By: Dubagunta Sankaraiah
Shri Dattaram Dwarkanath Neroy popularly known as D.D. Neroy was born on 29th February 1896. D.D. Neroy was born in a large family of six children. His father was Dwarkanath Bhau Neroy who was the founder of D.B. Neroy & Co in 1898. D.B. Neroy was educated at the Sir. J.J. School of Art, Mumbai and was soon recognized as a pioneer in the art of hand engraving on boxwood (Block makers & offset plate makers). His father D.B. Neroy passed away at the age of 47 due to pneumonia. D.D. Neroy was aged 22 years old and assumed control of the firm being the eldest son. He underwent higher training in England and Germany and was a gold medalist from Hamburg.
D.D. Neroy was a great devotee of Sai Baba. He visited Shirdi many times as a young lad. During one of his visits in 1918, he had the grace and blessings of SAINATH at Shirdi and it was a “Sakshatkar” (revelation) by Sai Baba, his Guru, mentor, and perfect master whose directions he followed meticulously as a humble devotee. D.D. Neroy took the photo of Baba sitting on the stone which was an original one as it contained his signature also on the photo (see in the photo). The dimensions of this original photograph of Sai Baba sitting on stone are 6’ by 4’.
The Ashirwad photo identical to the one here was painted by notable artist S. M. Pandit. D.D. Neroy made blocks and printed several copies of photos of Baba sitting on stone and Baba’s Ashirwad photo. Though the Ashirwad photo was painted by S.M.Pandit, D.D.Neroy took up the task of making the block and printing several copies. He made mass distribution of such photo prints of Baba sitting on the stone and Ashirwad photo. He used to donate several prints of both photos of Baba to the Sai Sansthan, Shirdi every year. His mission was just to distribute, distribute and distribute Baba’s blessings in the form of photographs to reach families/homes all over India and to reach Baba’s blessings to all corners of the world. Thus D.D. Neroy was instrumental in propagating about Baba through these two varieties of photos. Baba’s photographs were never sold but were always distributed free by him.
D.D. Neroy was a very kindhearted person. He had done a lot of social service activities like providing food, education to the poor and orphan children, and financial assistance to poor people for conducting marriages of their children, etc., But he never disclosed his social service activities.
The story of the photograph of BABA SITTING ON THE STONE, for which Neroy made blocks and prints thereof, was a transcendental and mystical occurrence that was kept as a secret between Baba and Neroy, and he did not allow others to make a propaganda about it. This is how Sai Baba wished it to be and Neroy just obeyed his master’s wish. Neroy also made many photo prints of Baba with one of the eleven sayings printed below them. Usually, he would mention Baba’s assurance, “If you look to Me, I look to you.” This photo was taken with the consent of Baba by D.D. Neroy. Neroy had signed only one photo of Baba and this photo is placed in the Mangal Karyalay of Shri Sai Baba Sansthan, Shirdi.
Neroy lived at the gallery premises and made short visits to his home at Khotachi Wadi, Mumbai, where the entire family lived together. The home-cooked food was sent by his wife Anandibai morning and evening regularly. He had two male servants Gangaram and Vishram who stayed with him and even made arrangements for sleeping in this workplace. Neroy was also closely associated with the famous artists of Mumbai Shri. S. M. Pandit, Mulgaonkar, Hebbar, B.V.Talim, to name a few. These artists painted for Neroy to make blocks of their paintings. Neroy used to visit Shirdi regularly even after Baba’s Mahasamadhi and used to distribute Baba’s Photographs to devotees. The family has continued this legacy left behind by D.D. Neroy.
Neroy’s wonderful service of Sai-Prachar by free distribution of Baba’s photos – one sitting on the stone and another – Ashirwad, is noteworthy and praiseworthy. It seems Baba entrusts a unique task to each of his Bhaktas, and the task of distributing Baba’s photos was well accomplished by Neroy.
Neroy was also devoted to Kamu Baba, a saint at Girgaum, Mumbai. Neroy got the portrait of Baba sitting on the stone made and mounted it on an ornate frame. Then with the help of four men, he took it to Girgaum and offered it to his Guru. Kamu Baba appreciated the portrait and the kind gesture but refused to accept it. He told Neroy to take it to Shirdi and place it in the Sabhamandap of the Dwarakamai. Dejected he sat at his Guru’s feet and said, “It took me three years to make this portrait and one and a half months to get it framed. Never mind the expense, now you reject it?” To this, Kamu Baba calmly said that it was not a question of rejecting it, but ‘my keen desire in asking you to take it to Shirdi and place it in the Sabhamandap in the Dwarakamai where thousands of devotees would have the benefit of seeing and praying to it.’ Thus, this portrait came to be installed in the Sabhamandap of the Dwarakamai. This was the original Photograph which was taken with Baba’s consent.
The ancestral Neroy house at Khotachi Wadi, Girgaum, Mumbai stands tall and strong, where today, the fourth generation family members of the Neroy household still reside.
Subhashchandra Dattaram Neroy, the youngest son of D.D. Neroy, further took up and carried ahead of the family business but passed away in 2012, leaving behind his wife Mrs.Rohini Subhashchandra Neroy. Their eldest daughter Mrs. Ghayathri Neroy Desai, and two Sons Sundeep S. Neroy and Ram S. Neroy who today continue the family business of Block Making and offset processing while the daughter runs the art gallery business in the name & style of R.D.D. Neroy Gallery in the same premises where Neroy’s business began in the beginning. In this gallery, there is a 3’ by 4’ photograph of Sai Baba painted by D.D. Neroy and signed by him as well. Here Baba’s arati is conducted every Thursday. Smt. Ghayathri, the granddaughter of Shri. D D Neroy confirms that the photograph is an original one and it has the signature of her grandfather. She also states that over the years, many people have successfully removed the signature with the use of the latest technology and are selling the photographs as the original photograph of Sai Baba.
Even to this day, if anybody visits the Gallery, they can see the beautiful painting of Sainath Ashirwad by Shri S.M.Pandit having the copyright stamp of D.D. Neroy.
Baba’s photographs were never sold but were always distributed free.
D.D.Neroy can be seen with Anandibai Neroy, his spouse in the side picture. Blessed was the family full of devotion to Baba.
D.D.Neroy thus enjoyed a rare privilege to paint the famous portrait of Sai Baba sitting on the stone. Additionally, upon being guided by Kamu Baba, he placed it in Dwarakamai for the benefit of numerous Sai Bhaktas, who have derived immense joy being able to view the portrait even decades after Baba’s Mahasamadhi.
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