The Tutors As the three of us moved through the various levels of the educational systems in the three different cities we lived in, we struggled with some of the subjects we had to study or chafed under the stringent teaching styles of some of our teachers. Most of the time, our mother came tirelessly to our aid, daily helping us with our homework and projects we brought home, and often staying up late or waking up early to bring us hot milk or sit with us to help. Sometimes the three of us helped one another. But a few occasions come to mind, unbidden, of the times when we found ourselves up against a mental wall and, frustrated, cast about for other options. That’s how the tutors parachuted into our lives, at different points in time, for brief but intense periods, each one with his own idiosyncrasies and very distinctive and quite unforgettable, even now after decades. The very first time was around the time that I turned 13. We had just moved to New Delhi from Madra