A Life Well Lived
Raminder Kaur
A MASTERFUL SPRIT: HOMI J. BHABHA 19091966 by Indira Chowdhury Penguin Books, 2011, 260 pp., 1299
May 2011, volume 35, No 5

Fali S. Nariman is an eminent Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India with a legal career spanning six decades. Having come into practice immediately after the adoption of the Indian Constitution he has grown with it to be one of its foremost experts. The book is styled as an autobiography and one starts with the hope that it would give insights into the titbits of the life of Mr. Nariman, a most revered figure in the Indian legal firmament.

Always remember, Fali, it is better to spend more time thinking about a case than merely reading the brief, Nariman recalls the advice of Chandubhai (C.K. Daphtary, former Attorney General of India). The chapter on legal practice meant for young lawyersLessons in the School of Hard Knocksgives advice on various techniques of practice and fundamental mistakes in court rooms that one must avoid.

But this claim needs to be seen in light of the postcolonial governments generous support for scientific enterprise as a means with which to modernize the nation, whereby several scientific institutions have developed and prospered in India. 

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