Pune, June 20: Serving elderly family members after a certain age is not merely service but a sacred duty. Similarly, ‘Kaushik Ashram’ is a centre dedicated to the dutiful and affectionate care of senior pracharaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said Bhayyaji Joshi, member of the RSS Central Executive Committee.
Bhayyaji Joshi was speaking at the ‘Kritagyata Satkar’ programme organised on the occasion of the reconstruction of ‘Kaushik Ashram’ located in Pune’s Mitramandal Society.
Prof. Nanasaheb Jadhav, Sanghchalak of Western Maharashtra Province, and Divakar Pandey, Trustee of the institution, were present as chief guests. Contributors who played a key role in the reconstruction were felicitated during the event.
Bhayyaji Joshi emphasised that ‘Kaushik Ashram’ is neither merely a rest home nor a conventional service centre. “True satisfaction lies in familial affection. The senior workers residing here will experience the same atmosphere of warmth, contentment, and joy that they deserve at this stage of life,” he said.
He added, “This building will not have the look or feel of an office. This is a home. It will provide an environment where one truly feels at home. I assure everyone that this atmosphere of satisfaction and familial bonding will continue here in the future as well.”
A Home of Dignity and Service:
RSS pracharaks dedicate their entire youth and prime years to selfless community service. A poignant answer to where they spend their sunset years can be found in this quaint old bungalow in Pune’s historic Mitramandal Colony which is called the Kaushik Ashram.
Founded in 1984, Kaushik Ashram serves as a retirement home for senior RSS members who have devoted their lives to the ‘sewa’ of the society. Despite its simplicity, it has been the last home of two former Sarsanghchalaks, Balasaheb Deoras, who lived here for nearly four years, and Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiyya).
RSS Pracharaks give their youth for community service. But where do they go when they are in their sunset years?
I found the answer to this question in a quaint old bungalow in Pune’s historic Mitramandal colony named the Kaushik Ashram. Founded in 1984, Kaushik Ashram… pic.twitter.com/NF5uuZM4fS
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) June 29, 2023
Visiting the place before renovation about three years ago, author and public intellectual Shefali Vaidya had posted on X (formerly Twitter) photographs of the modest yet warm home and written, “At present, five senior members reside here, including 82-year-old Mukundrao Gore, who spent decades with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. Other residents, Tatya Jogalekar, Pant Phadake, Suhasrao Hiremath, and Ratnakar Patil, bring nearly 200 years of combined experience in organisation building and social work. Each has a modest room with basic furniture and a simple ceiling fan.”
She had added how even the so-called VIP room where Balasaheb Deoras stayed remained strikingly simple.
“The ashram has welcomed many distinguished visitors, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and LK Advani. It is not a five-star facility or a typical old-age home, but a quiet, contemplative space where the Sangh Parivar lovingly cares for its elders,” the post reads.
On July 1, 2024, the bhoomipujan ceremony for the reconstruction renovation was held as the need to house more senior (above the age of 75 years) unmarried members who had retired from serving the society through RSS and had left home and family for the same several years or decades ago, Bhaiyyaji Joshi had said then. Architect Palash Deolankar had worked on the renovation design of the structure.
Returning to Saturday’s programme at the Kaushik Ashram, Dr. Jagdish Karmalkar expressed his thoughts, while Nagesh Patil compered the event. The programme began with the worship of Bharat Mata performed by Bhayyaji Joshi and Prof. Nanasaheb Jadhav.
A Centre Conveying the Message of Friendship
Prior to the main function, Bhayyaji Joshi interacted with office-bearers of Mitramandal Society. Expressing happiness that the ashram is part of their society, Joshi noted that ‘Kaushik Ashram’ is a centre that continuously conveys the eternal message of friendship (Maitri) and will keep doing so.
