Page 12 - Seniors Toady - September Issue 2020

Interests and Passions As a young couple how did you view Mr
The couples are addressing aspects of a
healthy relationship that go a long way in
keeping each other positive and the home
happy. They talk of their life experiences
and their views.
In one’s relationship with one’s spouse,
finding common ground to build a
relationship on as one gets on in years,
is a fundamental to staying engaged and
interested in each other
Navin Chawla is a retired Senior
Administrator who was the 16th Chief
Election Commissioner of India,
internationally recognised for impartially
conducting the 2009 General Election. He
has had compulsions of his professional
responsibility take up his time for issues
that are reasonably formal in their
dispensation. Nowadays his interest in
writing and his passion for the NGO he
founded and supports takes up his time.
Rupika with her expertise in conservation
of paintings and interest in murals,
period paintings and antiques, has a
more organic ability to engage with her
work and passions. Her refined sense of
aesthetic is admired by all.
Navin and Rupika now
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Chawla’s work?
Rupika: When I married Navin his first
posting was in Delhi as Sub-Divisional
Magistrate and he used to look after Tis
Hazari and Shahdra, considered in those
days to be troubled areas. I have always
enjoyed listening to the intricacies of his
civil service life and its many challenges.
It was as a civil servant that he met
Mother Teresa, a meeting that changed
his life so completely.
When did you develop an interest in
writing? Is authoring books a common
interest between you and your spouse?
Navin: My interest in writing developed
by accident. I was an IAS officer and the
only writing I did was on files!
I had known Mother (now Saint) Teresa,
for 15 years, when almost on impulse
I asked her one day whether I could
write her biography. She was initially
very reluctant but after she finally gave
permission, Rupika and I travelled
to Kolkata together to embark on this
journey. Although Mother gave me
permission, I remained immersed in
my work for the next three years. But
I luckily got transferred to a lighter
assignment and that enabled me to finish
the book. Rupika helped throughout this
journey.
Have you over the years made a
conscious effort to find common ground
in the things you both do as a couple?
Rupika: We had developed the thrill of
collecting small antiques when Navin was
posted to Pondicherry in 1979. When I
studied conservation shortly thereafter,
we understood the excitement of sorting
out our little objects and our paintings