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Rama Khandwala

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Rama Satyendra Khandwala[1] (née Mehta, 3 December 1926 – 28 October 2021) was India's oldest tour guide and was the oldest living member of the Rani of Jhansi Regiment,[2] formed by Subhas Chandra Bose during India's freedom movement.[3]

Early life

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Khandwala was born on 3 December 1926[4] to an affluent family in Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar) as the fifth of seven siblings. Her grandfather was a doctor and a lawyer.[5] Her mother, Lilavati Chhaganlal Mehta, was the recruiting officer at the Rani of Jhansi Regiment and a part of the Indian Independence League. At the age of 17, Khandwala and her sister Neelam joined the Regiment as sepoys after hearing Bose's speech in Rangoon.[3][6] She attended a private school where the popular refrain was "Britain shall always rule the waves".[5]

Career

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Joining as a Sepoy, Khandwala soon became the Second Lieutenant at the Regiment and led 30 Ranis for two years in Rangoon. Speaking about her experience with Conde Nast Traveller, she said:[7]

My years in the INA were the most precious ones. The training was tough. I was promoted to be a Second Lieutenant and led 30 Ranis. That training still keeps me going. They aren’t going to make any freedom fighter-tour guides anymore, are they?

As a part of the Regiment, she was trained to be a soldier and a nurse. Military training included rifle and bayonet practice, handling machine guns and STEN guns, and defense and attack maneuvers. Medical training included working in general wards and operating rooms.[8]

In 1944, she worked as a nurse in a hospital located in Maymyo (now, Pyin Oo Lwin) and almost died in an air raid.[7][5] After World War II, she and her family were put under house-arrest for six months and later moved to Bombay (now, Mumbai) in 1946. In the initial year, she worked as a secretary in a trading firm, nurse, and a Japanese language translator but she was not very keen on desk jobs.[9] Later, she spotted an advertisement for becoming trained tourist guides and decided to pursue it. She had learned Japanese during their occupation of Burma between 1942 and 1945. She worked as a translator for documentaries created by Japanese television channels, and corporates.[7] During her stint as an interpreter for a Japanese documentary, she met the Dalai Lama and accompanied the King of Bhutan on a hike to Elephanta's Buddhist caves as a guide.[10]

Khandwala served as a tour guide for over 50 years, remaining active into her later years, and was particularly popular with Japanese tourists visiting India.[3][9] In 2019, she became a TEDx speaker.[11]

Personal life

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Khandwala married in Bombay in 1949. Her husband died in 1982, and she had one daughter.[7][5]

She died in Mumbai on 28 October 2021, at the age of 94.[12]

Recognition

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In 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind felicitated Khandwala with the Best Tourist Guide Award at the National Tourism Awards.[3][13] On India's 72nd Independence Day, Khandwala inaugurated and was the chief guest at the Indian Film Festival organised by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.[10]

A documentary film about her wartime experiences, entitled "Elephants do Remember," was released in 2019.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "How 89-Year-Old Rama Ben Went from Being a Veteran Soldier to a Veteran Tour Guide". The Better India. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Press Information Bureau". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "This woman was once a part of Netaji's army; now she is India's oldest tour guide". India Today. Ist. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  4. ^ India’s Oldest Tour Guide, This 94-YO Mumbai Woman Fought Alongside Netaji in INA
  5. ^ a b c d "Rama Khandwala, 91-YO Woman INA Veteran From Mumbai, Is The Best Tourist Guide In India". indiatimes.com. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  6. ^ Sharma, Manimugdha S. (22 January 2017). "For these Ranis, Netaji was like King Elvis". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "This 91-year-old freedom fighter is India's oldest tour guide". Condé Nast Traveller India. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Give me blood, and I will give you freedom". www.khabar.com. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b Binayak, Poonam (5 March 2018). "Meet 91-Year-Old Rama Khandwala, India's Oldest Tour Guide". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Film festival to be held on theme of "Freedom Struggle and Freedom Fighters"". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Meet India's Oldest Tour Guide & Former Freedom Fighter, Rama Khandwala". homegrown.co.in. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  12. ^ Rama Satyendra Khandwala obituary
  13. ^ "For 91-year-old tour guide Rama, age is just a number". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 28 September 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  14. ^ Pandya, Sonal. "Elephants Do Remember review: 93-year-old freedom fighter Rama Khandwala has lost none of her spark". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
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