Not fair

It was a relief to read Anuradha Veeravalli’s objection to Girish Karnad’s reference to her father K.J. Shah in a book (March 2). As a student, I heard Professor Shah at seminars. Later, I had the opportunity to meet him when he was appointed my thesis examiner. I continued to interact with him till he suddenly passed away. What struck me about him was that he was not just a philosopher of a very high calibre and an intellectual who cared very deeply about the Indian traditions, but also a person of impeccable integrity.

Prof. Shah often pierced through the pomposity of formal occasions, deliberately bringing in informality, sometimes including non-academics but always with the intent of adding to the seriousness of the engagement. One wonders how Mr. Karnad could misunderstand this. Even if he had something to say, is it fair to tarnish an honest man’s image when he is no longer around to rebut his comments?

Gurveen Kaur,

Secunderabad