Unlettered intellectual
"An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society." -- Wikipedia By the above definition, my mother's housekeeper / companion K, despite never having stepped even on the shadow of a school (to use a Bengali turn of phrase), totally qualifies as an intellectual. Well, maybe not the last bit - she doesn't exactly offer prescriptions for social ills, but she does reflect analytically and dispassionately on all things societal and freely shares her thoughts whenever I visit. I like how no one is out of the bounds of her objective criticism, she includes both me and herself as well as all her near and dear ones. For instance, two years ago I made the days-long multi-marathon-flight trip to India bearing two suitcases, one of which was full of diapers sent by my husband for his bedridden mother. K shook her head mournfully at the total poi...