Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi remembers the ‘timeless and zen’ Geeta Doctor

We met but rarely, and I person nary concern penning astir her erstwhile others who knew Geeta Doctor tin bash truthful with credentials I cannot laic assertion to.

But when, astatine the commencement of January 2026, I was asked to constitute thing astir her, I could not recognize why. I had not heard that she had passed away. And connected the past time of the past period of past year. Ayyo, I said. Ayyo, ayyo.

Geeta would person understood. She knew interior lives, interior feelings. She has been described arsenic a writer, journalist, which of people she was. But Geeta was to maine a idiosyncratic who knew, who felt, who was real.

In the opening of 2025, erstwhile she was incapable to articulation my woman and maine implicit meal astatine our home, she sent a connection saying she had mobility issues and truthful was sending flowers to correspond her. And what a bouquet she sent! It was the astir beauteous we person ever received anywhere, and stayed unwilted for days. I sent her a representation of the flowers looking resplendent successful a vase and she was delighted.

Better aft a while, she began going retired again, and the past clip I saw her towards the extremity of April past year, she reminisced astir her younger days. Her begetter was posted successful the High Commission of India successful Karachi, past the superior of Pakistan. Geeta vividly remembered the juncture when, connected December 19, 1960, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan’s President Ayub Khan signed the Indus Water Treaty. She described Nehru arsenic looking ‘luminous’ and his words explaining the Treaty arsenic ‘lyrical’. There are those who contiguous would respect that arsenic an lawsuit of Nehru’s idealistic, visionary, un-pragmatic temper, and accidental ‘lyrical indeed, that was downright naïve of him’. Geeta would demur. Rivers and their waters person a earthy course, arsenic does neighbourliness. Terrorism has mutilated that for us. 

Posted earlier astatine the Indian embassy successful Paris, her begetter gave Geeta and her sister Manjula a antithetic acceptable of experiences which included hosting visitors from India. Many came. Geeta wrote to maine astir those who came: “Everyone did, the Maharanis and princesses astir by customized and tradition. Many years later, I met 1 of the Jodhpur princesses who had besides been to Paris astatine the time, she excessively was unmarried but determined to person a bully clip astatine the Races. The Sardar Maliks, the Indian Ambassador (early 1950s), astatine the clip was formerly attached to 1 of the princely courts, possibly Kapurthala, truthful had links with each the Indian princes and royalty similar Dinesh Singh, who I deliberation was the taste attaché, oregon possibly conscionable a PA to the Ambassador. The different pistillate I callback my Dad telling america astir was Dr. Sushila Nayar (Pyarelal’s sister). She turned up without due papers similar a visa oregon possibly not adjacent a passport. Our Dad said she covered herself with her saree pallav astatine the airdrome and refused to move, oregon beryllium questioned, until the Embassy had to intervene and rescue her.”

That was satyagraha, nary less. That it was not conducted for a nationalist origin is simply a substance of detail. And doubtless Sushila Nayar, idiosyncratic doc to Mahatma Gandhi, would person her broadside of the communicative to relate.

Geeta was turning to humour from the caves of sadness. Not agelong earlier the end, she wrote to maine successful a message connected surviving long: “Since present I americium successful my 80s, I find galore of my contemporaries, oregon those a small older, are successful a akin authorities of limbo. There are present 3 hospitals that specialise successful genu replacement surgeries and different forms of attraction for mobility issues. And the Apollo radical has opened a peculiar portion to measure what a idiosyncratic needs to debar surgical procedures related to mobility. As you know, spas and wellness modules successful distant places — one, judge it oregon not, successful Karaikudi — are successful vogue. These are being serviced by young radical from the Northeast. Our Kerala nurses are for export. There’s a precise weird Prime tv bid called Nine Perfect Strangers that serves arsenic a spin-off connected the trend. Again, ageing adults are being cared for by the young, for a price. I similar to ideate that the aged Eskimo solution that allowed Grandma to beryllium near connected a distant crystal floe to beryllium consumed by the wildlife oregon the elements was a amended option. But with the crystal melting truthful rapidly, adjacent that is nary longer viable.”

In her precise past message to me, Geeta sent maine this verse:

On Mystics

What is to beryllium done, O Muslims? For I bash not admit myself.

I americium neither Christian nor Jew nor Zoroastrian nor Muslim.

I americium not of the East, nor of the West, nor of the land, nor of the sea;

I americium not of Nature’s mint, nor of the circling heavens.

I americium not of earth, nor of water, nor of air, nor of fire;

I americium not of the empyrean, nor of the dust, nor of existence, nor of entity.

I americium not of India, nor of China, nor of Bulgaria, nor of Saqsin;

I americium not of the Kingdom of Iraquain, nor of the state of Khora-san.

I americium not of this world, nor of the next, nor of Paradise nor of Hell.

I americium not of Adam, nor of Eve, nor of Eden and Rizwan.

My spot is the Placeless, my hint is the Traceless;

’Tis neither assemblage nor soul, for I beryllium to the psyche of the Beloved.

I person enactment duality away. I person seen that the 2 worlds are one;

One I seek, One I know, One I see, One I call.

He is the first, He is the last, He is the outward, He is the inward.

I cognize nary different than “Ya Hu”1 and “Ya antheral Hu.”

I americium intoxicated with Love’s cup, the 2 worlds person passed out of my ken. 

(These letters successful Arabic spell the Hebrew sanction of God.) 

— From the lessons of Shunryu Suzuki, Zen maestro (1904-1971)

This was axenic Advaita that Geeta was sharing with me, via a Zen master. There was thing precise Zen astir her. Beneath her astonishing smile, her laughter and her checked tears, determination was thing precise mystical, placeless, timeless.

The writer is simply a erstwhile administrator, diplomat and Governor.