War and wisdom By: Namita Mantri, XI B
War and wisdom By: Namita Mantri, XI B One calm night several years ago my grandmother, Shobhana Mantri, was attending a family function. As soon as she left to return home, sirens started blaring. She was forced to take cover wherever possible and for her that meant under the staircase of a railway station. This experience was not a unique one, it was one shared by many living in Mumbai during the Indo-Pak war. Shobhana Mantri was born in Mumbai in 1943, between the second world war and the soon to come independence. Coming from a wealthy and influential family, she had a comfortable childhood and completed her education with two degrees. At the age of eighteen, she moved to London to learn under a journalist called Sunder Kabadi for a year and a half after which she worked for a German company. The turning point of Shobhana Mantri’s life was her marriage, which distanced her from her earlier life. My grandfather was employed in the air force and suddenly Shob...