“Did you know that India has six seasons?” she asks, smiling ever so gently as she talks of her days at Shantiniketan. The beautiful but completely uninterested golden retriever at my feet half-wags his tail in the ensuing silence and then goes back to sleep. Thus far, the interview has not really gone as I had thought it would. But, as I was soon to learn, apart from having a wonderful sense of humour and razor sharp memory, Justice Ruma Pal has an incredible ability to surprise.