Akhila

Sunday, 27 August 2006, was a great day. It’s the day my daughter Akhila received her PhD. At a commencement ceremony at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Of all the dumb things I have done in my life, my failure to be present by Akhila’s side on the occasion takes the cake. I can never kick myself hard enough for this act of omission. The saving grace is that Gowri Ramnarayan, PhD., was there basking in the wonderful glory of a daughter’s achievement that nothing on earth can equal.

Akhila, I am proud of you, because you wear your scholarship so lightly—come to think of it, so does your mother, hers. In all these years of childhood and adolescence and your adult years away from us, you have never asked for anything, never complained. You have led a Spartan student life, pursuing your studies with passion, but never losing touch with people, always standing up for the underdog, collecting the most unusual assortment of friends around you, based not on their accomplishments but on their essential humanity. You have remained unspoilt, sensitive, healthy. You have led a simple, uncomplicated life. Through it all, you have grown intellectually and morally, taking a stand on all that matters on this planet.

Dr Akhila Ramnarayan, this is your moment. Enjoy it, savour it, treat yourself. You deserve it. We love you—all of us who have watched you grow from that very special, gifted child of 32 years ago into the fine, upstanding woman you are today.