BOOK
Title Author 110048 Price
: Beyond The Lines : Kuldip Nayar Roli Books New Delhi: Rs 595.00
Managing Editor of UNI, a premier news service, and later as the Resident Editor of The Statesman he was seldom away from the centre of gravity. In fact, Nayar has had a
distinguished career which took him to the pinnacle of journalism, to a short stint in diplomacy (High Commissioner in London) and to Parliament (a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha).What stands out in
all these spheres is his uncanny ability to manipulate the flow of events to his advantage. With his affable yet nosey manners and unstinting efforts he had no difficulty in reaching vantage positions where others of his station were not very successful. Probably much can be attributed to the propitious accident of his flight from Sialkot (now in Pakistan) in a hurry and arrival in Delhi in September 1947 when it was in a mess. The adversity brought out the best in him. With all its value as a compendium of events which throw light on many bits of interesting facts, the book is entirely Nayarcentric. Being an autobiographical volume this slant cannot be faulted. To be fair in the Preface he says he wished to avoid being accused ‘of projecting myself’, but he does exactly that all over. The point is that this aspect is a bit too jarring and gives the impression that but for Kuldip Nayar recent Indian history would not have been what it is. Comparisons are always odious, but one has to point out that this is the third autobiography by eminent Indian scribes to come out in the last one year, and neither of the other suffers from this blot. There is a more serious problem that mars the value of the book. It is true that these days when SMSs and Facebook jargons are accepted as samples of Queen’s English, nobody cares about grammar, syntax, spellings and so on. But when an editor writes, especially when one has been the chief of a respected national daily which used to be accepted as the final word in these matters, people sit up and take note. One is pained to say that nobody seems to have edited or proof-read the book, though it is claimed that some eminent personality had been entrusted with the work. The most charitable construction is that he forgot to do the job. (By VSP Kurup)<
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