Page 84 - Demo

Later in life, at posh lunches and dinners, PVG Raju seemed to find great joy in graphically describing his days waiting tables. The family might have cringed and flinched at his descriptions but it did not appear to stop him from describing the table etiquette of Americans and their chewing gum.The greatest life-changing moment was when he met a fellow student Kusum Madgavkar. She came from a richly intellectual background, a family of doctors and lawyers from the Bombay Presidency. She was a scholar in her own right, being one of the foremost experts in the decipherment of Pali inscriptions. She authored several articles in scholarly journals and also contributed to the Prof. DD Kosambi Commemoration Volume, Science and Human Progress, Popular Prakashan, 1974. She was his niece and held DD Kosambi in the highest regard. A whirlwind romance followed and the two married in the United States itself in November 1949.Kusum Madgavkar had been married previously, but that marriage had been annulled. She was also not of the same caste. Being a Saraswat Brahmin and as a lone Indian female student in America at that era, was quite unusual. None of these things mattered and after completing the course, PVG Raju brought his bride home. On the flight back to Delhi, they sat next to the incoming US ambassador Loy Henderson with whom they spent the whole flight in animated conversation. The Ambassador was quite struck by the young man's curiosity and depth of knowledge. Maharani Vidyavati Devi did not approve of either of her sons' matches (the younger brother too had married 74