An insider's view
HAVING courted controversy several times over, Khushwant Singh's story makes for as interesting and racy a read as does his column "With Malice towards One and All". So, when the story of a man who had a ringside view of Indian politics is told by none other than his son, it is bound to hold some promise.
Rahul Singh's "archival history" of Khushwant Singh offers some delightful anecdotes, which, despite being in circulation for a while, never cease to tickle. And, the concluding section portraying Singh Sr. "Through the Eyes of Others" is particularly rich in them.
Making best use of whatever he could lay his hands on — photographs, letters, mementos, news clippings, cartoons — Singh Jr. reconstructs the life of a man who always lived life "kingsize". A labour of love, the son is evidently conscious that his father could well be his most uncharitable critic and is, therefore, not unduly reverential. In fact, the son admits how some of his father's controversial acts — particularly his stand on the Emergency — made life difficult for him even in faraway lands.
Easy to read, what makes the book a true tour down memory lane are the photographs. In black-and-white — even the more recent ones — the choice of colour is a constant reminder that the man who is way ahead of the millennial Indian was actually born in a by-gone era.
Khushwant Singh, Rahul Singh, Roli Books.
ANITA JOSHUA
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