Flight of the Phoenix

orn in Mumbai, raised in London, and now working in California, 64-year-old Sandya Narayanswami’s life is the stuff inspiring stories are made of. Charting her own academic path in the ’60s and ’70s in Southall, she was one the first women in her community to pursue a career in science. That, along with her teen-dream of winning the Nobel didn’t come easy, since it took some convincing for her parents to let her chart the path. Nurturing dreams of acquiring a university education, she made her parents promise they wouldn’t look for a groom for her, ‘arranged marriage’-style until she finished. She admits to having