Devil's Advocate - Karan Thapar (2018)

 The Newslaundry interview by Madhu Trehan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM-2VXMg6VY&t=2s ) introduced me to this book. 

The book is absolutely curt and to the point with economic usage of words in describing the ranges of areas he has touched upon. He talks of his childhood, marriage, his association with Benazir Bhutto, Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, subsequently leading to his journalistic journeys in India. While one gets to know Karan as a person well connected in Luyten's Delhi who pretty much can reach anyone who mattered in India, he was well connected in Pakistan as well. And one gets to feel personal relationships were much stronger than professional relationships. Towards the end, you see a few of the interviews and people he has become distant to eventually because he brushed them on the wrong side: Ram Jethmalani, L. K. Advani, Jayalalithaa, and Narendra Modi. 

He talks about why he wrote the book. He had time and he wanted to tell more interesting parts of his life. Somewhere, I felt he has a sense of guilt which haunts him if he did the right thing with some of his interviewees. Moreover, he expects readers to judge his actions. He is trying to portray, he did things within the journalistic duties. I felt everything said and done, journalists have to clearly keep a balance. The people they critique are the same that they have to keep the best relationships for a continued stream of interviews. Today you see a different Karan Thapar on Incisive Interviews on The Wire. However, you do not see the big names from the political circles, rather academicians, writers, etc. only. 

The book is definitely a must-read. 

Sister Nivedita - Basudha Chakravarty (1975)

When I went to my alma mater IIT Kharagpur, I was surprised to see the largest ladies hostel in the campus was named after Sister Nivedita. A bit curious as almost all the hostels in IIT KGP are named after freedom fighters, I was not able to place sister Nivedita among them. Luckily National Book Trust released this book for free for public reading during the Corona lockdown. This gave me an insight into this great soul and the multifaceted character she is. The book is concise note on the sister's life. Almost a breeze read.

Sister Nivedita got enchanted into Hindu philosophy with Swami Vivekananda's discourses. She decided to lead the Hindu ways of life and had set herself the path to come to India and help set up education for women in India. Although, she partially was successful in that mission, she has contributed to spreading of Hindu ways of life in the west, helping scientists like Dr. J. C. Bose in funding and encouraging their research. Culturally, connecting with Rabindranath Tagore and other Tagore clan members in spreading the importance of Indian culture. She has contributed and at times led the void in leadership during the early freedom struggles of India. She interacted with Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh and Khudiram Bose who had extreme views on Indian freedom struggle while maintaining an equally close association with the moderates. Moreover, she had Lady Minto, the wife of the viceroy as a regular visitor to her school. She has expressed her views on varied areas of interests related to India and Indian culture and Hindu heritage that are published as works of literature, simple children stories or as speeches. For me the book was an eye opener to know a great soul from Indian history who does not get as much of a mention as she should be.