Lord Meghnad Desai and his wife, Kishwar, were sitting in the first row when, on April 29 this year, my latest book, Echoes of Eternity: A Journey through Indian Thought from the Rigveda to the Present, was launched. Meghnad looked in fine fettle, avidly following the ensuing discussion between Nitin Gadkari, Shashi Tharoor, Shoma Choudhary, and I. After the event, Kishwar and he were very keen that my wife and I join them for a drink, but we could stay only briefly. The next day, we heard he had been admitted to hospital.

One never knows in life what the next moment will bring. But Meghnad’s passing on July 29 at the age of 85 brought back memories of over two decades. My wife and I were witnesses when Kishwar and he were married at the Marlborough registration office in London in 2004. After the registers were signed, I can never forget how Meghnad pulled out a small pouch from his pocket. It contained sindoor, and he took a pinch and put it in the parting of Kishwar’s hair.

This public acknowledgement of his cultural roots........

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