The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Barnala’s ‘sensitively told’ memoirs released

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Barnala’s ‘sensitively told’ memoirs released

Special Correspondent

“Matter-of-fact directness, economy of expression stand out in treatment of the theme”

— PHOTO: S. R. Raghunathan

MEMORABLE WORK: Nanditha Krishna, director, C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, receives the first copy of the book, ‘My Other Two Daughters,’ by Governor S. S. Barnala, from N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, at a function at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Thursday.

CHENNAI: Having presided over the launch of scores of books in his lifetime, it was time for Governor Surjit Singh Barnala to sit back and listen to what others had to say about his poignant memoirs.

Mr. Barnala’s ‘My Other Two Daughters’ -- his second literary attempt after ‘Story of an escape’-- tells the stories of two persons who came into his life and left a huge impact.

The book, in two almost equal parts, is about a Kashmiri girl, Naseem, who succumbs to poverty and disease, and Kiran Jot, a young American woman drawn to Sikhism like many Americans were during the 1970s, and the paternal bonding both shared with Mr. Barnala.

Launching the book, N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the story of two profound influences at two different stages in Mr. Barnala’s life was sensitively told, yet it steered clear of sentimentality or mush.

The matter-of-fact directness and economy of expression were two things that stood out in Mr. Barnala’s treatment of the theme. Evident through the narrative was Mr. Barnala’s “painter’s eye” and his keen observation, he said.

Mr. Ram also found it noteworthy that the author desisted from patronising or drawing morals and his kind gestures to the two girls in vastly different crises came across as the most natural thing to do.

Rasheeda Bhagat, associate editor, Business Line, said the character of Naseem in particular touched the heart.

Naazreen Bhura, resident editor, Deccan Chronicle, described the book as moving and said readers would be able to relate to the characters.

Across time and culture

Nanditha Krishna, director, C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, said the narrative cut across time, cultures and religions. Mr. Barnala’s words, she said, were as definitive as his paintings.

C. K. Gariyali, former civil servant who has served as secretary to the Governor, said those who know Mr. Barnala as a warm person would appreciate his humaneness even more once they read this book.

S. K. Vettivel, publisher, Vetri Publishers; Sandeep Saxena, secretary to the Governor; Siva Shanmuga Raja, deputy secretary; and Jasbir Singh Bajaj spoke.

Apparently, the book resulted from secretarial persuasion. And, once prodded, Mr. Barnala is said to have finished the book in the course of a month’s hectic travel.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Barnala said the Kashmiri girl had come into his life like a “whiff of perfume” only to wither away while the American woman virtually “pushed her way” to becoming his daughter.

Kiran Jot, who turned to Sikhism, insisted that she came to the Raj Bhavan here after she developed terminal cancer. Jot spent her last days with Mr. Barnala who she looked up to as a father-figure. And, on her wishes, she was cremated in accordance with Hindu and Sikh rites and practices.

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