|
Book Review
Vintage memoirs
MY DAYS AND TIMES: A. Padmanaban; Poompuhar Pathippagam, 63, Prakasam Salai, Broadway, Chennai-600108. Rs. 300.
THOUGH FAILURE to get a start in life even as a lower division clerk is branded on his memory, A. Padmanaban's perseverance was amply rewarded.
Passing the IAS in 1956, he steadily climbed the ladder of success and laid down office as Governor of Mizoram.
When his innate talents as a writer and poet blossomed, he was elected president of the Authors Guild of India and the vice-president of the World Poetry Intercontinental.
Prestigious literary awards and doctorates, both national and international, have added lustre to his name.
The absorbing life story, under review, can deservedly win a place in vintage memoirs of the new millennium.
An outgoing personality emerges from the book to measure up to the words of Walt Whitman in So Long: ".... this is no book. Who touches this touches a man''.
It will be apposite to quote him: "The assumption by any new set of ministers whether it is in Government of India or in the State Government, that the predecessor Government's orders are irregular and improper is to say the least, a wrong and foolish assumption. They forget the fact that civil servants are permanent Government employees. Ministers may come and go but civil servants continue and amongst civil servants there are good, bad and indifferent. But by and large the country's administration has been going on with a fair degree of stability and stamina because of the civil service."
The comprehensive article, "Meeting the `Precious Pearl' K.R. Narayanan'', has a personal touch about it.
The epilogue throws a flood of light on his family. His cup of joy, he writes, is full.
The book is adorned with several letters to and from a host of dignitaries, right from the President and the Prime Minister.
There are also a number of photographs with the names of the persons relating to each of them.
A conspicuous omission is the name of Prof. Alladi Ramakrishna, the founder-director of Matscience.
Though vitiated by numerous misprints, the value of the book cannot be underestimated.
P. SUNDARESAN
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Book Review
|
