Serving others brought her joy

SHE PUT the smile back on the faces of destitute women, she wiped the tears from the eyes of orphans, and in the process, she fired the enthusiasm of scores of persons who had the means and the time to follow in her footsteps. Such was the contribution of Mary Clubwalla Jadhav, the First Lady of social work of Chennai.

Mary was born in Wellington on June 10, 1908, to Rustom and Alamai Patel, whose ancestors migrated from Persia to India. One of the Sires from the paternal side of the family was one of the first residents of the Island of Bombay, given in dowry to the British for Catherina of Braganza, the Portuguese princess.

In Mary's genes, the instinct and insatiable craving to be of service to humanity was probably in-built. Educated at the Nazareth Convent in the Nilgiris, she was, in her early years, schooled in ethical principles and the values of putting service before self.

Playing the piano was Mary's forte, and in the handsome Nogi Phiroj Clubwalla who played the violin, she found a perfect mate. The friendship blossomed into matrimony in 1926. Nogi was immersed in charitable works, and his young bride kept in step. But misfortune struck suddenly.

On a family holiday in Naples in 1935, Nogi passed away in the very prime of his life. The tragic blow made Mary withdraw deep into her shell, all her attention now on her son, Phil, and her mother-in-law, Shirinmai.

Meanwhile, India became an important corridor for troop movements. American and British troops were being mobilised in the eastern theatre of war, with Japan making inroads into China, Korea and finally into Burma. Besides the Red Cross, there was no other agency which could comfort and understand the soldiers.

It was Col. Contractor, Inspector General of Prisons, a friend of the Clubwalla family who persuaded Shirinmai into permitting Mary to take up social work in order to overcome her grief. So Mary's first assignment was to collect magazines from friends and distribute them among the prisoners. The joy that she brought to their faces encouraged her to take up welfare work for Indian troops.

She soon organised the Indian Hospitality Committee and roped in men and women to undertake visits to the military hospitals and set up mobile centres, organising intermittent receptions for Indian troops.

In 1946, the Second World War was over, but social work now had to focus on rehabilitating the returning army personnel, training and settling them in useful work.

In recognition of her services, the British Army presented her with a 'Samurai Sword', and General Cariappa presented her with a 'Kukri'. Her work with the soldiers earned her the label, 'The Darling of the Army'.

At the dawn of the country's Independence, Mary Clubwalla realised the enormity of work that needed to be done to rehabilitate victims of the country's bifurcation.

By now, Mary was a member of innumerable social associations - YWCA, Indian Red Cross, Guild of Service, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Indian Council for Social Welfare, Women's Indian Association and many more.

She organised mobile and stationary canteens, started the Seva Samajam Boys' and Girls' Homes, the Bala Vihar, the Juvenile Bureau in Egmore, and several other homes. The Madras School of Social Work was her brain-child and despite opposition and several obstacles, she literally bulldozed the Government into giving permission to start the MSSW, and secured recognition for it from international institutions.

She had the foresight to recognise the need for providing trained personnel to carry on social welfare work in the country.

She built up a team of enthusiastic and dedicated persons to manage the affairs of the School which was hailed as one of the premier social work institutions in India.

Mary Clubwalla was a member of nearly 150 organisations, but her all-time favourite was the Guild of Service which she served with love, selflessness and dedication throughout her life. Her contacts in the Government and the elite in society, along with her conviction in the cause, for which she worked untiringly, her fetish for efficiency and perfection, all these made her a most sought after person on the committees of several organisations. She loved people and her charismatic personality drew an eclectic lot towards her.

Mary was a devout Zoroastrian, but her concern encompassed the 'needy of the world,' never discriminating on grounds of community, religion or country.

Honours and accolades came her way but these she took in her stride. Mary Clubwalla Jadhav was the recipient of the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, the O.B.E., the Coronation Medal, and the Kaiser-e-Hind Medal. She had been honoured by the International Council of Social Welfare with the first Outstanding Service Award at The Hague. She was the president of the International Council of Social Welfare, India, and vice-president of the International Alliance of Hospital Volunteers and International Council of Women.

She had many firsts to her credit. She was appointed the first International Commissioner for Guides in India, the first woman Sheriff of Madras, the first Indian Hon. Secretary of the Guild of Service Central.

She was a Justice of Peace, and Hon. Magistrate for the Court of Delinquents. She started the Women's Luncheon Club, which provided an opportunity for women to listen to excellent speakers.

When Mary Clubwalla began organising the now famous 'International Evenings', they became an important date in the social calendar of Madras.

Along the way, Mary met and married Major C. K. Jadhav in 1952. He belonged to the 14th Army that had experienced 'defeat turned into sudden victory' under General Auckinleck in the Eastern Theatre of War.

Major Jadhav proved to be her loyal supporter and was proud of her achievements. But happiness in Mary's personal life seemed to be brief. In 1972, Jadhav died of a heart-attack, and within 18 months,

Mary lost her son Phil. She was nursing a large sarcoma on her thigh, but all this did not deter her from helping the less fortunate members of society. The final moments of her life were brave when she submitted to having her leg amputated, but the disease left her shattered and defenceless and finally overshadowed her indomitable spirit on February 6, 1975.

PERVIZ BHOTE

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Repository of knowledge
Next     : Cure for a cause