Veena P Kasbekar

Celebration of a life lived true her beliefs Right from childhood in Mumbai where we grew up until graduation, Veena was a motivated, self-driven independent young lady. She excelled in academics and sports in queen Mary School a school run by Scottish Presbyterian missionaries. She was elected house captain of Darling House, showing great leadership qualities , in sports she was the intermediate and sub junior champion in track and field events.

She stood first among 150000 students in the University of Mumbai for the Intermediate exam. And later after her BA in English Literature was awarded a scholarship to study at Mount Holyoke College in Massachussetts.After getting her MA in English Veena moved to Cincinnati Where I was studying for an MBA / Phd . Sadly for Veena I went to India for a holiday after my MBA and never returned to the US! Veena went on to complete her Phd , her dissertation being on rights of women in the 17th century.

Veena had made lasting friendships right from school , Asha’s presence here is testimony to that, and also all of you who are here from her university and from the different friendship groups that she was a part of. Veena was a patron of several charities , the Food Bank in Columbus, Columbus Zoo, and supported scholarships for students at Mount Holyoke College and Ohio University. Looking back, Veena and I always had heated discussions on difficult issues, but we always made up in the end. She would always correct my spoken English much to my annoyance. I visited her every year until 2014 when my mother lived with her. She was very close to my son Anand and daughter Gauri,speaking to them regularly. She adored my grandchildren and doted on them. In October 2025 we celebrated her 75th birthday in the UK when she spent a joyous month of pure family fun time.

I will miss Veena , my beloved younger sister , she leaves a huge void in our lives.

Vijay Kasbekar