Israel's Consul General in Mumbai Yaakov Finkelstein was in kindergarten when the news of his country's fourth Prime Minister Golda Meir's death broke. Finkelstein, now 45, carries vivid memories of that day.

"It was December 8, 1978. All the kids were taken to the next-door kindergarten that had a TV set only to show Mrs Meir's final journey. Pictures of the gigantic sea of umbrellas during her rain-drenched funeral have stayed with me," he recalls. It was years later that he learned the reasons why she was called Israeli politics' Iron Lady. "Her relentless contribution to the betterment of the people and her support for the Zionist Movement are unforgettable."