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Tata grew quite fond of Prathibha, perhaps because of her calm, balanced personality, in contrast to my testy Karanth temperament. He opened up and talked to her about things that he simply could not discuss with me. She did not question him or judge his actions like I sometimes did.
Prathibha recounts a couple of instances of how Tata, beneath his tough exterior, was a sensitive, subtly observant man. When she came as a bride to his home in Saligrama, she was fascinated by the National Geographic magazines in his library and spent hours reading them. Soon after, he quietly started mailing them to Prathibha.
Always a sharp dresser, Prathibha wore only sarees to work and when we stayed with our parents. And when Tata stayed at our home, Prathibha was always in a saree. At other times she liked to wear western clothes. She was pleasantly surprised by a gift Tata brought for her from Russia: a beautifully tailored lady's shirt that fitted her perfectly.
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