LifeTimeline

Kukula Kapoor Glastris

    • Kukula Kapoor Arrives

    1958
    • On to Delhi

    1971
    • Priti Goes To Indiana

    1975
    • The Indiana University Years

    1981
    • Moves to Evanston

    1984
    • Marries the Love of Her Life

    1986
    • Nader's Raider

    1987
    • OCT 17

      Becomes a Mom, Part 1 -- Hope

    1989
    • AUG 26

      Becomes a Mom, Part 2 -- Adam

    1996
    • Becomes Book Editor & Collections Thug for The Washington Monthly

    2001
    • Constructs The Community of Love on Kenhowe St

    2002
    • AUG 17

      Cooks 1000th Pastitsio

    2007
    • OCT 03

      Yells At TV Set When She Hears Obama Thinks He Can Get GOP Buy In on Health Care

    2009
    • Finds Magnificent Spiritual Community

    2010
    • Gets Married A Second Time

    2015
    • AUG 28

      Becomes a Mother-in-Law

    • AUG 29

      Passes Away

    • SEP 04

      Family and friends mourn

    2017
  • 3

    Kukula Kapoor Arrives

    Kukula Kapoor was born in Tibet, where her father was stationed as a diplomat. Her Tibetan name is Pema Lamo. As a baby she was blessed by the Dalai Lama. Kuku''s parents helped the Dalai Lama escape from Tibet to India. Her father chose the name Kukula after seeing a Cookoo bird outside the window. She went Welhams Girls School in Dehradun (UK).
  • 2

    On to Delhi

    India
    Her father was Randhir Singh Kapoor, a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. Her mother was Raj Kumari Kapoor. Family lore has it that it was Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhii who suggested to Raj that she start her own business, and she then created a bakery, Chocolate Wheel, that thrived in New Delhi for 32 years. It closed Feb 11, 2011.
  • 2

    Priti Goes To Indiana

    Indiana
    Kuku arrives in America, staying with her aunt Darshi in Bloomington. She is known by her Indian name Pratibha a.k.a. Priti.
  • 5

    The Indiana University Years

    Indiana
    She Priti (a.k.a Kukula) was perceived by the Hoosiers as the most exotic person they'd ever seen. So worldly, beautiful, well-travelled -- she was a marvel. She majored in journalism.
  • Moves to Evanston

    Evanston, Illinois
    Moves to Evanston and works for Let Us Entertain You -- and then worked as associate producer for Irv Kupcinet, a beloved Chicago talk-show host. Among the many highlight was sipping Dom Perignon from styrofoam cups with Jill Lucas, Kup and Essie for the 25th Anniversary special. There she met: Muhammad Ali, George H.W. Bush, Walter Payton, and Norman Mailer. ("He walks like a pugilist, on the balls of his feet," she said of Mailer). On the side, she worked at Hooligans in Skokie, where she served Payton but didn't know who he was. ("Oh what do you do?" "I play a little football")
  • 9

    Marries the Love of Her Life

    Bloomington, Indiana
    Paul Dimpapas Glastris, who promises her a lifetime of book review editing, policy discussion, and unbounded love.
  • Nader's Raider

    Washington, District of Columbia
    Becomes a key aide to consumer activist Ralph Nader.
  • 2

    Becomes a Mom, Part 1 -- Hope

    Chicago, Illinois
    Although Kuku has been a mother figure to many, many people over the years, she formally became an actual mother with the arrival of the stunning gem called Hope.
  • Becomes a Mom, Part 2 -- Adam

    Kuku gives the world a second great gift -- the extraordinary Adam Singh Glastris. Although she and Paul were living in Washington at the time, they were in Chicago on a "vacation" (i.e. attending the Democratic National Convention)
  • Becomes Book Editor & Collections Thug for The Washington Monthly

    When Paul took over the management of the struggling Washington Monthly, Kukula, as was her custom, volunteered to the jobs that no one else wanted to do. In this case, that meant trying to collect thousands of dollars in bills due to the magazine. After her success as a collection agent, she became Book Editor of the magazine. In that role she both selected the books worthy of coverage, and worked with the writers to craft insightful essays. On the side, she served as the unofficial mom of all the young editors who came through their doors.
    Md Toha Hossain
    Myself books
  • 11

    Constructs The Community of Love on Kenhowe St

    During the more than 30 years she lived in Washington, she built a community of love -- not only for her own children but for various neighbors, classmates, colleagues and anyone who needed a hug or a meal.
  • 2

    Cooks 1000th Pastitsio

    Remarkably, she could Greek as well as Indian. Among her signature dishes: spanakopita, pastitsio, kefdedes, rajma, gobi allo, gooey butter cake and many pots of coffee.
  • 2

    Yells At TV Set When She Hears Obama Thinks He Can Get GOP Buy In on Health Care

    A fierce progressive, Kuku worked and volunteered for Democratic candidates local and national through the years. She tolerated her husband's neoliberalism but regularly attempted to awaken him to GOP treachery. She was particularly disappointed that President Obama spent many months attempting to forge a bipartisan compromise with the Republicans when it seemed clear to her that the GOP was just playing with him and would never go along. Although she yelled this point at the TV set with increasing vigor, Obama did not listen. He regretted that.
  • Finds Magnificent Spiritual Community

    Bethesda, Maryland
    In 2010 she converted to Episcopalianism -- the culmination of her long-term love and appreciation of Christianity and Jesus, who she described as her Guru. She became a hugely important volunteer at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda.
  • 5

    Gets Married A Second Time

    Washington, District of Columbia
    Kukula had the opportunity to get married a second time and, inexplicably, she decided to marry Paul Glastris AGAIN. Actually, this was a renewal of vows in the Greek Orthodox Church. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous.
  • Becomes a Mother-in-Law

    Bethesda, Maryland
    Hope informs Kuku that her longtime beau, Matthew Schindler, has proposed marriage and that she has accepted.
  • Passes Away

    Washington, District of Columbia
    Paul's note to friends: "It is hard for me to write these words, and I know hard for you to read them, but Kukula Kapoor Glastris, love of my life, mother of our children, sister, cousin, friend, colleague to all of you, passed away last night at 10:31 PM from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. She went peacefully, without pain, surrounded by family and friends."
  • 59

    Family and friends mourn

    Bethesda, Maryland
    Hundreds of people packed Church of Redeemer to express their love and condolences. This is a small sample of some of the beautiful messages left by friends and family.