Page 31 - Seniors Today Febuary 2020
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was more inclined towards painting than singing.
Stubborn Lalitha came home one day after her
music class and kept her foot down saying, “No
More Music, Art is all I want to do.”
The family moved to Matunga in Mumbai (then
Bombay). On most days Lalitha had a tough time
agreeing with her mother on most things. But she
was close to her grandmother. Soon a family friend
found a suitor from the same community for her
– a handsome seafarer for the beautiful Lalitha.
The marriage was arranged and she moved to
Colaba. Life as a painter after marriage became
a little difficult as Lalitha’s in-laws disregarded Lalitha and Gopi had a happy life together
her talent. She would often wait for them to leave Although Lalitha never liked the idea of being
to get back to her brushes. Once Lalitha bought trained as an artist in an institute, she nevertheless
home a canvas for herself with the money she decided to take up an art course. Meanwhile,
was supposed to buy groceries with, and all hell Kalpana was conceived. Initially Lalitha was shy
broke loose. Life was a struggle but Lalitha looked about her pregnancy as she was the only married
forward to what was coming her way. girl in class. There were girls in her college who
were pursuing all sorts of programmes while she
Raised with love was a housewife. That pinched her somewhere,
“When Kalpana was born I was looking forward but Lalitha was very fond of children. When
to motherhood.” Kalpana was born Lalitha and Gopi, her husband,
were thrilled to have a baby girl although the in-
laws were disappointed because they were hoping
for a grandson. Kalpana was raised with a lot of
love, a lot of attention and she was the only child
for some time. Lalitha and Gopi gave her the best
in their own way.
Coming from traditional families, for Lalitha
and her husband everything was decided by their
parents. However, when they became parents
themselves, they believed in letting their children
pursue their heart’s desire. Kalpana and Devdas
were both brilliant in their own way and were
clear about what they wanted to pursue from an
early age. For Devdas it was shipping, probably
inspired by his father’s career, while for Kalpana it
was cinema.
Ambitious mother
“I wanted Kalpana to really do well in her career,”
Lalitha reminisces. When Kalpana was in fourth
grade, one of her teachers spotted her talent in
dramatics and gave her a chance to play the lead
in a play. She was brilliant in her studies and kept
participating in school dramatics and elocution
Kalpana & Lalitha with a French artist till she went to college. After schooling she went
31 SENIORS TODAY | Issue #8 | February 15, 2020
