I remember her at tennis in baggy satin slacks, or taking the salute

There was also the Frenchwoman known simply as The Mother who presided over the devotees of Sri Aurobindo, a Bengali revolutionary who fled to French-ruled Pondicherry. The community flourished and expanded under The Mother's stewardship, with branches in every Indian city and hundreds of thousands of worshippers worldwide. I remember her at tennis in baggy satin slacks, or taking the salute at the daily dusk parade of the faithful, from tiny toddlers in green shorts to lumbering ancients in khaki, while the band rolled out sonorous Wagnerian music. No detail of ashram administration, its farms and factories, cars and clinics, was too petty or complicated for The Mother's personal attention. By Sunanda K. Datta-Ray International Herald Tribune Thursday, December 17, 1998 ¶ 7:47 PM