Natwar Singh led an extraordinary life, starting his journey from as the junior IFS officer to the corridors of power is filled with interesting episodes where he rubbed shoulders with the eminent personalities from the world of politics, arts, cinema and even sports of 20th century . This book is a recollection of 50 articles printed before. Natwar Singh sometimes went overboard in expressing his loyalty towards Nehru- Gandhi family while showing contempt for others including Morarji Desai(an elected PM).
Natwar Singh shared some funny details about Gandhi ji’s wasteful expenditure at Eiffel tower to Papua Guinea tradition. His admiration and brush with inspiring personalities like Nelson Mandela , Fiedel Castro and his personal hero, Vietnamese General Võ Nguyên Giáp was interesting to read . His reverence for Nehru family is an understatement telling in detail about numerous incidents, he fondly narrated an incident where Sonia Gandhi reminding her hosts in Russia that her family connection with Natwar Singh will consume whole evening . Some thought provoking episodes on Godman Chandraswami and Margaret Thatcher or Rajiv Gandhi’s first encounter with Nelson Mandela where he told him “Mr Mandela, when my daughter learnt that I would be meeting you, she made me promise that when I shook hands with you, I should think of her. This I am doing now." was moving.
It’s a book worth reading and I recommend it for those interested to read about some very interesting and humorous tales from history (first hand account). Natwar Singh was candid at times and revealed what transpired behind high walls.
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