V S Rama Devi begins a new journey
Legal Corner Icon — the image was hosted by the publisher and was not captured.AGE cannot wither nor custom stale her infinite beauty - at seventy! The first woman to join the drafting section of the Law Ministry of the Government of India (for that matter the first woman draftsperson anywhere in the world), the first woman Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, the first woman Chief Election Commissioner of India, the first woman Governor of Karnataka, one of the first two women Members of CEGAT.
I had introduced her thus to Netizens on a Monday morning in a Special Column of Taxindiaonline.com "Rendezvous with V S Rama Devi".
It is a strange coincidence that exactly nine years hence I write an obituary about this humble and learned woman who had many a first to her credit.
V S Rama Devi passed away yesterday at 79.
What can I say except, that the country has lost a great human being and she has left a void, which would be difficult to fill. After I interviewed her nine years ago, we became good friends and after every budget, she would call me and ask about the highlights of the budget. One day I got a call from her, "join me for lunch tomorrow - I have Sudha Narayana Murthy with me". This was a cryptic lunch invitation I cannot forget in life.
She usually avoided the media but on that day nine years ago we were fortunate to talk to her and listen to her for almost four hours like small children listening to stories retold by our grandmother. Never did she felt uneasy answering our questions and we could feel the warmth and caring she exuded.
Probably the Almighty wanted her services as a draftsperson and so called her to HIS abode.
May her soul rest in peace and may He give the strength to her family to bear the loss.
The holy Bhagvad Gita says -