| It's been a week when the media has been preoccupied with a
new Government and a new prime minister. It has also been, for us, an opportune time to
look at one former prime minister -- P.V. Narasimha Rao whose book The Insider will be
released, hopefully by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, next month. Old politicians,
it seems, never fade away; they merely become novelists. Rao's book, exclusive extracts of which we carry in this issue, is
unusual in many respects. Prime ministers, for instance, rarely write their own speeches,
yet the erudite and controversial Rao has put together a 767-page tome, tracing a
politician's career from his birth to his evolution as a senior state leader. Predictably,
the book has taken time, nearly two decades. However, it fits a contemporary genre of
thinly disguised fiction, which is now popularly known as faction.
It is unusual too for it is a rare inside view into politics
at every level from a man who has been it all: MLA, minister, chief minister and prime
minister. The slow corruption of ministers, the complex intrigue of Andhra Pradesh
politics, the machinations of the Congress, the heady intoxication of power and even the
odd amorous moment, Rao gives a feel of them all.
For all his prolific prose, Rao is not as generous with his
words while being interviewed. When Deputy Editor Swapan Dasgupta and Associate Editor
Binoo K. John met him to discuss the book, they were surprised. In a state of political
limbo, they thought Rao might be more relaxed and free-wheeling in his attitude. To the
contrary, they found him extremely cautious, guarded about every word he spoke. Says
Dasgupta, with a smile, "It made me wonder whether he's coming in for another
political innings." That may not be so, but he does promise a second volume of prose.
Obviously writing is less hazardous than politics.
(Aroon Purie) |
