Triveni Popat

Mrs. Triveni (Chhabedia) Popat, 89, of Attleboro, passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 6, 2016 at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, MA. She was the longtime beloved wife of the late Pranjivan Velji Popat, to whom she was married in 1953.Born in Karachi, British India, on October 27, 1927, Triveni was the daughter of the late Mithoobhai Govindji Chhabedia and the late Devikabai Mithoobhai Chhadbedia. She was the second of two children, both daughters.Though they remained close, circumstances separated Triveni's father from the rest of the family when Triveni was fairly young. As a devout Hindu, Triveni's mother was a strict vegetarian, prayed every day, and was firmly opposed to drinking and gambling. Like many Indian women of her generation, she did not have the opportunity to go to school, but was able to teach herself to read and write, eventually even writing a book. Triveni was very close to her mother and, even at an early age, displayed the same qualities: a spiritual devoutness and a refusal to accept limits imposed by others.Fortunately, women of Triveni's generation had greater opportunity for education, and she was a good student and outgoing and popular in school.One of the highlights of Triveni's youth came in the mid-1940's, when Jawaharlal Nehru-who would go on to become India's first Prime Minister-made a visit to Triveni's secondary (high) school, and she was selected to welcome him with a bouquet of flowers.By this time, the Indian Independence movement-led by Mahatma Gandhi-was sweeping the country. Many Indians participated in work strikes, demonstrations, and other forms of civil disobedience to show their refusal to continue under British rule. Triveni actively participated in these protests, and was arrested and jailed three times by the British. She remained committed to social justice throughout her life.From her early teens until her departure from Karachi, Triveni spent much of her time at the local mission of the Ramakrishna Order. This monastic Order, named after the 19th century Hindu saint Ramakrishna, is the main organization of a worldwide spiritual movement espousing the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.After secondary school, Triveni was accepted at one of the most prestigious universities in India, Banaras Hindu University where she studied Social Sciences. It was there that she met her future husband Pran, who would soon leave for the United States to finish his education in Texas. Following their marriage, she joined her husband in the U.S. Here, she studied at Texas Women's University and the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in education and sociology, and received a Master's degree in the latter. In 1959, they moved to the Northeast, finally settling in Attleboro in 1965, where she has resided ever since.While Triveni was primarily a homemaker and mother, she had also worked at several points in her life, including coordinating milk distribution in Bombay prior to marriage, and later in Attleboro as a real estate broker, part-time tutor and ESL instructor, and as a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. Triveni's many interests included art, cooking, dance, music, reading, sewing, travel, and Indian holistic medicine, all of which she pursued with joy and enthusiasm.But her greatest passions were yoga (having begun one of the first teaching practices in the Northeast, which she maintained until her 70's), and Vedanta-the philosophy embodied in the ancient sacred scriptures of India. She was a lifelong devotee of Vedanta, and remained active in the Vedanta Centers of both Boston and Providence, Rhode Island until late in life. While her spiritual devotion was primarily expressed through Vedanta, her spirituality and intellectual interest extended to other branches of Eastern religious and philosophical thought, notably Buddhism and Jainism, both of which she admired with deep understanding as embodying the nonviolence and truth-ideal that underpinned Gandhi's approach to freedom.Triveni was the beloved sister of the late Bachubai Bhanji Mainthia, and aunt of the late Shashikant B. Mainthia and the late Jayantilal B. Mainthia. She is survived by her daughter, Prema Popat (David Tuerck) of Franklin; two sons, Ashok (Rita) Popat of Menlo Park, California and Pradeep (Teresa) Popat of Arlington, Virginia; two granddaughters, Aarthi Popat and Aashka Popat, both of Menlo Park, California; her niece, Mahalaxmi (Lachoo) Madhavji Thakkar (Tanna), of Mumbai, India; and extended family in the U.S and India.Mrs. Popat is remembered by her family and friends as a kind, generous, courageous, and loving woman, with a strong determined spirit and a true passion for life.Family and friends are invited to attend a ritual Hindu funeral service on Thursday, November 10, 2016, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm in the Memorial Chapel of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA. In accordance with Hindu tradition, visitors are asked to wear casual, light-colored clothing (preferably white). A private cremation will follow. Family and friends are  invited for music and prayers, and to share their memories of Triveni, at a Memorial Service to be held at the Vedanta Center of Providence, 227 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday, December 4, 2016 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Vedanta Center of Providence, 227 Angell Street, Providence, Rhode Island.To send the family an expression of sympathy, please visit an online register book at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com.Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200.