A Diamond is Forever

Hira Sangappa Kasbe, a bright-eyed, beautiful girl who had often gone hungry, arrived at a hostel in Solapur to study. She had no idea then that the words, “A for Ambedkar,” would become so crucial to her life. At that age, the significance of things is rarely clear. But two people would transform her from within.

Her father’s anti-authoritarian spirit had already taken root in her. Sangappa Chandrappa Kasbe was nothing if not a rebel. My mother’s intense self-awareness emerged from the bitter experience of deprivation; it was there, perhaps, that she first learned to recognize injustice. The other defining influence on her life was her husband, my father, who encouraged her to read, write and engage with the world of ideas.

Looking back on her 80-year journey, I see that her determination to raise her voice against inequality and exploitation was fundamental to her nature. Ample evidence of this rebellious spirit can be found in her landmark autobiography, “Saangaaychi Gosht Mhanje” (“Something to Tell You”), a phrase often used in conversation to initiate a discussion or introduce a new subject.

Despite being the wife of the famous poet and writer Padmashri Daya Pawar, she felt the need to…