``I know five generations of the Katju family now,'' says Margaret, smiling. ``I knew Shiv Nath's parents and today I know his great grandchild. It has been a wonderful association.'' Peg or Aunt Peg, as Beardslay is fondly called, is in India to attend a wedding in the Katju family, who live in Saket.

In the past, Margaret Beardslay was a keen follower of world politics. A student of Astronomy, she subscribed to Gandhi's newspaper Harijan and studied the history of India. It was at this time that she received a letter from Shiv Nath Katju. But it was only after she met Rabindranath Tagore that she decided to reply to the letter.

``Rabindranath Tagore visited our college and I was invited to sit next to him at the dinner table,'' she recalls. ``I was so much in awe of him. When I mentioned the letter I had received from Katju, he told me that he was acquainted with the family and they were nice people. It was then that I decided to reply. Moreover, I was interested in India and thought this would be a good way of knowing more about it''.

Through his letters, Katju told Peg all about Gandhi, the National movement, independence and the assassination of the Father of the Nation. ``The first few letters I received were largely about Gandhi. Later, it was more about what he was doing and the family. He told me about how he was going to marry a girl he had never seen. I don't really remember, but in response, I guess I wrote about Roosevelt and what I was studying''.

After a couple of years of correspondence, Peg got a chance to meet the ``young man'' who was discussing life in India with her and giving her an insight into a different lifestyle. ``He came to the US in spring,'' Peg says. ``Larry Walterman, the other person Katju wrote to, brought him to the college. All the girls knew that I was writing to an Indian boy and they were all leaning out of the window to see him. We took him to a dance also and though he didn't dance, the girls got him to shake a leg''.

And then in 1953, Peg made her first visit to India. ``Most Americans have the impression of India as being a romantic, mystic and beautiful place. But when I landed here, I realised that you have industries and businessmen here too. The Katjus took me around, I visited villages, beautiful monasteries and had a very nice time.'' One recollection that has stayed with her is of the dip she took in the Ganges. ``A dip in the Ganga was important to my hosts and they wanted me to be part of the ritual. I was really apprehensive about it, but did it any way''.

The letters Katju had written to her helped her understand India better when she visited. ``I didn't really understand the caste system but once I got here, I understood the customs and rituals better''.

Ever since, the Katjus and Beardslays have been family friends. They have visited each other frequently. ``We had strong family backgrounds in America and I was pleasantly surprised to find the same here also. Going into Indian homes I realised that deep down we are all the same''.

Visiting India to attend a wedding, Aunt Peg says: ``New Delhi has grown terrifically. The people are probably the same but the city is much more crowded now. I love the sincere spirituality of people here, but don't like some of the old religious customs.'' Admiring the mehndi on her hands, she adds: ``When the family insisted that I come for the wedding I said, why not? I wanted to see the entire Katju family and had a great time at the wedding. I loved the mehndi on the first day but now it shocks me. But I'm not complaining''.