Life has got multiple correct answers.

 In mathematics, most problems have just one right answer. Life is very different, and far more complicated. Even when situations look more or less the same, the same question can have several answers, and all of them can be right. What is right or wrong depends on a person's own thinking and on what that person values most in life. This article shares a few examples of exactly that.

(Photograph of Dr. Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar, courtesy the internet)

         Dr. Shridhar Venkatesh Ketkar lived from 1884 to 1937. Through his own study and relentless effort, he brought out the *Dnyanakosh* — a vast series of reference volumes — and faced heavy criticism at times for it. He studied first in Amravati and then at Wilson College, Mumbai, before earning his PhD at Cornell University in the US. Back in India, he joined the University of Calcutta as a professor. In 1920, he married Edith Victoria Cohen, a German Jew. Miss Edith embraced Hindu religion and was given the name Shilavati. Ketkar worked incredibly hard on the encyclopedia in the later years of his life, and the work was still unfinished when he passed away. After his death, Shilavati decided to stay on in India and carry her husband's work forward. She devoted the rest of her life to the encyclopedia project, right until the end.

(Photograph of Barrister Nath Pai and Crystal Pai, courtesy the internet)

      Barrister Nath Pai served as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha for fourteen years, from 1957 to 1971. With his powerful oratory and sharp use of parliamentary rules, he kept those in power on their toes. Pai, a socialist thinker who lived from 1922 to 1971, married Crystal Muschel of Vienna. After the marriage, Crystal settled in India and took part in Pai's work. When Pai died suddenly in 1971, Crystal turned down the proposal that she contest the election from his constituency. She then went back to her home country with her two children, to be with her elderly mother.

   Both Shilavati Ketkar and Crystal Pai faced the sudden loss of a husband in India, a country that wasn't their own. But in this very similar situation, the two made very different decisions.

(Photograph of Dr. Ram Godbole and Sunita Godbole, courtesy the internet)

      This year, the Government of India honoured Dr. Ram Godbole and Mrs. Sunita Godbole with the Padma Shri for their long years of service to tribal communities in Bastar. Originally from Satara, Dr. Ram Godbole came into contact with the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram after completing his BAMS degree. While serving tribal communities in Nashik district, he married Sunita Puranik. Sunitatai had been connected with the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram since childhood, and she wanted a life partner who would serve tribal communities just as she hoped to. In Ram Godbole, she found exactly that. Right after the wedding, the newlyweds moved to the village of Barsur in Bastar and began their work. Around this time, Ram Godbole's mother passed away from cancer, leaving his father alone at home. Faced with the question of whether to stay with his father or head to the field of his work, Ram Godbole chose the field. This year, the government finally gave due recognition to the work he has carried on for several decades.

  

(Photograph of Hon. President Smt. Droupadi Murmu and Maj. Rishabh Singh, courtesy the internet)

        Under the Indian Constitution, the President is the highest office in the country. The safety of the person holding this office is critically important, and the President also needs an extremely trusted aide. This trusted aide is called the ADC. A small, carefully chosen group of young, unmarried officers from the Indian Army go through a tough selection process, and the most deserving candidate is picked. A few years ago, Major Rishabh Singh Sambhyal of the Army was selected for this post. He worked with great efficiency alongside the current President, Hon. Droupadi Murmu. According to Rishabh Singh, she treated him with a mother's warmth. Once, during an event, it suddenly began to rain, and Rishabh Singh quickly held an umbrella over Murmu's head. When asked about it, he said, "I had never been given any special training or instructions for this. I simply did what I would have done if my own mother had been getting drenched in the rain while I was with her." Rishabh Singh, who was exceptional at his job, took voluntary retirement. When asked why, he said, "Ever since I was a kid, I had set my heart on serving in the Army. For that, I stayed away from my parents for years and worked incredibly hard. I got into the Army and served happily as the President's ADC. For all of this, I was away from my family for many years. Now I've taken voluntary retirement to fulfil my family responsibilities."

       Dr. Ram Godbole and Maj. Rishabh Singh Sambhyal faced the very same question, and their situations were similar too. Yet each made a different decision. Both decisions have to be called right. That, really, is the beauty of life.

Sudhir Gade, Pune

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