Quotes

"My father (Mehli Mehta) himself was extremely against British rule. That feeling grew and grew because he unfortunately had to perform where Indians weren’t allowed, like the Yacht and Breach Candy clubs, and was given his meals backstage. He suffered the 
insults, got home grumbling.”

Zubin Mehta, maestro, sunday 
mid-day, August 20, 2023

"We visited Dr Homi Bhabha’s mother Meherbai to provide 
condolences and solace... to the annoyance of her dachshund, Bambi, who felt he was 
the protector of the household.”

Rustam Sethna, chemical engineer 
and son of Dr Homi Sethna, sunday 
mid-day, August 27, 2023

"Bakhtyar (Irani, managing director of Parsi Dairy Farm), was 
nicknamed the Toffee Boy of St Mary’s School because on his birthday he distributed Parsi 
Dairy Farm’s decadent milk drops toffees among classmates.” 

sunday mid-day, August 27, 2023

 "Greek philosopher Aristotle says that the doctor does not treat a disease, he treats a patient, a particular patient, each with his own complications. No two patients, though suffering from the same disease, are quite alike.”

I. F. Stone, The Trial of Socrates, 
(Anchor Books, 1988)

"He (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) did not kidnap me, I kidnapped him.”

Ruttie Jinnah (née Petit) quoted 
by Deepa Gahlot, columnist, 
critic and author, The Free Press 
Journal, August 11, 2023

"He (social reformer B. R. Ambedkar) roomed with a remarkable 
Parsi from Bombay, Naval 
Bhathena, a businessman-to-be 
who was free from caste prejudice and who took an immense liking 
to the brilliant student.”

Shashi Tharoor, author, Ambedkar: 
A Life (Aleph Book Company, 2022)

"The violence against journalists, the politically partisan media 
and the concentration of media ownership all demonstrate that press freedom is in crisis in ‘the world’s largest democracy,’ ruled since 2014 by Prime Minister 
Narendra Modi, the leader of 
the Bharatiya Janata Party 
and the embodiment of the 
Hindu nationalist right.”

Reporters Without Borders, 2023 
World Press Freedom Index, 
commenting on India’s low rating of 
161 out of 180, a drop of 11 ranks