Bridge Across Forever

SHE WAS one of the foremost political thinkers and an educationist, who has written extensively on the Indian society and politics, even awarded a Padma Bhushan along with her husband Lloyd in 2014, but on Friday evening, the late American author Susanne Hoeber Rudolph was remembered for much more. At a memorial service, organised by the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS), several academicians got together at the India International Centre, Delhi, to honour Rudolph, who passed away on December 23, 2015. Some of them included Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Niraja Gopal Jayal, CSDS director Sanjay Kumar, Delhi University dean and professor Malashri Lal, historian Romila Thapar and Columbia University professor Philip Koldenburg, among others.

Rudolph, known for titles such as The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India and In Pursuit of Lakshmi: The Political Economy of the Indian State, marked an exceptional partnership with her husband in academia. The duo travelled to India for the first time in 1956. “They accomplished in building a bridge between political science and history, and political science and anthropology. They conceived political science as this grand field,” said CSDS professor Shail Mayaram.

There were those who shared personal anecdotes and observations — from hospitality towards fellow intellectuals and scholars, morning walks and raising children, to the extensive work the couple did in Rajasthan.

In her ode, Thapar said, “I enjoyed the conversations, which would be lighthearted but could turn serious and substantial,” said Thapar, who also noted Rudolphs’ work around the notions of tradition, caste, religion and culture.