"The major portion of my ashes should … be carried high up into the air in an airplane and scattered from that height over the fields where the peasants of India toil, so that they might mingle with the dust and soil … and become an indistinguishable part of India." - Jawaharlal Nehru.
Those were the last wishes of Pundit Nehru. While the book is a remarkable insight into Nehru's life, it also brings out the contribution of many other people like Motilal Nehru in making Jawaharlal the towering personality he became. The book is written like scholastic work though not as rigorous in terms of references; Dr. Tharoor describes Nehru's life as early rise, him as a freedom fighter, post-independence initial years of success, and later years of failure with war with China. Written when Tharoor had no political affiliation to be associated with Congress, this book has both the positives and negatives on Nehru's life. In short, one can see the appreciation for the person, his towering personality, the institutions he built for India, and even policies, not in the country's interest.
Overall a must-read for anyone interested in Nehru's life. Though short, it has some liberal usage of Tharoorosaurus. So need some patience than zipping through the passages.
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