1962. Balwadi, a small village bordering Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, those days was enveloped by thick and dense forests that offered a home to quite a few panthers. These predators time and again would cross the thin boundary between the forest and the village and could be spotted in the village. Their sight would evoke panic and terror, for the wild animals were known to attack villagers.

That afternoon, news broke in the village that a panther was on the prowl. A word was quickly sent for Bhau. The farmer was slightly built but knew no fear. Accompanied by his friend he picked up his gun and ran to the field to tame the tormenter.

Sure enough, the panther was quickly spotted on the field – roving furtively with predatory intent. Bhau took a steady aim of his target- between the eyes- and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire. He tried again, but his trusted gun failed him again. He glanced at this friend- his gun was as barren. There was no one else to turn to. The Panther was within a handshaking distance and both were waiting to see who would blink first. “Never take your eyes off when you face a predator “-so goes a jungle saying. The friend –his heart leaping in his throat-took his eyes off for a split second. The panther growled and pounced on him. The fight began- and could end quickly- there could be only one winner.

Bhau held his nerve. He challenged the panther and fearlessly shoved his gun in the panther’s throat- choking him to near death. By then a couple of villagers had gathered but the fear had frozen their legs. Bhau seized an axe from the bystanders and axed down the beast. He snatched his friend‘s life from the jaws of certain death. The villagers had asked their hero to bite the bullet and their hero did not let them down!


“My forefathers came in this region in the first decade of nineteenth century. They initially came to Bhokar, a 300-year old village 25 km from Jalgaon. After trying some nearby villages, they settled in Balwadi.

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Born in 1930, Bhau had his primary education at Chopda in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. A doctor arranged for his education at the Fergusson college, Pune. He got admission to the medical College at Indore but turned it down because “my father had passed away, and I had to support the family.” A college drop out, he came to Balwadi and began looking after the land. He married Kamal, daughter of Shivnarayan Manudhane from Erandole in 1954.

“My forefathers came in this region in the first decade of the nineteenth century. They initially came to Bhokar, a 300-year old village 35 km north-west of Jalgaon. After trying to earn their livelihood in some nearby villages, they arrived in Balwadi, a village in Madhya Pradesh and settled permanently there.
The Laddha ancestors served the Lathi families for Rs 2 a month. Then, a few weddings took place between the two families. The Laddha family got some land and began cultivating the land.


Bhau owned a dozen Bullock carts. He loved sports. Lawn tennis and cricket fascinated him. He spoke pure Hindi and wrote daily diary for sixty years. He had a firm belief in science. Inquisitive and curious, he would often as questions and would be pleased if he got accurate answers to his queries. He would quickly note the answer in his diary too.
“Those days I would ride horseback for 80 km a day—through the jungles surrounding Balwadi.”He suffered a stroke in 1973- an infarct in his brainstem (lateral medullary syndrome) required prolonged hospital stay in Indore hospital six weeks. He took months to recover. The stroke caused a residual disability- his speech was a bit spastic.
He suffered a heart attack in 1975 and underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery at Hinduja hospital, Mumbai in 1994.
Suhas Jajoo did his prostate surgery for the prostate cancer in 2006. He had no complication related to prostate after the operation. The cancer lay silent.Vivek, his eldest son, died suddenly of a cardiac arrest at the age of 38 in 1994. This was too big a loss for a father to absorb.

In January 2019 he developed seizures. And was found to have a brain tumour— Oligodendroglioma. Interestingly Tulika, his granddaughter was also detected to have the same tumour in the same location in 2017.
He suffered a haemorrhagic stroke in February 2019 and was admitted to the mission hospital, Sendhwa. We decided to let him leave this world from his home. We shifted him from the hospital and he died a peaceful death, amidst family and loved ones, on 5 February 2019 at 2 am after 36 hours of withdrawal from drugs and nutrition.