Fondly remembered and sadly missed, my second Mum and life mentor, Pujya LaxmiMasi. I owe much of my success in life to her wise counsel and teachings.

I have known Bhaskar since his first months in the University of Rochester, N.Y (UofR) He had just started undergraduate degree in Engineering, while I was a graduate student in the Business School. We met in the student cafeteria – he had the look of a new student of Indian origin, so I approached him and we started to talk. What I remember from that conversation of roughly 50 years ago is that he, as a vegetarian, was having a difficult time with meals. Since I happened to know of three students sharing an apartment in the Graduate Living Center (GLC), who used to cook vegetarian meals, I introduced Bhaskar to Chitrangad Bhatnagar, Anil Jain, and Pawanjit Singh, all Ph.D. students, who welcomed him with open arms, and as they say, rest is history. This is how I got introduced to Bhaskar’s mom, Lakshmeeben’s Care parcels from Zambia to Bhasker in Rochester. She was a very kind lady and always included sweets for us. Once she visited Rochester and I met her. She had the aura of a very caring and lovely personality. After all these years, I can still picture her in Apartment 510 of GLC!!
In 1971, my wife, Radha joined me in Rochester and Lakshmeeben sent a Saree for her, such was her kind and affectionate nature! (Radha still has that Saree, as a keepsake!) Lakshmeeben was always solicitous of our welfare, as relayed by Bhasker to us. She sent us condiments and even a mortar and pestle, which I assume, we might have mentioned to Bhaskar, as in those days, the nearest Indian Grocery store was Kalustian, in New York city.
We only spoke once with her on phone when she was already settled in Australia with Smita. We were at Bhaskar’s place and he asked us, whether we wanted to speak to Lakshmeeben. On the phone, we could feel her affections in her voice and her deep caring nature for all connected to her.
Now that she is gone, she reminds us of the adage, “ As we go through life, people come and go, but very few leave footprints on the sands of our mind; Lakshmeeben was such a person.”
In prayers,
Rajan & Radha Gupta

The Late Laxmiben  lived  an EXEMPLARY LIFE  and  left us  behind  TRYING  to  Walk in HER FOOTSTEPS  and also  Remembering  HER  Warm Heart  and  Ever Smiling  Face .  She is now  in  " GOOD  HANDS "  and  fortunate  to  SERVE  THE  ALMIGHTY  in  Heaven  and  we here  on earth  will celebrate  her Birthday  cherishing  her  Good Deeds  and  try to  achieve  the  Excellent  Qualities  she had .

Smita, Bhasker and family,
Firstly, my apologies for the late entry to Mum’s memorial tribute. Just like Sheila, my sister Vasanti and myself were also in one of the first Girl Guide troops formed by Laxmiben. She was an excellent group captain/leader and we certainly benefitted tremendously from her teachings and leadership. We were proud, honored and fortunate to have her at the helm.
She was instrumental for our participation in several concerts, dances, garbas and Zambia’s Independence Celebrations. We also participated in the Saturday morning prayer sessions from which we learned a great deal of our culture.
My last glimpse of Laxmiben was at my wedding in Kabwe. I have always held her in the highest esteem because she was more than a teacher to me - she was an inspiration and more like a mother. At my last encounter with her, she mentioned that, and I quote, “it is with everyones energy that I am alive “.
Laxmiben was one of a kind and oftentimes when I think of her, tears well up in my eyes.
May her dear soul rest in eternal peace.
       Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Bhagvati Vinod Doolabh, Texarkana Texas.

From Sheila Hassasing Mahtani, Lakshmeeben’s former student and one of her first Girl Guides in Kabwe, Zambia.

Dearest Smita :

This is Sheila (Hassasing, now Mahtani here). I am truly sorry to here of the loss of your Mum. Laxmi Ben had a special place in our hearts and she gave out to the community her all. With a heavy heart, I pray for the eternal peace of a woman of distinguished personality!

I have one regret that I never communicated with her (after she left Kabwe)!

With deepest sympathies, I give you my heartfelt condolences.

Sheila

From Ramesh and Nalini Patel , formerly of Kabwe, Zambia, now residing in the U.K.

Dear Bhaskar and Smita. We were very saddened to hear of the demise of an esteemed teacher and a very respected "Ben". To this day I well remember "Ben" reading the Bhagwad Gita and how she related to the class the family's first meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru in India.

We pray that the good lord gives "Ben" eternal peace in heaven and give the family the strength to bear a great and sad loss.

Jasumasi, Ramesh (L.M.) and Nalini (B.M.)

Smita, Bhaskerbhai & family members

Raj & I felt very privileged and proud to have known Lakshmee Masi over the last 28 years. Thanks to her encouragement, I took up & enjoy singing. 
We admired so many of Masi's qualities especially her caring, selfless & kind nature. What I remember of her the most is her contagious laughter.  We often rang each other and had long chats. 
Masi made the best lemon pickle & most of the time she arranged for it to be posted to us. Being away from our own extended family, I looked upon Masi as my guardian angel - 2nd Mum & appreciated all the nurturing, comfort & support she gave me. 
I am sure Masi will be around us keeping her motherly eye, guiding us from up above & feeling very proud with her beautiful family and friends that came into her life. We are very grateful of her love, kindness & will always treasure Masi's memories which will live in our hearts forever.

OM Shanti Shanti Shanti
Arvinda & Raj Shukla

From Priti Merchant, Livingston, New Jersey.

I am remembering your wonderful mother as a very remarkable and talented woman in so many fields. She was also very caring & loving person, and I have very warm memories of her. Both Bharat (my late husband) and myself were fortunate to have met her and were very fond of her.

You, your sister Smita & all your & her families must be very proud & fortunate to have had a mother like her. Although her passing must leave a void in your life, you should celebrate her long, accomplished life and be at peace that she departed very peacefully.

Laxmiben’s life needs to be celebrated & not mourned. I enjoyed reading her biography on this site and seeing her photo album, and I got to know about her accomplishments even more. I know of very few women who have accomplished so much in their life. You must be very proud of her and I could see that she was very proud of all of you too. As they say death is an end to a life but not of a relationship.

With deep sympathy & warm regards.

From Bipin Gandhi, close friend formerly living in New Jersey.

Hi Bhaskar and Hema,

While it is very natural to feel sadness at one’s mother’s passing, in case of your (our) Ba, knowing how fully she lived her life totally devoted to her family, makes one feel like celebrating it.

I vividly remember the precious little time I had the opportunity to spend with her when we all lived in NJ, and I was completely in awe of her scholarly personality with immense control over different languages, deep knowledge of Hindu religion and Indian culture and a very warm way of passing it on to next generations.

Since I was mostly away from my mother, from the very first time I met your Ba, I felt as if she filled that void for me. She had that warm and radiant personality that made you feel automatically gravitated to her. I will always cherish those precious moments that I had the good fortune of spending with her.

I am sure God has reserved a special place for her in heaven, and I pray that her soul will rest in eternal peace there.

With very fond remembrance of a very special and noble person and with deep respect,

Bipin.

Lakshmee masi has been an inspiration and a living icon of simplicity and love. She was a rational thinker, meticulous in everything she did, a lover of books and music. She was miles ahead of her times and age was never a hindrance in communicating with her. We had plenty of ideas to share every time we met or talked over the phone. Her care and concern extended well beyond her family and friends. She went out of her way to reach out to anyone she could make a difference to. My family and I have looked up to her as an ideal elder in the community and feel fortunate to have known her and her family. We pray for her eternal Peace and join everyone who knew her in celebrating her exemplary life. She will be missed dearly. 

Bhaskar (and Hema & Smita)
We are very sorry to hear of and Our heartfelt condolences on Ba suddenly leaving for heaven. You can be proud, she was a great mom and a great lady.
May God give you and Smita strength during this trying time. 

We were privileged to have known both Ba and Bapu ji, and were fortunate to have received the parent-like love and affection from them. Sorry, our plan to see her in Australia did not materialize. We miss Ba very much.
May her soul rest in peace. 
Gita and Chitrangad

From Pushpa K. Patel ( also in Stories section below) :

It is hard to imagine anyone more talented in Kabwe than Lakshmiben. Whether it was through Brownies, Girl Guides, organising dance and music programs, or simply being a teacher, she touched and enriched our lives in ways not many adults did. Her creativity and energy knew no bounds. She was a teacher, a singer, a songwriter, a lyricist, a poet, a choreographer, a costume designer, an event planner and much more. Somehow she managed to do all this elegantly and effortlessly.

In the the conservative Gujarati society of Kabwe, she led the way for women to to go out and work, learn to drive and opened their doors to participate in Bhajan Mandli - an activity that most enjoyed immensely and awaited eagerly. She regularly harnessed her talents and resourcefulness to bring the entire community together. Some very vivid memories are the annual Diwali programs, Independence Day celebrations, and visiting other towns with dances and dramas.

Thank you Lakshmiben, for caring and sharing your talents so generously with us, and for enriching our lives. You brought the much needed stimulation and excitement to our otherwise simple lives in Kabwe. We are forever grateful for those wonderful memories we made together. Rest in Peace, Lakshmiben.

Pushpa

From Sudhir L. Patel:

Hello Bhaskar and Smita,

Please accept our condolences. I do have masi in my prayers.

When I am lost in thoughts of our youth, she comes up vividly. Not only did she impart important lessons in the classroom, but who can forget all the time and energy she devoted to the various plays we performed and the countless girls she encouraged during their growing up?

The  SHINNING  LIGHT  HAS GONE  leaving  us all behind , but  Laxmiben's  BRIGHT MAGNANIMOUS  PATH has been  left behind  for all of  us  to  REMEMBER , CHERISH  AND  FOLLOW according to our ability . May  her soul Rest In Eternal Peace and  grant us all  the ability to  follow  in  her footsteps  to BRIGHTEN UP  THE WORLD AGAIN . Our prayers and thoughts are with the ENTIRE MOONEY FAMILIES .               Jayantibhai , Pannaben Balloobhai  and Ramesh  Ranchhodji Vashi Families .  Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Our condolences to Bhaskerbai & Smitaben on your sad loss. Laxmiben was a very kind and ambitious lady. I still remember the letter she wrote to Ashok after the Kabwe Reunion in Tampa. She was so proud of her ex student.
She will be missed by everyone. MHSRIP.
Om shanti shanti shanti

Dear Smitha, Bhaskar and family.
I am so sorry to hear the news of Ba.
Praying to Bhagwan to give you all the strength to bear this great loss of LaxmiBa. Great memories of her being our teacher teaching us Gujarati,dance,dramas and bhajans., also being our Leader for brownies and girl guide. Taking us for our first camp out. Very memorable.
Taking us all on a bus to Lusaka to perform our raas to celebrate our Independence Day. How can I forget Vithalkaka who was there always whenever his help was needed. ❤️
She was our mentor and leader. I will always treasure my sweet memories. Laxmiben prepared us to be strong and face the future of our life journey ❤️
My prayers for you and the family.
May she Rest In Peace. Shanti,Shanti,Shanti.
❤️ Vasanti Kalidas (Kuntawala)

With a gratitude to The Divine Powers bestowed in all of us all who were touched by Laxmifoi while growing up and where ever we settled we reached out for answers to “how to get young children now involved in Samaj activities “ we all attempted to bring back all those growing up days and Hindu Hall activities
An eternal gratitude for sharing your words of wisdom for our generation and beyond through the poem you dedicated to all of us “ your children “
OM Shanti Shanti Shanti

Bhaskar and Smita. Our heartfelt condolences on loss of Masi.
Loss of Masi is loss of our mother of Kabwe.
May god open all the doors for her good deeds she did for the Kabwe community.
MHSRIP.

As the days pass and memories fade, I still feel an emptiness because our long-time teacher, mentor, guide and mother, Laxmi Masi is no longer here to encourage, bless and comfort us. Her wisdom and teachings have left indelible marks on my soul and those will never be forgotten. Despite the years, we stayed in touch and now we will miss those conversations, those laughs and memories, gone but not forgotten.