When a Brilliant Mathematician wed a Graceful Mysorean at a grand hotel in a stylish manner By Girija Madhavan While dining at the Hotel Metropole in Mysore recently, I watched as a festive table was being prepared for a party; bringing back a sheaf of memories of a wedding lunch there in 1952. At 14…
By Girija Madhavan Mysore has always been home to the arts; classical music, dance, painting, sculpture and more. Music was a prized accomplishment for girls in Karnataka. Lessons were started for quite young children. When at seventeen, I fell under the spell of music in 1955, it was considered a late start. But to my…
By Girija Madhavan Diplomats, who witness a historical event with international ramifications in the country of posting, are very lucky. In 1989 my husband, A. Madhavan and I, saw the Fall of the Berlin Wall (9 November 1989), a potent symbol of the Cold War. The event changed relations between the States of Europe, their…
By Girija Madhavan Flowers, birds or animals are contemporary national emblems; the Royal Bengal Tiger is India’s representative animal. Indonesia honours the Komodo Dragon, the largest and fiercest lizard on earth [featured in a James Bond film, killing his armed adversary instead of Bond]. But some ancient symbols, like the Swastika, are an integral part…
By Girija Madhavan Looking back on my thirty-five years as an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) wife, memories come flooding back; some happy ones, some of wonder, some of stress and tension. Holding an Indian Diplomatic Passport, I was a member of the Embassy, the official hostess of my husband A. Madhavan. I ran the house,…
Browsing through the computer some days ago, I found a photo of a lost painting which caused me a pang of regret. Many years ago, wanting its broken frame to be repaired, I took the painting to a framer in Mysore city’s Devaraja Market [now threatened with demolition]. After paying the shopman, I carelessly left…
By Girija Madhavan A far-off memory of gold and green domes glittering atop white cathedrals, is now overshadowed by images of present day Kyiv; shattered apartment buildings, billowing smoke from missile strikes, courage in the face of devastation. Posted to the Indian Embassy, Moscow, during the days of the erstwhile Soviet Union, my husband, A….
[Continued from December 13, 2021] By Girija Madhavan In the last year of my stay in “Hong Kong Island”, the city had become home to me. I still retain mental images of its physical beauty; Tiger Hill sloping down to the waves of Deep Water Bay, Chinese Junks and pleasure craft on the placid South…
[Continued from November 15, 2021] By Girija Madhavan Our diplomatic journey next led to Hong Kong in 1974. The island was still under British rule. Sir Murray MacLehose was the Governor. The Indian mission, called the “Commission of India” was headed by a “Commissioner”, A. Madhavan. Glittering Hong Kong offered superb shopping, concert halls, art…
By Girija Madhavan Many of us elderly folk are now sequestered at home. The television focuses on COVID-19, with its seemingly sentient malice against humanity, or the tragedy of Afghanistan. Books, music and films are a comfort. But nothing can compare with the companionship of friends. “Visiting” was an enjoyable social activity in old Mysore…
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