Constance, our fiercely independent grandmother.

The lady you see in this photograph is my grandmother. She was born as Constance Karuna Charles to an affluent family in Mysore state, southern India, in the in the late 1890s. Around 1910, when she may have been about 12, her marriage was arranged with a man named Durraswamy around 1910. Two years later at the age of 14 she was left widowed, with one baby son in her arms – Arthur.

The Adventurous Mr. Goel of Hyderabad

Our father played a significant role in setting up various social welfare organisations, clubs and banks – such as the Rajasthani Association, Agrasen Co-operative Bank and Mahesh Bank.

Apart from hosting Poetry Festivals (Kavi Sammelan), he was also responsible for establishing the Dampatti Sammelan (Couple’s festival) –  a get-together for married couples who, in that era, had no place to go out by themselves.