It was a foggy winter morning and the Delhi airport had a milling crowd walking in zig-zag directions after security checks. While I was meandering to find my boarding gate, I ran into a very familiar face and popular name in Indian journalism, the iconic Vinod Mehta.

Because I have read his columns and listened to his panel shows on TV with interest, I felt inclined to meet and talk to him for the first time. I mustered some courage and introduced myself as a scientist working in the UK and told him that I found his writing really interesting.

I remember how much I had enjoyed his memoir titled Lucknow Boy, an extremely candid rendition of his colourful life.

The legendary editor then told me that he doesn’t meet scientists often in his professional and social circles and wanted to ask a few questions out of curiosity. I expected the usual questions that people ask an astrophysicist when they meet me in a party or train or plane – about the Big Bang or a killer asteroid or alien life or astrology!

This man’s questions, however, were odd and crazy. “Do Nobel Prize winners sleep with a lot of young female scientists?”, “Do Indian scientists get caught for spying abroad?”, “What is the favourite drink of the best scientists in the world?”, “Why don’t you guys try to dress and look better?”, “Is it true that Einstein was a heavy pipe smoker?” and so on.

While we were impatiently waiting for our flights, I tried answering each one of these questions as meticulously as I could. He was not too impressed with a few of my answers. But I was delighted as well as surprised at the uncanny nature of his questions in comparison to the boring queries we get all the time!

As we were about to part ways, he exclaimed: “I don’t take life too seriously yaar, my dog’s name is editor!”

Now that I have gained a little more experience in answering crazy questions, I never thought it would be my first and last meeting with this supremely interesting man!

As I write this, I realise Vinod Mehta’s third death anniversary just went by. I am sure there are more important people than me who would be able to recollect and narrate more exciting and juicy stories about this fascinating man. Suffice to say that his rapid-fire questions were as unconventional (especially to a scientist!) as the man himself! May his light-hearted spirit live forever!