As one of the country’s most popular leaders, Indira Gandhi continues to be adored by people across generations. We have had several books capturing the charming persona of India’s ‘Iron Lady’. It may sound like a paradox but then that’s what made her an enigma which spawned several books over the years. The latest to join the ranks is Indira (Context), the first graphic biography written by Devapriya Roy and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Bringing to fore her multi-dimensional personality — she was equally at home with politics, international affairs, wildlife issues and yoga –— the book is a mix of fiction and reality.
Excerpts:
On the genesis of the idea
Devapriya: It was during Indira Gandhi’s centenary year in 2017 that we were approached to write what was envisioned as a biography for the millenials. Having never met or worked together, we started discussing as to how to go about it. Priya recommended me a lot of graphic novels to understand the genre better while I asked her read some of Indira Gandhi’s biographies like one by Pupul Jayakar Indira Gandhi and Coomi Kapoor’s The Emergency: A Personal History to get an idea of the personality and the time she lived in.
On the advantages of a graphic book
Priya: Firstly, there isn’t any graphic story on Indira Gandhi, not even by Amar Chitra Katha. It allows the reader to have a more immersive experience of the time and period talked about. It plays a crucial role by enhancing the reading experience, allowing interpretation and making the time come alive with details. Also, illustrations convey myriad emotions, making the narrative interactive.
On starting the story with Indira Thapa, a fictional character
Devapriya: That was to allow the young readers to engage with a narrative that is contextual. I read a lot of graphic biographies including that of Che Guevara but somehow after a point it becomes dull. It would become a series of events. By bringing fictional characters like her, Reema Das, Piya, etc, mentioning travelling in the Delhi Metro and buses, we made it easier for the present generation to relate to the narrative. Indira Thapa also helps to put Indira Gandhi in context and make the reader see what she means to the present generation. That is the advantage of running a fictional narrative with facts.
On challenges faced while writing and illustrating
Devapriya: Indira Gandhi’s life is fascinating. As she was both a controversial and popular personality, we wanted to go beyond the headline approach and highlight her richly lived and full life. For most, specially the young people, she stands for the 1971 War with Pakistan, Emergency and Operation Bluestar, but we wanted to share her multi-dimensional personality. I read all the available biographies like that by K A Abbas, Mary C Carras, Katherine Frank, Pupul Jayakar, Inder Malhotra, Zareer Masani, K P Mathur and others. We also did select references for different chapters from books by P C Alexander, P N Dhar, Vinod Mehta, Coomi Kapoor and B Raman among others.
We met many people connected with the events discussed in the book. For example, Priya’s father Jacob Kuriyan who fought the Bangladesh war, shared with us details about Mukti Bahini and surrender by Pakistani forces. The insights on the JP movement came from my father, Nilanjan Roy, who was part of it.
Having researched extensively, the challenge was how much to include, keeping in mind the need to retain the essence, nuance and complex politics of the time intact and yet manage to tell the story without it becoming a boring tome. There was the constraint of number of pages as well. Initially, we were sanctioned 140 pages but we went up to 166.
Another challenge was dealing with the complex political terrains like Emergency, her becoming the Prime Minister in 1966, the Bangladesh war, years in political wilderness (1977 to 1980), her return to power and Operation Bluestar.
We also wanted to tap into the oral histories that people have of Indira Gandhi. A lot of people we met shared with us their story about her. For example that of Pal Singh the driver, who is a real character, who took us around during our research. He told me about how he ferried Hari Krishna Shastri’s guest to Rajasthan during the riots and managed to escape the mob while returning to Delhi.
Priya: The book could not be a checklist of what she did and what she didn’t. A certain human angle and story had to be there. For me, the challenge was of visual research. I had to make the illustrations of different characters, specially the leaders, without reducing them to caricature. I had to get Indira Gandhi’s characteristic body language and expressions right. Also the backdrop needed to look authentic.
We visited a number of places like the Parliament House and Allahabad where I did do a lot of sketching and took pictures. For instance, the scene portraying the burning of foreign-made clothes is a replica of the Anand Bhavan courtyard. The staircase depicted showing young Indira running with her doll is also an exact replica. I carefully scrutinised thousands of photographs, specially the ones curated by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. I watched a lot of her interview footage on YouTube to understand her body language and expression. She had this very special characteristic of taking off her spectacles and raising her eye brow. We have shown it when General Sam Manekshaw disagrees with her about the timing of Bangladesh intervention.
On her sense of humour
Devapriya: Dr K P Mathur, her personal physician for many years, has noted in his biography that on 31st October, 1984, when he visited her she was getting ready for a BBC interview with Peter Ustinov. Mathur remarked that he had heard Ronald Reagan refused to get make up done for interviews. Indira Gandhi countered that he not only had full make up but also wore an ear piece for answers to be prompted if journalists asked really difficult questions. It goes to show what a great sense of humour she had.
Priya: During her honeymoon in Gulmarg, she sent a telegram to her father, “Wish we could send you some cool breeze from here.” To this Nehru replied: “Thanks. But you have no mangoes.” A fine exchange between the father and daughter.
On Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sharing her stories
Devapriya: She took us around No.1, Safdarjung Road which is now a museum. Then she shared the story of borrowing her grandmother’s jhola (bag) for playing the Nirma boy in school on October 31, 1984. The dressing room shown in that illustration is real.
The other story Priyanka shared was of her being left behind when the entire family went for the closing ceremony of Asian Games on December 4, 1982 and her grandmother taking her in a van to a vantage point to watch the fireworks at Siri Fort while she sat inside marking the files.
On ensuring that the book does not turn into a hagiography
Devapriya: We thought that way it will diminish her contribution. Having spent two years working on someone’s life, it is false to say that we were neutral. Indira Gandhi’s complexities appealed to me as a novelist and Priya as an artist. Our way of looking at her was that she was a person with her flaws and greatness. When required to report with asperity and distance on issues like Emergency, etc, we did so.
On dealing with the Emergency and the Punjab crisis
Priya: For Emergency, we created four characters, Ravi who is from Jan Sangh, Mala, a socialist supporter of Jayaprakash Narayan, Nafisa, a Congress supporter and Gurmeet, who initially supports Congress but later changes his stance. We show them discussing in a coffee house and using a blend of fiction and fact bring out the opinions and views prevailing then. Also included is JP’s speech, his private meeting with her, scenes of forcible sterilisation and demolitions.
Devapriya: As for Punjab, we had to limit ourselves to Bhindranwale and storming of Harminder Sahib because of space constraint because going into details would have entailed cutting on her others facets such as love for wildlife, yoga, etc. Of the many things that were left out, we tried to include through Piya’s post-its which talk about Indira Gandhi advising Nehru to dismiss EMS Namboodiripad’s government in Kerala, Feroze Gandhi’s demise and her expulsion from the Congress in 1969 to cover key events that happened between 1966 and 1971.
