Incredible as it might appear, I met Gloria Steinem in 1956 at the home of one of the three young men who had built post-independence institutions such as the Cottage Industries Emporium – Lakshmi Jain, Som Benegal and DD Joshi. They were three bachelors aged around 30 or less, living in a lovely apartment in Golf Links in Delhi . The rent-free apartment was an offer by another one of those who had jumped aboard the wave of post-independence service to enable the refugees of Partition to be rehabilitated – Dr Shanthi Ghosh.
Seven decades have passed since that time and her apartment has been my home in New York for all these decades. We might grieve her passing, but to my mind, she has laid the foundation for the public acknowledgement of women’s mind, skills, political and social voices.
Her work, her writings, her lifestyle are all so consistent: a sincere, deep regard for “difference,” for humility – all wrapped in an amazingly rich intellect.
