Norma Alvares

Interview Summary (00:00:00) Early Life Born in Bombay on April 28th, 1951, Norma Alvares was the second of four children. Her mother was a teacher and ran a kindergarten school, while her father worked in clerical sales in a firm in Bombay. Alvares said she came from a middle-class family. In school, Alvares said that she was a very diligent worker and always stood ‘top of the class.’ She said even today her younger son teased her about her rank in school, calling Alvares ‘selfish,’ for not giving up her...

Interview Summary (00:00:00) Inside the Courtroom When asked to describe a typical courtroom, Alvares talked about her experience working in the Bombay High Court. She described the courtroom as being ‘large,’ with a separate space where the public could sit in during hearings. There was a table and a lectern for the lawyers. The judges always sat on a raised platform, she added. The court master would handle the files and paper work. Usually lawyers were supposed to address the judge as ‘My Lord,’ but...