History’s cacophony, barring natural or man-made catastrophes, when reheard in present times, can often seem like a grand orchestra. Several events lost in the eternity of time, when discovered by the other side of silence, can indeed be immensely profound. So, when city-based writer, filmmaker and publisher, Meena Das Narayan translated her uncle’s book into The Autobiography of the Bureaucrat, she indeed broke a silence that was wrapped tight for many decades.
And since then there were many who have walked into the meadow of the bureaucrat’s life; and many seeing the flowers in it too. One among them being Narendra Modi.
The book which captures the life of her uncle, late MKK Nair including his work in the IAS with leaders such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Kamraj and eminent civil servants such as VP Menon, created interest after controversy erupted when Narendra Modi announced his decision to build a statue of Sardar Patel.
And that is when Meena decided to present her book to Modi. “I started the book in 2009, and could finish it only a few months back. The timing was perfect and the book became relevant after the controversy of Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel came to fore. So I sent a copy of the book to Narendra Modi,” says Meena.
While Modi’s reviewers went through the book, Meena met him on a friendly call, when they struck a chord. “Finally, I got a message that I could meet him on December 18,” she says.
The foreword of the book has been penned by Dr Subramanian Swamy and former Maharashtra governor Dr PC Alexander has written a note for the book.