BENGALURU: Shilpa Raghupathy was in her early 20s when she first met Shakuntala Devi in 2009, for an interview for the post of her secretary. While anyone would get intimidated by the presence of the greatest mathematician, Raghupathy was not. “When I met her I didn’t know who she was. I know it’s shocking when I say this,” laughs Raghupathy.  

She worked as her personal assistant for one-and-a-half years, when Devi was busy with the work of an educational trust and was engrossed in her astrology work. In 2009, Raghupathy had just completed her engineering and with the job market being tough due to the recession, she considered this opportunity. When Devi came to know of Raghupathy’s qualification, she rejected Raghupathy for being overqualified for the post. “Both my father and I had to request her to give me chance. She agreed and told me it was just for a few weeks but I ended up staying for more than a year,” says the 34-year-old. While Devi had an intimidating personality, Raghupathy says, “She never meant to be that way. She was not rude or arrogant when she spoke. She was very knowledgeable.”

Agrees Shivdev Deshmudre, who knew Devi for over 30 years. Deshmudre first met Devi in 1981, as a client at the advertising firm he had co-founded. “At that time, she was into astrology and wanted to publicise it. Though she didn’t carry on with the firm, we remained friends till the end,” says Deshmudre, who is the founding trustee of Shakuntala Devi Educational Foundation Public Trust.

Deshmudre remembers Devi as vivacious, enthusiastic and full of life. “She had once visited me my firm and I was supposed to give her a breakdown of some costs. Since her calculations were impeccable, I requested her to check. She immediately replied, ‘You do it. I don’t want to waste my brain on you’,” says Deshmudre, adding that Devi had a good sense of humour. Having spent most of her life in London, Devi was a true-blue-Kannadiga at heart. “Her Kannada was excellent, and she spoke without any accent. And she loved akki roti and holige made by my wife,” says Deshmudre. 

Not just South Indian food, Devi loved food in general asserts Raj Bhasin, a trustee at her educational trust. “Whenever she used to land in Bengaluru, I would get a call to keep makki ki roti and sarson da saag for her since I am Punjabi. She was so fond of food that she even wrote many cookbooks,” says Bhasin who met Devi 15 years ago.