| |
BOOKS
Feasting
On Brother
When
envy tries to hijack the cause
By
Nina Pillai
No good deed goes
unpunished" was one of Rajan's favourite sayings. In life, he was
let down by his friends and family, associates and employees-all beneficiaries
of his largesse. In death, too, those seeking to map his story of corporate
success and tragic death have chosen to skirt the truth. In the case of
A Wasted Death: The Rise and Fall of Rajan Pillai it is only more disheartening
because it comes from his own brother, Rajmohan.
 |
|
A WASTED DEATH
By Rajmohan Pillai with K. Govindan Kutty
Penguin
Price: Rs 250
Pages: 223
|
Take,
for instance, the story of me throwing tantrums during our marriage. The
day before the wedding was my birthday. After a family party, Rajan and
I sought permission from my grandmother-the matriarch of our family-to
continue the soiree at Café Royale in the Oberoi, where we partied
till early morning. The muhurtam was at 7.30 a.m. so I had hardly any
time to get ready. After the ceremony was over, the two families got together
for lunch, after which I had to hurriedly change into a traditional mundu
and veshty for grihapravesh. This was followed by the reception, after
which we came home, picked our luggage and took the 5 a.m. flight to Singapore.
Only weeks later we received the marriage photographs. and, between Raj
and me, the non-working video camera was a standard joke. Yet Rajmohan
talks about video cameras toppling and me throwing a warbler, and, after
the event, me sitting in a plush chair with feet up! What a lie!
 The
book palavers on me being a model and airhostess, but chooses to remain
silent on my academic pursuits, that I studied psychology for my Masters-perhaps
it is his self-confessed dyslexia at it again. Rajmohan says his feelings
towards me were ambiguous, when he doesn't so much as blip on my radar.
In the 14 years of our marriage, we interacted on six to eight occasions.
And Rajan's will is clear on his succession. After him, me. Then my parents,
my brother and his wife as guardians of my sons and only in the event
of all of us passing away will everything go to his family. But Rajmohan
has filed a petition on behalf of my mother-in-law staking claim to the
estate, my jewellery and, to top it all, asking for my sons to be made
wards of the court. Riding piggyback on my small successes in courts to
keep the Rajan issue alive, the book is a sad attempt by an envious brother,
a non-achiever compared to Rajan, to hijack the cause.
|
|
METRO TODAY
Web
Exclusives
