Dehradun, Aug. 25 -- Maya Narula

It was evening at the Landour Community Hospital. I had barely knocked on the door when it swung open. Out stepped a stranger, his hand outstretched, 'You may call me Santra - half sour, half sweet!'

It was the 1980s; we, well-wishers and friends, had dropped by to see Mrs Pritha Santra, widow of the late Air Marshal P.C. Santra, AVSM, who had been unwell and was admitted to the hospital. Her husband's cousin from Orissa had come out to help.

I first met Air Marshal P.C. Santra, AVSM, on an afternoon when I sat with Uncle Kunhi Raman, the genial owner of Seaforth Lodge - a picture-perfect house that sat on a bit of lawn along the road in the Upper Chakkar. The retired officer had dropped by, looking for...