श्यामची आई (Shyamchi Aai)

श्यामची आई हे पांडुरंग सदाशिव साने यांनी लिहिलेली मराठी आत्मकहाणी आहे. नाशिकच्या कारागृहात असताना फेब्रुवारी ९ इ.स. १९३३ रोजी त्यांनी या पुस्तकाच्या लिखाणास प्रारंभ केला आणि १३ फेब्रुवारी इ.स. १९३३ रोजी पहाटे त्या संपविल्या. आईच्या प्रेममय थोर शिकवणुकीचे सरळ साध्या व सुंदर संस्कृतीचे एक करुण व गोड कथात्मक चित्र म्हणजे 'श्यामची आई' असे म्हणता येईल. आपल्या मुलांवर अपार माया करणारी त्यांनी सुसंस्कारी बनावे म्हणून झटणारी; पण हे संस्कार उपदेशाच्या डोसाच्या रूपात मुलांना न पाजता स्वत:च्या वागण्यातून व दैनंदिन छोट्याछोट्या प्रसंगातून मुलांच्या मनावर ते संस्कार बिंबवणारी आणि मुलांना शिस्त लावताना प्रसंगी कठोर बनणारी ही आदर्श 'आई' आजच्या पिढीतील उगवत्या पिढीसाठीच नव्हे तर त्यांच्या आईबाबांसाठी प्रेरक ठरेल हे निश्चित. 'A novel of ideas'--Jerry PintoA child grows with mother's loveAlso with its reverse.The sun nurtures trees and flowersThe moon is equal nurse.Thus do things grow and thriveIn this our universe.The evening prayers in the ashram are over. Cowbells tinkle sweetly in the distance. The residents of the ashram sit in a circle their eyes fixed on Shyam who has promised them a story as sweet as lemon syrup. And so Shyam begins. While on some evenings he tells them of his boyhood days surrounded by the abundant beauty of the Konkan on others he recalls growing up poor embarrassed by the state of his family's affairs. But at the heart of each story is his Aai-her words and lessons. He reminisces of the day his mother showed him the importance of honesty and the time she went hungry just so her children could eat a full meal. Narrated over the course of forty-two nights Shyamchi Aai is a poignant story of Shyam and Aai a mother with an unbreakable spirit.