Sir,

After reading KBG’s 3-part Abracadabra on Fali S. Nariman, India’s Advocate Extraordinaire, in SOM recently, I was reminded of my visit to Delhi in the year 2005. We were staying with my brother’s son-in-law Brijesh Kalappa (a Supreme Court advocate) who was close to the Narimans.

Apparently Brijesh had told the Narimans about our stay with him and to our pleasant surprise and shock we were invited for dinner sharp at 8 pm. I consulted Brijesh and decided to take crab curry instead of the routine sweets, a favourite dish of the Narimans.

We arrived at Narimans Bungalow on time and were personally ushered to the drawing room by Mr. Nariman. After pleasantries and casual talk, Mr. Nariman went inside, brought a bottle of premium scotch and poured a drink for me and a small one for him. I politely refused a second drink and were treated with a typical Parsi dinner. We departed after the dessert and the Nariman couple walked up to our car and saw us off !

I have always cherished that evening with the Narimans and I remember very vividly that Fali Nairman was considered as the reigning deity of the Supreme Court at that time.

Narimans were personification of humility and courtesy, a quality conspicuously absent among the high and the mighty nowadays.

– K.C. Biddappa, Sr. VP, ITC Ltd. (Retd.), Mysuru, 15.7.2020

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