Finally, it seems as if I'm getting to see SOME light on that very elusive name, "N M Joshi Marg".... and for those of you who're wondering why I'm seemingly obsessed with that one name/road, well, what can I say?
Each day as I sit in my office and happen to look out of my window I see N M Joshi Road - well, that's actually a lie, what I get to see is a thick carpet of vehicles spread all across that road. But, I digress - you get the point, I'm sure, this road has become so much a part of my sub-conscious mind and it S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-S all the way from Byculla till the end of the world!!
So, without more ado, here's what I've gleaned.
From my father-in-law who's 88 now (and let me say "Thank you, God!") I got the first clue - he was a union leader, helped organise mill workers, and my f-i-l also recollected that N M Joshi had already "passed on" by the time my f-i-l arrived in Mumbai circa 1963. So, there it was, just that tantalising bit - a union leader, not (as I suspected) a freedom fighter (remember Sane Guruji and Senapati Bapat)..
Today, I stumbled across a little bit more info on N M Joshi - in 1925 Shri N M Joshi introduced a private members bill in the Central Legislative Assembly, the Indian Trade Unions Act. The British Government promised him that it would introduce a Bill to this effect and, accordingly, in 1926 the Indian Trade Union Bill was passed into law. N M Joshi is, therefore, considered the father of the Indian Trade Union Movement.
One regret, still.... what does N M represent? Narayan Manohar, Narendra Madhavrao, any guesses?
Sats
PS: I've learnt, later, courtesy my thambi (younger brother) who was in Dubai back then (in 2009) - and courtesy a colleague - NM Joshi is Narayana Malhar Joshi..
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