This wisp of a girl has matured into a serious academic with a dissertation and a doctorate to her name. When I saw the dissertation — a tome of a thousand page — what struck me was the list of acknowledgements on the flyleaf. The first acknowledgement, taking pride of place among professors and teachers, was to her grandmother — “my first teacher”.

I could not but swallow a tear when I remembered my mother-in-law, hailing from a distant village, who would never have understood what a PhD meant but was powerful enough to inspire a young girl in a faraway place. Her grandmother certainly taught her many things, above all courage, fair play and a deep sense of right — the lessons of life that can hardly go wrong. It is no surprise that the girl has tried to give back in some measure what she has received.