The sudden death of Pran Nevile last Thursday has left a void in the literary world. An intellectual par-excellence, he was born in Lahore 95 years ago and took his post-graduate degree from Government College in that city, which he continued to visit often, and also celebrated its uniqueness in a book, and which he loved as much as Delhi, the place of his adoption after Partition. Like Khushwant Singh and Kuldip Nayar, he was a great votary of Indo-Pak friendship and was pained at the deteriorating relationship between the two countries, which together contained the ethos of a composite culture not found anywhere else in the world and which continued uninterrupted right from the Mughal days, when Khans and Lalas made Chandni Chowk the Venice of the East.
One got to know him 25 years ago and was immediately impressed by his suave personality, which reflected the quintessential Brown Sahib, whose joie de vivre was almost contagious and which was not affected even by the death of his beloved wife, Savitri, whom he had married after a tumultuous romance. As a matter of fact, he found great pleasure in the company of the young that induced him to organise monthly music programmes. His interest in music was such that he wrote extensively on K. L. Saigal, with whom he had cultivated a friendship in his native place, Pankaj Mullick, Master Madan, melody queen Kanan Devi, Khurshid, the astounding Tamancha Jaan, bulbul- voiced Suraiya, Noor Jahan, the Starlight Singer, and a gem called Jahanara Kajjan.
Starting life with the State Trading Corporation of India in Moscow, he became a trade counselor and an authority on East European politics and economy. After a distinguished career later in the Indian Foreign Service and United Nations, Nevile became a freelance writer, specialising in the social and cultural history of India. His fascination with the visual and performing arts inspired him to spend many years researching in the libraries and museums of the US and the UK. His favourite subject also was the ethos of the British Raj on which he wrote several books that made him the doyen of Raj Stories of the sahibs and memsahibs. Some of his well-known publications include “Lahore: A Sentimental Journey”, “Nautch Girls of India”, “Beyond the Veil”, “Marvels of Indian Painting”, “K. L. Saigal: The Definitive Biography” and “Carefree Days”. He also compiled and edited “Tribune-125 Years”, an anthology and “India Through American Eyes: 100 Years Ago”. His last published book was “Passionate Players”, which contained a selection of his writings. But it is unfortunate that he could not see in print what would have been his last book of reminiscences, “India: Pilgrimage to the Past”, for which he asked this scribe to write the blurb.
Pran Nevile would certainly be missed at the India International Centre to which he drove frequently all the way from Gurugram after leaving Patel Nagar, and also artistes and authors to whose aid he graciously came at the time when they were struggling for recognition. He is survived by his second son, Rahul, who at 64, is also an expert on business and trade matters.
