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2.1 HomageIndira GoswamiNovember14,1942– November 29, 2011I ndira Goswami, noted Assamese author,scholar and Jnanpit award winner, popularlyknown as Mamoni Raisom Goswami, died on29 th November, 2011, after a prolongedillness. She was 69. She was India’s first PrinceClause Laureate and former professor in DelhiUniversity.Goswami was involved with various literary,educational and cultural organizations invarious capacities. A member of Sahitya Akademi, she was also amember of the governing body of Delhi University.She authored several award winning books. Her treatise‘Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra’ is considered a literarymasterpiece.Goswami had also played a crucial role as a peace-broker whenshe offered to become a mediator between the outlawed UnitedLiberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the government in 2005.Condoling her death, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi saidthe death of writer Indira Raisom Goswami was notonly an “irreparable loss” to Assamese literature,but also to India as a whole.—Malsawmi JacobSharada Dwivedi1942– Februarebruary y 6, 2012S harada Dwivedi, the Mumbai basedhistorian and researcher, passed awayon 6 th February, 2012 after a brief illness.She was 69. Author of several books onthe history and culture of Mumbai, shewas also on the panel of the MumbaiHeritage Conservation Committee.Considered Bombay’s finestbiographer, she loved the city with apassion. Through her writings, she brought to life the history andarchitecture of the city. She is credited with opening the eyes ofmany Mumbaikars to the history in their midst. Among her mostfamous works is Bombay, the Cities Within (1995).She was the person anyone who wanted to know anything aboutthe city’s history would go to. From students toresearchers, conservationists to journalists, she was theunquestioned treasure trove of the city’s archives and she sharedher knowledge with a spirit of generosity.Sharada was also a champion of the city’s heritage. She foughtto save its heritage buildings. She tirelessly raised funds and muchneeded awareness. She was actively involved with the Urban DesignResearch Institute, Kala Ghoda Association and other citizen groups.She is survived by her husband and daughter. Not onlyher family, but many others will miss her. Her death is agreat loss to the city of Mumbai.—Malsawmi JacobRani ani Jethmalani1961 – December 31, 2011R ani Jethmalani, social activistand Supreme Court lawyer passedaway on 31 st December, 2011 of terminalillness. Ms. Jethmalani, daughter ofrenowned lawyer Ram Jethmalani, workedrelentlessly for women’s rights. “She wasa fiery social activist,” her brother MaheshJethmalani commented. “She was a crusader for women’s rights.She was in the forefront in the Supreme Court to fight many casesabout dowry, bride-burning,” he said.Women’s rights issue was very close to Ms. Jethmalani’s heart.She founded the Mahila Dakshata Samiti to campaign against thesocial evils against women. Commit-2-Change, a non-profitorganisation, where she served as a board member,described her as a lawyer who made “most significant advances inthe area of dowry and dowry-death related cases.Her innovative use of public interest litigation in criminal trialschallenged societal and cultural trends.”She also co-founded the WARLAW (Women’s Action Researchand Legal Action for Women) to research and challenge the outdatedtraditions, and to make the implementation and practice of lawmore gender-neutral. She is survived by an adopted son, who isalso a lawyer.—Malsawmi JacobHomai VyarawallaDecember 9, 1913– January y 15, 2012H omai Vyarawalla, India’s first womanphoto journalist, died on 15 th January,2012, at age 98. She had captured the flaghoisting ceremony at Red Fort on August 15,1947 and several historic events, and she wasthe 2011 Padma Vibhushan winner.Homai was the only professional woman photojournalist between1939 and 1970. Her presence in the male-dominated field wassignificant, as the codes of this profession largely continue to excludewomen even today.An obtrusive photographer who liked to capture her subjects intheir natural poses, Vyarawala has also covered the visits of QueenElizabeth and former US President Dwight D Eisenhower. She tooka number of memorable photographs during her career. Herfavourite subject was Nehru, about whom she remarked that heused to be surprised at seeing her in his functions.Many of her photographs were published as photo-stories inthe Illustrated Weekly of India, Time, Life, The Black Star, PaulPopper and numerous other international publications.She also took a series of pictures on a day in the life of Indianfiremen during wartime, right from receiving a distress call to slidingdown poles into an appliance room, from picking up uniforms neatlyarranged in rows to dousing the fire. It appeared in the Illustratedl