Tara Mahurkar – A published author at 70

Jules Renard said “It`s not how old you are, it`s how you are old.” Senior author Tara Mahurkar seems to epitomise this saying.

Tara Mahurkar, 70, mother of three and grandmother of two, suffers from Parkinsons’ Disease and other age related ailments. She finds writing tiresome on not so good days but that has not shaken her writers’ spirit. Today she has one book published in her name and another two in the works. Her first book ‘Valun Pahatana, Nakalat’ in Marathi, literally translated ‘An Inadvertent Glance Behind’ is a collection of articles written over last four decades that narrate her life’s journey. The other two books are a collection of her travelogues and poems respectively. 

Tara’s tryst with writing began when she was young. Life and its experiences were her inspiration and so was her husband whose feedback egged her on to write better. He would help her send them to newspapers for publishing. Some of her articles got published in Marathi dailies Tarun Bharat, Lokmat, Sakaal and Saamna. Also, an article was broadcast on Akaashvani Aurangabad- Parbhani radio station along with a story.

Tara’s journey began when she was born in Marathwada in a well-to-do family, complete with servants and maids. In a family of eleven with five sisters and three brothers, Tara Mahajan had a lot of company to keep. Her father was a school inspector and laid a lot of importance on education. He not only ensured that his kids were well educated, he even sponsored education of other worthy children. The house was always bubbling with close and distant relatives, resulting in Tara’s heightened social skills. She describes talking to people, visiting neighbors and relaying messages to them as some of the interesting things she did. She was the favorite one in the house as she could never lay idle and was always helping around the house with chores, shopping for groceries, cooking, babysitting, etc. She loved participating in co-curricular activities like rangoli making, drawing and singing and was also fond of stitching and embroidery.

She lost her father to a heart attack when she was in the sixth standard. But her education went on undeterred and she continued to complete her schooling while living with her elder brother. However this made her independent and she learned to travel alone soon. She also learned to do all her work herself and strived to stay updated. This is when her love for writing bloomed. She started penning down her experiences in essays and poems.

She moved back with her mother once she completed standard XII. She started working in order to support her mother and younger siblings. She learned typing and also cleared Hindi (Bhushan) examination. For better opportunities, Tara soon moved to her sister’s place in Aurangabad and found a job with the Zilla Parishad. But she did not give up her studies and continued to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Arts while working.

A new chapter in her life began when Tara married Prabhakar Mahurkar in 1965. Tara and Prabhakar came from similar backgrounds as he too had learnt to be responsible early on, having lost his mother at the tender age of four. Eldest of four brothers, Prabhakar was a responsible and mature man. The couple believed in maintaining their financial independence and always lived a debt free life. Given their limited means both worked to make ends meet. Tara recollects how her husband had taken a three month advance and handed over to his father to meet their wedding expenses. After their holiday was over they ran out of money and had to borrow Rs. 100 from her father-in-law to buy tickets back home. She found Rs 35 in her purse that took them through the month. “Those were the days,” she quips, “Today Rs. 5000 is also not enough to meet one’s monthly expenses”. Tara completed her graduation and took a Master’s degree in Hindi post her marriage and worked as a teacher in a local school.

They raised their two sons and daughter well and all three are successful and well settled in their lives.

After the demise of her husband about ten years ago, Tara continued to write and it was then that her sons Deepak and Anand came up with the idea of publishing her work in a book. Prachi and Sangeeta, her daughters-in-law helped her with corrections and re-readings and her son Deepak and grand-daughter Pradnya helped her with the computer. Soon began her travails with the publishers. The book was published by Nandini Prakashan. While Tara Mahurkar had to wait for her book to see the light of the day, today she is satisfied with her accomplishments. She thanks her family and friends for their support and continuous encouragement.

“I am really satisfied with whatever I have written so far. But I know this is not the end, I am a self-motivated writer and I am going to continue writing until time permits me to. Writing makes my life better and I will strive to keep on going”, she says signing off.

Tara Mahurkar has now started working on a novel and we hope that we will soon share the news of her stardom yet again.