On Balance

In this autobiography Leila talks about its joyous as well as its difficult moments. Figuring prominently are her early years of homelessness and struggle her straying into law while in England with her husband Premo and later practising in Patna Calcutta and Delhi and her happy marriage of over fifty years including the experience of bringing up three remarkable children writer Vikram Zen Buddhist dharmacharya Shantum and film-maker Aradhana.Intertwining family life with professional Leila movingly describes the years after her father's premature death when as children they were obliged to live with friends. There are also delightful vignettes Premo and her turning an old mansion into a splendid home in Patna Vikram's writing of the novel A Suitable Boy Shantum's ordination as a Buddhist teacher by Thich Nhat Hanh and Aradhana's marriage to Peter an Austrian diplomat and work as art director on films like Earth and Water.Intimate intricate charming and often amusing On Balance presents a rich and heart-warming portrait of an exceptional woman her family and her times. About the Author Leila Seth was the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first women to be Chief Justice of a state in India. She retired as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh in 1992. She was a member of the 15th Law Commisiion of India and responsible for the report on Free and Compulsory Education of Children. She is involved in human rights activities and with a number of schools and colleges. She has a diplomatic in Montessori education. In 2003 her autobiographyOn Balance was published by Penguin to much critical acclaim. She passed away in 2017.