Life Spent In SEWA Of 'Unprotected Labourers’

Ahmedabad: Bhatt, an exemplar of Gandhian principles, believed simplicity to be a virtue that could solve most world problems. Her spartan residence’s adornments were books on India and Gujarat. Art on her home’s walls were her grandsons’ drawings.

Bhatt was 89 and is survived by her son Mihir, daughter Amimayi Potter, daughter-in-law and SEWA director Reema Nanavaty and four grandchildren.

In a corner of a room at her home lies a set of tablas with which Bhatt practised singing classical music for two hours daily. “Riyaaz and yoga were non-negotiable. She always had a song in her. In fact, she also sang in the ICU,” Rameshwar, one of her grandsons, said.

On Wednesday, many SEWA members choked as they hummed ‘Ame paar karishu’, a Gujarati version of ‘We shall overcome’. The Gujarati variant had been penned by Bhatt and had become SEWA’s anthem of sorts. “Elaben envisaged and implemented a leadership strategy in which the daughter of a farm worker could rise to the top as the general secretary of SEWA,” a member said.