Soeur Juliette Pierre-Marie
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A brief biography
Dipanita Nath, June 1, 2024: The Indian Express
In the 1970s and 80s, Pune was a sleepy town with a large student population. Thanks to Soeur Juliette Pierre-Marie’s initiative, the city got its first Alliance Française, and the students – a lasting connection with France.
From the grand boulevards of Champs-Elysees in Paris to the quiet elegance of Pune, it was a long way from home for a young girl from an affluent family. But Soeur Juliette Pierre-Marie was following a higher calling. She joined a religious order and was led by a sense of service to come to India, and Pune, where she worked with several organisations and set up a centre to empower visually-impaired women.
What is less known about Pierre-Marie is that a lot of young people in Pune today speak and read French because she was determined to bring the Alliance Française to the city.
Alliance Française is a French organisation set up in 1884 by luminaries such as Louis Pasteur and Jules Verne. The first Alliance Française internationally was launched in Barcelona, Spain. Within five years, the Alliance Française in India was inaugurated. Over the next decades, the organisation spread across the major cities, such as Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai. But, even almost a century later, it had still not arrived in Pune.
A French connection
Since Mumbai had a well-established Alliance Française, several French nationals in Pune felt the need for such an institute in the city.
The person who took the main initiative was Pierre-Marie, who had left her religious order to carry out social work in Pune. She pushed for Alliance Française de Pune (AFP) because Bombay was too far away. Among the people who supported her was Madame Parulekar, née Pommeret, the wife of the founder of the Sakal paper, Nanasaheb Parulekar. In 1974, AFP opened its doors in the city.
In the 1970s and 80s, Pune was a sleepy town famous as a pensioners’ paradise. It did have a large student population, though, many of whom were keen to go abroad to study. Learning a foreign language was seen as an asset. Students from Wadia College, Fergusson College and Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC) began to flock to AFP for classes.
The association, Friends of France, had been set up by Guy Deleury and Nirmala Purandare in the 1960s, which organised low-cost trips to France for people who wanted an experience of staying with French families and, in return, hosting them. This increased interest in French culture and the language in the city.
Half a century later, AFP is celebrating with typical French flair. Pune-based artist Raju Sutar and 140 participants have turned steel scrap into an art installation to underline global concerns about the planet and sustainability. There is a 25 per cent discount on French courses and a coffee meet to talk about travel. The highlight has been a visit by Dr Thierry Mathou, the ambassador of France to India, on May 31. Pierre-Marie, who took on the name of Nishtha when she became an Indian national, would have been delighted.
Nishthatai, a teacher and translator
“I used to see her dressed in saris, with a cross worn on a ribbon around her neck. For the longest time, she worked at the centre for visually impaired women in Kamshet that she had set up. This was one of her most commendable contributions to our country. She used to teach them skills so that they could have a better life,” says Sudnya Athale, the senior-most teacher of AFP.
Athale adds that after moving back to Pune, Nishthatai translated books from Indian languages into French. She was fluent in Marathi and one of her notable works is a translation of the poetry of the Kashmiri woman poet Lal Ded into French.
Nishthatai would go to France once in a while but it was in Pune that she retired in the 1990s. She had an apartment at a senior living housing complex in Pashan, where she passed away around a decade ago.
“It has been 50 years of expertise, 50 years of partnerships and 50 years of opportunities for our students. And that’s just the beginning. We want to maintain our links with the Punekars and strengthen the bond. We have centres in Patrakar Nagar and Balewadi and are launching another at NIBM road on June 1,” says Amelie Weigel, director, AFP.
