My parents walked with the cortege when Gandhiji died. He was a postgraduate student at IARI, and she still at school – they had not yet met. He had seen Gandhiji from close quarters; she had never had the opportunity to do so. He had grown up in small town and rural India, she in the urban metros. Yet they belong to a generation that was driven by a tremendous love for the nation and a strong sense of patriotism. They met in Cambridge a few years later. After their marriage in 1955, they followed different career paths. Despite their divergent interests and trajectories, there has always been a strong sense of partnership and mutual support, of shared values and philosophies, emerging from a desire to serve the country, especially the disadvantaged. Their respect and love for each other makes them bond, supporting each other in times of joy and grief, success and adversity. Their lives have been truly complementary.

M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation