Our surname, Shivde, is certainly uncommon to most Maharashtrians. People in my city, Pune, call us Shinde at times because that's what they easily expect.
Our family background lies in Nashik, a moderately sized city in Maharashtra. My grandfathers and forefathers grew up there.
As we go about with our routine lives aka, my parents work at the hospital, I attend college, we get an odd ball quite often. In my case, I usually got two. A few people would ask (in an attempt to be highly modest) me who Dr. Shivde is to me and I would tell them he is my father. However, the odd ball confused me all the time.
However, we have often been asked by friends, acquaintances and common people we bump into, this very peculiar one question. "How is Advocate Shivde related to you?"
Take me back to 2009 and I really wouldn't know how to answer that question. I was just 12 then and I didn't know a lot about a lot of people that I know today, and this is but obvious.
Back then, I would humbly tell people that I had no idea who he has. My parents, who were asked the same question, would tell people we weren't related. We had never seen this man, who apparently everyone had heard off.
In 2013, we found a couple of close friends who knew Mr. Advocate Shivde and that is when I found out about him thanks to Google the great. It took me 15 seconds to realize, Mr. Advocate Shivde was a famous and reputed lawyer committed to the defense of a lot of big names and celebrities in India. However, thanks to family friends, the impression was he was an elderly main in his 60s maybe (as of 2013).
After literally being asked "WHO IS ADV.SHIVDE?", "IS HE YOUR UNCLE?" for over 200 times , I began answering that he is my grandfather. I had never met him. Never wondered how old he actually could be, but yes, that was my answer.
Until, 31st July 2016, when both of our families bumped into each other at a party. It was purely coincidental. My mother was asked the same question, "Is Advocate Shivde related to you? He is here tonight too."
My mother was curious too. The kind doctor who asked her that question happened to know the advocate's wife and introduced my mother to her. Mrs. Advocate Shivde was accompanied by her daughter Miss Shivde and that is how my mother Dr. Mrs. Shivde came to meet the set of Shivdes we were always asked about every now and then.
It was then, that we found out they were Shivdes who spelled their surname as Shivade. The two names are pronounced and written the same in Devnagari script. Shortly, my father was introduced to the two Shivades and soon, the advocate walked in too.
I was watching this scene from a distance and was surprised at the calm yet happy look on all their faces. It turned out that they were plagued by similar questions too. Mrs. Shivade told us she had answered easily over a 100 calls asking for Dr. Shivde's clinic and appointment times. I knew my father had made a name with his expertise and patient care. Except, I didn't expect them to have heard about us. My mother was pleased to hear that.
Mr. Shivade, seemed to be a man aged near my father and nowhere near a grandfather. And we shook hands too. A couple of other guests I knew at the party were my college principals at Fergusson College. Our principal again thought I was related to the advocate and began giving me a reference about their cousins who were related.
I introduced him to Mr. Shivde and Mr. Shivade.
In the end, the two Shivdes, oops, Shivdes and Shivades casually spoke about a cup of coffee sometime, to mark a new beginning to a probably new friendship.
A decade long darkness finally came to an end.
Our family background lies in Nashik, a moderately sized city in Maharashtra. My grandfathers and forefathers grew up there.
As we go about with our routine lives aka, my parents work at the hospital, I attend college, we get an odd ball quite often. In my case, I usually got two. A few people would ask (in an attempt to be highly modest) me who Dr. Shivde is to me and I would tell them he is my father. However, the odd ball confused me all the time.
However, we have often been asked by friends, acquaintances and common people we bump into, this very peculiar one question. "How is Advocate Shivde related to you?"
Take me back to 2009 and I really wouldn't know how to answer that question. I was just 12 then and I didn't know a lot about a lot of people that I know today, and this is but obvious.
Back then, I would humbly tell people that I had no idea who he has. My parents, who were asked the same question, would tell people we weren't related. We had never seen this man, who apparently everyone had heard off.
In 2013, we found a couple of close friends who knew Mr. Advocate Shivde and that is when I found out about him thanks to Google the great. It took me 15 seconds to realize, Mr. Advocate Shivde was a famous and reputed lawyer committed to the defense of a lot of big names and celebrities in India. However, thanks to family friends, the impression was he was an elderly main in his 60s maybe (as of 2013).
After literally being asked "WHO IS ADV.SHIVDE?", "IS HE YOUR UNCLE?" for over 200 times , I began answering that he is my grandfather. I had never met him. Never wondered how old he actually could be, but yes, that was my answer.
Until, 31st July 2016, when both of our families bumped into each other at a party. It was purely coincidental. My mother was asked the same question, "Is Advocate Shivde related to you? He is here tonight too."
My mother was curious too. The kind doctor who asked her that question happened to know the advocate's wife and introduced my mother to her. Mrs. Advocate Shivde was accompanied by her daughter Miss Shivde and that is how my mother Dr. Mrs. Shivde came to meet the set of Shivdes we were always asked about every now and then.
It was then, that we found out they were Shivdes who spelled their surname as Shivade. The two names are pronounced and written the same in Devnagari script. Shortly, my father was introduced to the two Shivades and soon, the advocate walked in too.
I was watching this scene from a distance and was surprised at the calm yet happy look on all their faces. It turned out that they were plagued by similar questions too. Mrs. Shivade told us she had answered easily over a 100 calls asking for Dr. Shivde's clinic and appointment times. I knew my father had made a name with his expertise and patient care. Except, I didn't expect them to have heard about us. My mother was pleased to hear that.
Mr. Shivade, seemed to be a man aged near my father and nowhere near a grandfather. And we shook hands too. A couple of other guests I knew at the party were my college principals at Fergusson College. Our principal again thought I was related to the advocate and began giving me a reference about their cousins who were related.
I introduced him to Mr. Shivde and Mr. Shivade.
In the end, the two Shivdes, oops, Shivdes and Shivades casually spoke about a cup of coffee sometime, to mark a new beginning to a probably new friendship.
A decade long darkness finally came to an end.
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