WHAT ARE THE CHANCES of a person’s name reflecting his choice of career? Quite low, I would say. For example, my first name has nothing to do with what I do. Philip comes from the Greek name Philippos, meaning horse lover! Philo is love (hence, philosophy, philately). And hippos is Latin for horse. I know where you are going, and you are correct… hippopotamus is a joint word (portmanteau, if you may) meaning river horse. But, as I was saying, I am not an owner, breeder, trainer or jockey. I am just a simple Philip who is far away from horses.

But the case of our Man of the Year—ISRO Chairman S. Somanath—is quite different. Somanath is one of the praise names of Lord Shiva. It is also a proper noun denoting the place where one of the 12 holiest jyotirlingas is worshipped. The word means ‘lord of the moon.’ What are the chances that the man who led the team that put Chandrayaan-3 on the moon would be named Somanath? Something deep inside me says that it was written in the stars, somewhere, somehow.

Correspondent Nirmal Jovial’s article on Somanath paints an intimate portrait. From personal experience, I know that Somanath’s warmth is not a facade. On August 23—shortly after the Vikram lander touched down on the moon at 6:03pm IST—I placed a call to congratulate him, and to my total surprise, he picked up. I could hear the hubbub around him and kept the conversation short. But I continue to be amazed by the grace that prompted him to answer my call at a time when he was drowning in calls from the highest offices in our country.

While the video of Nirmal’s interview with him was being shot at the Grand Hyatt Kochi, video editor Vishnudas K.S. was crouched behind the low camera and, naturally, his calves started aching. A girl who was standing nearby asked him almost apologetically if it was too bad. He told her that it was manageable. What Vishnu did not know then was that she was Malika, Somanath’s daughter.

I was deeply touched to hear of that moment and very happy to see that Valsala and Somanath have raised two empathetic human beings in Malika and Madhav. I am sure you will enjoy reading this cover story, dear reader, and agree with our choice for THE WEEK Man of the Year 2023.

Another exclusive in this issue is an interview with Tamil Nadu IT Minister Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. He is famous for his clarity of thought and expression, and that shines in his conversation with Chief Associate Editor and Director Riyad Mathew and Senior Special Correspondent Lakshmi Subramanian. My thanks to PTR for the interview.

There is also Senior Assistant Editor Soni Mishra’s interview with Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former president Pranab Mukherjee, against the backdrop of her newly released book. I will always remember the president for his political acumen and for generously hosting us at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 2, 2014, for the release of our coffee table book, First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Dr Karan Singh released the book, which the president graciously received.

Coming back to Somanath, I should share my admiration for his mother, Thankamma, who packed extra food in his lunch packet for children from less fortunate homes. Hunger is violence. Quite often, it is a mother who stands between a child and this brutal violence. Is it any surprise to you, dear reader, that that mother’s son ended up being so blessed?