Memories of a Malabar Lady: M. Sreekumari Vasudevan’s Reminiscences of Life with Justice K.S. Menon 19261956 emerged from conversations between a mother and son spanning a decade. It recalls Sreekumari Vasudevan’s early life in the company of her father K.S. Menon whose career in the law took them from Mamballikalam the matrilineal family estate in Malabar to Madras other places in Madras Presidency and the princely state of Jodhpur. It is a story of smaller units and individuals in a sprawling joint family and a young woman’s widening arc of experience. The book is remarkable for how Hari Vasudevan combines the skills of a professional historian and the empathy of a son to fashion the story of an era through the personal modest and smaller scenes of historical change. This book was in manuscript form when Hari passed away and was finalized for publication by Ravi Vasudevan. About the Author M. Sreekumari Vasudevan (19262020) daughter of Justice K.S. Menon and M. Narayaniamma was educated in Yercaud Madras and Jodhpur. She married Methil Vasudevan a specialist in aeronautical and mechanical engineering and had two sons Hari Sankar and Ravi Sankar. Methil Vasudevan’s career took them to Britain and then onto Kenya where they lived for twenty years. After retirement Sreekumari and Vasudevan lived in Coonoor Chennai Delhi and Kolkata. Sreekumari was an avid lover of classical Hindustani Carnatic and western popular music of books and movies someone who enjoyed cooking singing painting and flowers and passed on her enthusiasms to her sons. Hari Vasudevan (19522020) was a highly respected scholar and muchloved teacher of Russian and European history. Educated in Nairobi and Cambridge he taught for over forty years at the Department of History Calcutta University and served with distinction at the Academy of Third World Studies Jamia Millia Islamia and as director Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute for Asian Studies. The last of his books before his untimely death due to COVID19 was In the Footsteps of Afanasii Nikitin: Travels through Eurasia and India in the Twentyfirst Century (2014). Hari is survived by his wife Tapati GuhaThakurta their daughter Mrinalini and brother Ravi.
