BK Nehru’s wife Shobha dies at 108

Manpriya Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

Fori Nehru is no more. The vibrant presence of the 108-year-old woman who made Kasauli her home, with interludes at Chandigarh during winters, left us today. She breathed her last around 5.30 am at her residence, Fair View. With her are gone a number of milestones — she was the oldest Jewish woman, the first foreign-bahu of the Nehru family, a friend of the Kennedys…

The late BK Nehru fell in love with Fori in London and after initial opposition from both families, they got married. Nehru, a former President of The Tribune Trust, had also served as a civil servant, diplomat, Governor of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat. He passed away at the age of 92 in 2001.

As he wrote in his autobiography, ‘Nice Guys Finish Second’: “We got married on the 25th of January 1935. It is a remarkable tribute to my wife that she absorbed with incredible grace and unbelievable success that cultural shock that she was bound to suffer no matter how well I myself and Maji had prepared her for it.”

Magdolna Friedmann was named Shobha after her marriage. However, she was popularly known as Fori. As she travelled and lived around the world with Nehru, Fori carved an identity for herself.

A Hungarian by birth, she could speak Hindi fluently. She studied the Bhagvad Gita, and devoted herself to various pursuits. She was, naturally, in touch with some of the most prominent Indians at the time.

Always keen to help the underdog, Fori started Refugee Handicrafts, with some friends to help refugees after Partition. In time this organisation grew into the Central Cottage Industries Emporium, Delhi. Later, in 1961, she was active in Washington with underprivileged people of colour.

Till the last, she kept up correspondence with people and friends, both in India and abroad.

She is survived by three sons, and her caretakers Dhani Ram and Sanju. Aditya Nehru, her second son, was present here when she breathed her last. Her other sons Ashok and Anil also reached Kasauli later in the day. She will be cremated at the local crematorium on Wednesday.

Despite her age, she continued to exercise her right to franchise and was often among the first ones to cast their ballot in Kasauli during the Assembly and parliamentary polls.

Those who’ve known the lady even for a little while recall her as a strong personality with an equally strong zest for life. Even till the last, she wanted to know what’s happening in the world. “What’s the news?” she would constantly ask those around her. She would nowadays have a copy of The Tribune read out to her. Mrs Fori Nehru, the oldest Tribune reader, will be missed.

(Inputs by Ambika Sharma)