Popular French teacher and noted social worker, Juliette Pierre-Marie, aka Nishtatai (88), passed away on November 20 at Ratna Hospital in Pune. She was suffering from liver cancer.
Juliette Pierre Marie came to Pune in February 1970 and decided to adopt the Marathi name Nishta (faith) and applied for Indian citizenship on completing 5 years of residence in her adopted
country.
On a request from Prof Sohoni, head of department of French in the University of Pune, Nishtatai kick-started the Pune unit of the Alliance Francaise de Pune with just two students in 1972. Today, the Alliance Francaise is a significant part of the Pune cultural set-up, teaching the French language to several hundred students every year.
Always a committed social worker, Nishtatai started a women’s empowerment and cultural centre in Kamshet village near Pune in 1983 after her retirement. She concentrated on the higher education for girls by counseling parents and teachers in the village, and encouraged village women to stitch cotton quilts to generate personal income.
In 1998, Nishtatai donated the ashram to a medical trust. In 2004, Nishtatai was awarded France’s ‘Knight of the National Order of Merit’. In a press statement, director of Alliance Francaise, Luc Didon, has said that a condolence meeting will be held on Friday (December 2) at 4 pm at Kala Chayya, Patrakarnagar Road, Pune.
