Grandfather & Grandmother: A Memoir

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This book had its origin in a request from my nephew, Nikhil, in October 2016 for a 500-word piece on grandfather for his wedding publication Wedding Herald. Despite my initial disinclination, I agreed to write. Recently, I had been alerted to certain misunderstandings and misinterpretations about grandfather, even among close relatives and longstanding friends and associates. In the little time available, I dashed off a 1,800-word piece on grandfather and grandmother.

Over the next few years, I had been thinking on-again, off-again about the matter. In March of 2022, I started writing a more detailed and elaborate version of my original essay. By mid-May it had reached a final shape. It was published in Deccan Herald and Prajavani to coincide with the start of the 75th year of the starting of Deccan Herald. To my surprise the response of many family, friends and the public was enthusiastic. That gave me the idea of publishing it in book form with some revision, elaboration, many more photos, documents, pages from newspapers and books, etc.

It has been a new departure for me to write in the style of "as I knew him." For a person whose writings till then were mostly impersonal political and other analyses of current affairs, to write in the unfamiliar self-revelatory manner about my feelings towards close family was a searing experience. I have written from the point of view of a grandson, basing myself on my direct experience. On various points I have also depended on the testimony of close and distant family members, grandfather's associates and friends, managers and editors in his businesses and newspaper company, and photos, documents, published books and newspapers. I have sifted the evidence, pointed to inconsistencies and drawn conclusions. In all this, my attempt has been to be fair. My analysis has been informed by my historical, social and cultural perspectives. I have followed my bent, I could not do otherwise. Inevitably perhaps, the result has been idiosyncratic.

I have accumulated many debts at various stages in the writing and publication of this essay. C G Manjula devoted a lot of her time and effort in research and translation. Rashmi Vasudeva and V. Mangai in our newspaper company have put in a lot of work. Artists Balan Nambiar and S G Vasudev have offered valuable suggestions. Sugata Srinivasaraju offered appreciation, sharp criticism and did a translation of the epigraph. Graphic designer Miti Desai has designed the book. My wife Parul has read the drafts over the years, offered suggestions and made corrections.