What was it like to have Jayant Narlikar as a father? A daughter answers

Time of India

3 days ago

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Pune: Throughout their lives, the three Narlikar sisters — Geeta, Girija, and Leelavati — were often asked variations of this question: What is it like to have a famous father?
On behalf of the three daughters of renowned astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar (86), who passed away on May 20, Geeta, a US-based biochemist, answered the question at Narlikar's memorial meeting organised by the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) on Tuesday.
"If Baba were there, he might be thinking, 'Why are you doing this?' Speaking on behalf of all three sisters, I would say we have heard variations of these lines — 'Your father was a major influence on me when growing up', 'What is it like to have a famous father?' If it was not for these questions, occasional newspaper articles, and Baba's travels to accept an award, we would not have known the huge impact he had on the world of astrophysics or the scientific consciousness of Marathi and Indian society more broadly.
This is because his behaviour at home was of a deeply engaging family man, not of someone flaunting fame," said Geeta.
She spoke of how their father, together with mother Mangala Narlikar, a mathematician who passed away in 2023, were ahead of their time in society in raising three girls. "Looking back, we were influenced more by his actions than his words. We internalised the deep respect Baba showed for Aai and the freedom to make our choices in our careers and life partners.
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This was implicit in how they fostered our independence of thoughts and actions," said Geeta, while sharing several memories about the noted astrophysicist with the gathered audience.
The memorial meeting was attended by renowned scientists such as Naresh Dadhich, Ajit Kembhavi, and Anil Kakodkar, among others.
Geeta further spoke about her parents, saying they enjoyed the work they did and never thought of research and teaching as a chore.
"It was energising for them. Baba's zest for life and his creativity were integral parts of his parenting. We see it now in reflection. This ranged from setting up puzzles for all of us to solve to telling us stories using characters we made up on the spot. We would make all kinds of characters and weave them into a story that was engaging, fascinating, and novel.
This also ranged from making sure, as much as possible, to take the family with him on sabbatical trips, so we would experience what it meant to live in another country and be influenced by their culture.
His ready laughter also resulted in happy tears at jokes he told or stories he recounted, and this is one of the most joyous memories of him. What it showed us is a father who loved to be happy, a father who was not stuck in the seriousness of his achievements," said Geeta.
Narlikar also had a deep love for good food. "Some of you are also familiar with how much Baba loved good food," Geeta told the gathering, adding, "Every trip to other countries involved savouring local delicacies, from street food to gourmet meals. Even in his last few days, he made a request for a full English breakfast, a pot of biryani, and, of course, chocolates and mango with ice cream, living life to the fullest. His parenting, in collaboration with Aai, prepared us to meet the challenges of life and career with courage and an open mind, to enjoy the little things in life, and never take ourselves too seriously.
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