Colony is Siddharth Pardheye's expression of gratitude to all those who helped this watchmen's son including Sachin Tendulkar Colony Author: Siddharth Pardheye Publisher: Laxman Babaji Pardheye Charitable Trust Price: Rs 150 Rating: JJJJ

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Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali at the launch of the book held at Sahitya Sahawas</td></tr></tbody></table>THERE ARE people who cry hoarse about their circumstances and live in despair. And there are others who find opportunities to overcome them. Siddharth Pardheye is one of the latter. Having lived most of his life in the slums of Bandra, he battled economic barriers as well as those of his caste to become yet another rags-to-riches story of this city. And as a tribute to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and everyone at Sahitya Sahawas, the colony of well-known writers in Bandra, that moulded him, he has written a Marathi book titled Colony. The book traces the journey of Siddharth and narrates several incidents that keep the reader engaged. He recalls his impoverished childhood with honesty and painfully describes the death of his younger brother at a very young age. His brother and he fell ill at the same time, but since his family could save only one child because of their economic plight, they decided to save Siddharth. Laxman Pardheye, Siddharth's father, came to Mumbai from his village in Aurangabad in search of a job in 1967. Several months later, he started working as a labourer at the under-construction buildings at Sahitya Sahawas. Along with this, he even performed duties of a gardener, plumber and carpenter at the colony. The Pardheyes lived under the slabs of the nine buildings while they were being constructed. Once all the buildings were complete, Laxman was hired as a watchman and Siddharth's mother, Kondabai worked as a maid in the colony, but they had to go back to the slums. They constantly lived in fear of the slums being demolished. Siddharth explains how he even wrote to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, asking her to solve the problem. He adds that he never got a reply and wonders if the letter even reached her. He says he also failed in his SSC because of the slum demolition sword hanging over his head. But he completed his post-graduation with the help of his close friends, including Sachin Tendulkar at Sahitya Sahawas. He stayed on one of the terraces in hiding, stocked it with lots of books and studied. Even when studied and later worked, he unfailingly delivered milk to the colony in the morning. When he went for his first job interview, his employers praised him because he did not use his backward class certificate and preferred earning the job on merit. However, years later, during another interview, he was chided for snatching someone else's job by not using the backward caste reservation. But, it's the manner in which Sidddharth highlights the importance of friendship that strikes an emotional chord with the reader. He not only thanks his friends at Sahitya Sahawas for their emotional and financial support, but also reminisces about the fun with them. One such incident is listening to commentary about Sachin's first Test hundred against England in England atop a water tank on the terrace. The Tendulkars have always been fond of the Pardheyes and their honesty. It is not surprising then that Sachin's father chose Siddharth's brother Ramesh to be Sachin's personal assistant despite hundreds of written applications for the coveted job. Sachin, too, considers them family. His wife and he spent two hours at Ramesh Pardheye's house during a condolence visit after the death of Laxman Pardheye. But the respect is well earned. Siddharth did not allow the filth around him to be his destiny. Instead, he wrote his own destiny. Today, he works as a development officer with the Life Insurance Corporation of India, is the honorary joint secretary of the MIG Cricket Club and owns a house right opposite Sahitya Sahawas. He has even started a charitable trust in the name of his father to help the underprivileged. At the start of his book, Siddharth says he's not a writer and rues the fact that he did not get an opportunity to read much despite being in the company of well-known writers. But with a success story like Siddharth's and the backing of Sahitya Sahawas, Colony did not need a professional writer. The book is straight from the heart and anything from the heart is special.

Colony is Siddharth Pardheye's expression of gratitude to all those who helped this watchmen's son including Sachin Tendulkar

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