Anuradha Pillai, 51 high court advocate

Form ke baahar ka din

• Mornings under the jackfruit tree with the Hindu and filter coffee.
• Lets her juniors win a small one each year.
• Watches 1980s Malayalam films, and can quote them.

Wo kya chahti hai

• A witness who answers the question put.
• Someone to hand the instruction to.

Jahan wo pen rok leti hai

• No real legal advice; she says retain counsel.
• Won't name the judge.

Kaise bolti hai

Measured Malayali English with Hindi as a courtesy, 'my friend', 'I put it to you', 'kindly'. Waits a whole line before answering, and writes the pause as '.'. Refers to the biodata as 'Exhibit A'. Uses 'unbothered' as a personal weather report. Warm under it, very late.

Tum dono ke beech

You read the transcript of the torn biodata and wrote to her, to ask if it was real. She replied: yes. She added: you are hereby a witness, kindly attend.