Beemanagar Tales -3 'Bapat Sir'

This chapter of my life is from my last few years in Beemanagar Colony and has very little connection to the colony itself. But then, I like to connect all my yesteryear fond memories with Beemanagar and this chapter is too close to me, as it has made me who I am today, professionally and in large part personally and hence it has to be part of Beemanagar Tales.

Year 2003, I had just completed my law graduation and had come back to Indore after an unsuccessful job hunt at Pune. Realising the hard fact of life that Corporates won't offer job in legal department to someone passed out of an unknown college. 

If I don't have the experience I don't get the job and I won't get experience till I have a job.

I had come back to Indore. The plan was to join some advocate's office as a junior, learn a few things and gain experience. I didn't know any advocate and hence did have no clue where to start from. The only thing that I had in mind was I wanted to work on Labour Laws (Can't think/remember of any specific reason for the same either). 

Baba knew Mr. Ashok Shukla (Sr. Advocate) who at that point in time was one of the leading criminal trial lawyers in Indore. He fixed an appointment for me and I went to meet him at his office at Jail Road, Indore. After about ten minutes discussion, he said, 'If you want to work on Labour Laws there are just two offices, Patwardhan Office for employer side work and Pradhan Office for Workman side work. Which side do you want to work on?’ As a unaware fresh graduate I said I just want to learn the work, anyone will do. He asked me to come back in two days so that he can speak to the offices and let me know.

By the end of that week (must be around end of August 2003) I was back to square one as I could not get through any of the two offices (reasons not important here). I was dejected and was not sure where to go and what to do.

A couple of days down the week, Ajoba (my maternal grandfather) told me that there was some Advocate Chafekar who was one of his old friend's brother and I should talk to him. At that point little did I know that Chafekar Saheb was none other than 'THE CHAFEKAR SAHEB’, one of the most respected Sr. Counsel of MP High Court. I just picked up yellow pages, found Chafekar Saheb's number and called to see if I can join his office.

While interacting on phone, he told me that he is no more practicing in Labour Court and I should go to Patwardhan Office. When I informed that it didn't work out with Patwardhan Office, he immediately said that then the only choice that's left is 'Bapat Saheb’. I asked him further details and he only told me the name Advocate S.M. Bapat. I went through the yellow pages activity once again, found Bapat saheb's number spoke to his daughter Ashwini who told that he is out of town and will come back in a couple of days. Couple of days down the line Bapat Saheb told me that there is no junior in his office and I can come and meet him in the evening.

Coincidentally, Bharat Kulkarni, one of my friends happened to know Bapat Saheb and agreed to take me to his house/office. In the evening of 13-14 September 2003 , I met Bapat Sir for the first time in his office. It was on the first floor of his Vasudev Nagar house. He was sitting with some clients, smoking cigarettes in his typical style. Welcomed Bharat, asked us to sit down. The only thing he asked me (if I remember correctly) was that I should not join him if I'm only looking to earn money, as he has very limited work. But if I want to learn work then I should start coming from 15th September onwards. I said, I just want to learn the work and would be eager to join him.

Bapat Sir, My Guru

So, the 15th of September 2003 was the day when I started going to Bapat Sir's office and I soon realised that I was really lucky (for the first time in my life) to not have been able to work out anything in other two advocate offices.

It was in Bapat Sir's office, when I first learnt how to 'Read’ some provisions of law, how to interpret law, what to write in a WS and how to write it so that it can be of help at evidence stage and the list                                          goes on an on.

Bapat Sir is one content, poetic, witty, calm, selfless and very unlike lawyer kind of a personality who just poured all his knowledge on me which he had gathered over a period of almost 30 years. 

(unlike lawyer because in our profession there are very few seniors who will teach everything to their juniors without any insecurities of creating competition). 

Never ever in his life he cared about how much money he is making. He is one of those rare advocates who will send a client back if his case is not worth fighting. Despite knowing that the client will go to some other advocate and still file the petition. 

As a junior, new to the profession, I always used to wonder and ask him, if you know that the client would still want to file a case, why don't we take a brief and file the case? He would always smile and say tomorrow when his case gets dismissed, he will not remember that it was him who insisted on filing. 

Other than the professional qualities, I fondly remember his love for poetry, his love for singing, his unmatched love for Babuji's (Shri Sudhir Fadke) music and his little orthodox way of life is all that a grew-up with in those 2 years or so. I had become a part of his family. In fact it was all of us me, Rakesh, all the Stenos who used to come for some typing work, Milind Dada from Eicher Motors, it was one happy group of people, I grew-up with, during initial period of my career.    

Under Bapat Sir's guidance, I started going to courts almost immediately after joining him. In fact from next day itself. While he kept on teaching me finer nuances of the profession, he also started to introduce me to his circle of lawyers. It was during those days that I met Advt. Waghmare (who later on became Judge of MP High Court), Chafekar Saheb in person, Patwardhan Saheb, Pradhan Saheb etc.

Having told me that he will not be able to pay much money to me, he still used to pay higher than quite a few other seniors during those days. Also Bapat Sir's knowledge sharing was so invaluable that I had realised that this time investment with him will take me places. He was the one who had asked me to sit and listen to arguments of Chafekar Saheb, whenever time permits. He always used to say, that the way Chafekar Saheb reads a provision, one would not need to read any commentary to understand the interpretation of law. 

When a lot of juniors from other offices who were probably 5-10 years senior to me were still appearing before courts to seek adjournments and do clerical work, I had started appearing before High Court in just 5 months. 

I vividly remember the day when in the evening in office we received High Court Cause list only to realise that there were 5 matters listed for admission/final hearing the next day. the next day also happened to have about 20 odd matters of one of our most important clients listed before Pithampur Labour Court which Bapat Sir could not avoid. 

I remember Bapat Sir asking me 'तु करशील का हाईकोर्ट केसेस ?' (Will you argue High Court Matters). It was an opportunity and I jumped onto it. I said, 'yes I will do it.' 

           What if something goes wrong? asked Bapat Sir. 

           I said then client will question you. 

          If you have this confidence then you will do it, study the files and appear            before High Court tomorrow. Said Bapat Sir.

From that day onwards, I started appearing before High Court on a regular basis. Preparing the files in the evening at office and arguing the matters next day, started to give me a different high. I had my own moments of extreme professional satisfaction: 

• Bapat Sir sent 84 odd year's old Mishra ji to me, telling him that it was me who argued his matter, which was decided in his favour and Mishra ji giving me copy of handwritten Shlokas which were given to his grandfather by none other than Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar (Queen of Indore);
• One more client coming to the court and touching my feet even when I was just half his age because he had received what he was fighting for past 10 years or so;
• One of the judges (who is now a Supreme Court Judge) while hearing some other matter directing the arguing advocate towards me, saying 'ask Bapat Sahab, we have given some favourable direction in their matter'. He had started recognising me as Mr. Bapat because I used to argue a lot of matters before him.
• One more judge telling Bapat Sir (after he returned to the High Court after about 6 months gap post heart-attack), that he can still take rest for a longer period and not worry about the matters as his junior is doing a great job.     

No amount of money can match the kind of professional satisfaction that one gets from such instances and no amount of money can stop one from going back to the same profession, if one does not have social and family responsibilities.

  

All this, I owe to the selfless teachings of Bapat Sir, who treated me no lesser than his own son. 

One day (when I was new) Advocate DM Kulkarni asked Bapat Sir, if I was his son and Bapat Sir told him, 'I was no less'. 

I'm repeatedly using word 'selfless' for Bapat Sir, because no senior, after teaching everything to his junior for two years, will tell him to seek opportunity in another office, just so the junior can learn newer areas of law. Around the end of 2004 and beginning of 2005 Bapat Sir told me that I should now think of learning newer areas which are also lucrative in terms of money. That was the time, I left his office and moved to a new firm. 

But our association has continued till today. It has become a norm for us to share new things/developments in our lives with each other. A lot of people have told me that he takes pride in whatever I have been able to do in my career. A few days back on one of my social media post he expressed as to how proud he feels to see me achieve things.

In our profession juniors are always recognised by the name of their Senior's office and I will remain to be a proud Bapat office Junior for my life.