did not read this book when Ajoba was around, so that I never really got a chance to ask him about what inspired him to write it. From the preface of the text, it becomes clear that the inspiration arose naturally but the text itself remains a struggle both to comprehend the greatness of a man and to convey it persuasively to others. Over the decades that have passed since the book was first published and the radical transformation that Indian society has undergone in this period, this struggle has only become more difficult. Therefore, I would like to briefly mention two points which in my view form the inspiration which undergirds this book. Firstly, for the current generation to properly appreciate the greatness of Tatyasaheb, it is necessary to understand the concept of kula. In the traditional Hindu society, a kula often marked the boundary of a persons world. Sanskrit texts are filled with subhitas praying for a son who will bring prosperity and fame to the kula. When daughters were married, the kula of the prospective groom was the first thing to be checked. Men persevered to follow the dharma of the kula and women as kula-strs took precaution not to transgress the kula-maryda. To be kulin was a badge of nobility and honor, that was jealously guarded and zealously pursued. A kula may remain successful over some generations and then waste away or fall victim to some calamity. Subsequently, a kula-purua may appear who again uplifts the kula and restores its former prestige. Tatyasaheb was such a kula-purua. The kula of Bhau Naik and his brother was struck down by the cruel hand of time but though orphaned and dispossessed their aunt kept alive in them the memory of the heady days of the family. That lost greatness was recovered and made real once again through the tireless efforts and ambition of Tatyasaheb. If in Tatyasaheb we can see a kula-purua who enabled the kula to become successful in the modern world, then his brother Nana, represents a complementary kula-purua who sacrificed his career to maintain the ancestral home and preserve the traditions of the kula. These are truly great achievements but what makes it hard for current generations to appreciate their greatness is that the concept of kula finds no place in modern life. Discourses on modernity are primarily concerned with the individual, the state and religion. The obligation of attending to the welfare of the kula is rapidly fading in value and may appear as too narrow and selfish, on the one hand, and too irksome, on the other. Yet it embodies an important principle, that the substantial good one accomplishes even for ones own community using the right means is superior to the grand and abstract visions articulated for the upliftment of millions but which fail to deliver in reality. The other point that is highlighted in the text as an expression of Tatyasahebs greatness was his personal spiritual development. It underscores the maxim that great people do not do extraordinary things but they do ordinary things extra-ordinarily well. Spirituality in

Tatyasahebs context does not mean religious austerities or ascetic practices, let alone mechanistic rituals, but an espousal of the immortal philosophy of karmayoga. He remained untouched by his own success, upheld the dignity of labour, showed respect to the high and the low, favoured his own and others, and led a disciplined life in accordance with his own convictions irrespective of the conventions of the day. These are some of the values Tatyasaheb manifested, for which, it appears to me, Ajoba held him in high esteem and it is to express them, so as to serve as a model example for all, that he has written this book. Hope you all enjoy it.