Shirish Bhansali was a consultant surgeon in Bombay, India. He was born on 21 September 1929 in Bombay into a medical family. His father was Kanchanlal Bhansali, a general practitioner, and his uncle was a gynaecologist. His mother was Kumud Vakil. He was educated at the Modern School and Elphinston

Manohar Janardan Joshi was born on 11 December 1931 in Ratnagiri, India. His father, Janardan Joshi, was a lawyer and social reformer and his mother, Malatibai, was the superintendant of the Girl’s High School in Ratnagiri. The school had been founded by his parents in 1925 and was the first school