Monday, August 22, 2016






The Eighth Ring—An Autobiography by K.M.Mathew ; Published by Penguin ; Pages  391 ; Price Rs. 699/-

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The first copy of this book  was presented to  the  President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee . The “ Eighth Ring” is an English translation of the autobiography of  Shri K. M. Mathew who was the  Editor and Publisher of Malayala Manorama. The President complimented the Manorama Group for treating journalism as a mission and commitment to society. The Manorama group has demonstrated exemplary leadership in upholding and expanding the high values set by Shri Mathew. The media in India has always supported the freedom of individuals and has not  compromised on freedom of speech and expression. The history of Indian journalism is closely linked with our Freedom movement. The Press was the progenitors of many of our leaders.

 K,M, Mathew is the Bhishma Pitamaha of journalism in Kerala. This book is a chronicle of the growth of journalism  in Kerala. Dovetailed with it is the poignant tale of the travails of  one family and how like the proverbial phoenix it ascended from ashes. K. M Mathew dedicates the book to his  mother, whose ornaments were made into rings and given to her nine children. Mathew, being her eighth child was the recipient of  the  eighth ring, which provided  the title of his autobiography.

Mathew takes us from Kuppupuram to Kottayam, Thisruvananthapuram, Madras, Delhi, London, Istanbul and Berlin on a journey that is at once arresting and entertaining.
The book is vivid with photos which show the memorable events in the  life of this  legend.  

Mathew was born  in  1917 and lived for 93 years. He  began his career as a rubber planter in Chickmagalur in Karnataka and  later joined the family-owned Malayala Manorama in 1954 as its General Manager and Managing Editor under his elder brother  Cherian. Mathew became the Chief Editor of the newspaper on the death of Cherian in 1973.Under his stewardship, Malayala Manorama  witnessed  expansion and modernisation. He was noted for espousing  young talent, and several professionals were specially trained and oriented to a popular style of journalism that radically altered the role of  newspapers  in Malayalam. The paper was eminently  reader-friendly  and with the latest production techniques designed by Mathew scaled new heights and ensured a massive circulation.

  Mathew  was  a figure to reckon with in the world of journalism. He was  the President of the Indian Newspaper Society; Chairman of the Press Trust of India; Founder-Trustee and Chairman of the Press Institute of India and Research Institute for Newspaper Development and a consultant to the International Press Institute. Government of India honoured him with a Padma Bhushan in 1998.

His  wife  made a name for herself with a range of cookery books and  was the Editor of Vanitha, a magazine for women, until her death in 2003. 

 One of the darkest chapters in Mathew’s life was the monstrous assault on his family and Press by the malicious  Dewan of Travancore, Sir.C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar , who systematically destroyed their bank-- Travancore National and Quilon Bank, sent to jail Appachen and his companions and confiscated the properties of Malayala Manorama. got its offices locked up for nine years in 1938. He even threatened K.M.Cherian , “ I will ruin you “.

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The Dewan was outraged by the support Malayala Manorama  gave to the State Congress which led an agitation against the Royal Government.

 The veteran Editor wrote the book “not to display his war wounds or to trumpet the historic events he had witnessed, but out of a childlike desire to share with everyone the tenderness of his parents and the unshakable faith he had in Malayala Manorama's destiny. “

The book is chockfull of racy anecdotes about  hundreds of  persons Mathew encountered . There are graphic images of eminent people. Especially of interest is the story of how Mathew arranged the meeting of his wife with that “ Iron Lady”, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister of England.

Mathew played a pivotal role in Malayala Manorama for fifty four years. He has in this book noted the highs and lows of his father and the historic events in the nine decades of his life. The Manorama was established in 1888. Initially a weekly, it became a bi-weekly 11 years later. It became a daily only from 1928.Prannoy Roy described  Mathew as a “towering figure” of journalism, who won the battles he had fought throughout his life. He said Mathew was “fiercely independent and tech-savvy” and he spearheaded “socially sensitive and humane journalism”.

 P.P.Ramachandran

08 /  01  /  2016


Indian Economy in Transition—Edited by S.Janakarajan, L.Venkatachalam and R.Maria Saleth ; Published by Sage ; Pages 363 ; Price Rs 995/-

                
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This book is a Fests​chrift to Prof. C.T.Kurien, who has made a memorable contribution to economic research and policy. He is a researcher and teacher for over six decades and an author with a dozen books to his credit. He was conferred the Lifetime achievement Award by the University Grants Commission. He is closely connected with the Madras Institute of Development Studies ( M I D S ).

In a Seminar held in 2011 on “ Indian Economic Transition –Emerging Issues “, over 20 papers were presented by 25 scholars Indian and Foreign. The bookunder review is a selection from these papers and cover key issues and challenges related to recent development experience in India. These include implications of globalization, impact of economic liberalization on agriculture, food security, poverty and inequality Also issues concerning social sectors such as education, human development, ageing population, social discrimination. Included are problems connected with urban and peri-urban resources conflict, environmental and ecological problems and the challenge of democratic governance, economic citizenship and decentralization.

The “ Foreword ‘ is by Prof. R.Radhakrishna, former Chairperson of the M I D S. According to him, “The volume is a fitting tribute to Prof.Kurien as it relates with his favourite theme of economic transformation for which he had contributed in a big way.

The editors are connected with M I D S. Janakarajan specializes in the areas of water, environment and climate change. Venkatachalam has bagged several international awards and is an authority on environmental economics. Maria Saleth was Editor of journals concerned with water resources, institutional reform and agricultural development.

There are 15 other contributors who are all authorities on their subjects of interest. Two are foreign scholars. The book is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapter by the Editors deals with the Indian economy in transition. They argue that the sustainabili​ty of growth and development depends on key issues of ecological security, water security and food security. Agricultural sector has become stagnated. The spate of farmer suicides is ascribable to unprofitable agriculture and consequent rural indebtedness.

Sankar analyses in depth “ Globalization and Indian economy--Issues and Concerns.” He argues that while international co-operation is more seriously advocated by the developed countries, the issues concerning environment and climate changes are given least priority.

Abhirup Sarkar critically analyses food price inflation in the context of growth performance. He is of the firm view that mere  increases in production and productivity of food grains does not ensure food for the poor. We must ensure that fruits of growth reach the poorest in the land.

Literacy is one of the most important of human development indicators. Chandrasekhar and Suryanarayana study incisively  ” Education for all in India; Issues, Policies and Imperatives”. They suggest policies should go beyond conventional measures such as budgetary allocations and we should study issues such as” enrollment rates, dropout rates and school life expectancy and we ought to focus on quality of schooling and learning outcomes”.
Janakarajan studies “ Impact of increased urban demand for water on livelihood resilience in peri- urban areas of Chennai.” Water resources have been over-exploited. Women and landless agricultural labourers who lost their traditional employment due to urban expansion are left with no choice but seeking odd jobs in urban areas or remain unemployed.

The issues of discrimination and governance are the two main subjects of Barbara Harris- White and Aseem Prakash. According to them , different types of discrimination in Indian society is institutionalized through several formal and informal organizations regardless of principles of equality as laid down in the Indian constitution.

John Harriss in his chapter on “ Rural poverty, Policy and Play –acting Revisited “ discusses several aspects pertaining  to democratic governance in India, India has the abysmal record of service deliveries. He wonders how this is tolerated. The drive for progressive social legislation has come through judicial activism rather than through a political process.

Due to space constraints we cannot cover all the contributors. The volume represents a wide canvas of issues and challenges that have emerged in the process of economic transformation brought about by the economic reforms implemented since the early 1990s. The book provides a strong foundation to the study of issues faced by the country. The book has rich reference material, large number of  tables and figures. It is warmly commended to all economists, planners, students of economics, public policy ​and laymen.

P.P.Ramachandran.

10 / 1 / 2016



The Outsider by Frederick Forsyth ; Published by Penguin Books ; Pages 368 ; Price Rs. 399/-

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Who has not heard of "The Day of the Jackal  ", the most thrilling novel of the last two decades by Frederick Forsyth? The book under review is his autobiography — equally fast-paced and jam-packed with events. Forsyth’s school days were quite undistinguished. He wanted to be a member of the Royal Air Force. There is a charming account of how he managed to secure a pilot’s licence even in his teens.

He acquired knowledge of a number of languages. His love for adventure takes him all over the globe. Forsyth confesses that he was a member of the MI6 masquerading as a journalist. A twist of fate led him to join the Royal Air Force — his dream fulfilled even when he was 17 only. He crashed his 1949 MG sports car in 1960 and spent three days in a coma, then received his big break when the Reuters news agency sent him to Paris as a foreign correspondent to cover the revolt against Charles de Gaulle, the French President.

Forsyth changed his track and joined the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1965, faced  near- death during the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s before turning to fiction. Forsyth packs his stories with history bursting with events moving at the speed of a cyclone. "The Outsider " is unputdownable and as fast paced as any of his novels.

Forsyth grew up with the bombardment during Hitler’s Blitz and was used to regular fires and he had a tank parked in his house. He wandered the world over seeking material for his tales. He got close to a notorious Nazi henchman ; prepared a graphic account of the attempt to kill De Gaulle and later landed in Biafra as it was engulfed in a war. He was fired by an unquenchable  spirit of adventure.

In 1970  Forsyth unemployed and completely broke  set out to write a novel. Camping in a friend’s London flat, he   worked nonstop for 35 days to produce the story of a plot to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle. He called it “The Day of the Jackal”. The fact that de Gaulle had served out his term of office and was still alive led several publishers to reject the book as ridiculous.  A friendly editor realised the worth and warmth  of the assassination story and generously offered Forsyth an undreamt opportunity –to write three books for him. The first of these was the celebrated  “ The Day of the Jackal”. This was followed by the novel on the capture of Nazis and finally one on the role of mercenaries in a tiny African state—Biafra.

The book under review offers a fast-paced look back at his life, from boyhood in England during World War II to his years as a foreign correspondent, his occasional hush-hush work for British intelligence and his endless adventures ever willing to embrace new danger. Forsyth’s love of adventure started early. He sat in a fighter plane of the Royal Airforce—which played a great role in the Second World War . In school  he did very well but upset his Headmaster by declaring that when he grew up he would pilot Fighter planes.

Forsyth loved his three years as a pilot but he opted to become a foreign correspondent. Three years reporting in England led to a job with Reuters, which sent Forsyth to Paris. There he learned facts that led to his first novel.

He joined the BBC as a foreign correspondent and violently disagreed with them when he found that they supported the British government’s cruel support of Nigeria in the mid-1960s war with Biafra which left 1 million Biafran children suffering from starvation and Forsyth blames the war for this. Forsyth declares “...I believe that this coterie of vain mandarins and cowardly politicians stained the honor of my country forever, and I will never forgive them.”

At middle age, he took up parachuting, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing, His friends in British intelligence sent him on a secret mission to South Africa to learn the country’s plans for its atomic weapons when the white government was replaced by a black one. At age 74, he set out for Somalia, one of the most dangerous places in the world, to research a novel. 

"The Outsider" is an outstanding autobiography of a man of adventure and one who can write well.


P.P.Ramachandran.

03 / 01 / 2016


The Power of Raisina Hill  by  Lokendra Malik ; Published by LexisNexis; Pages  466 ; Price Rs 695/-

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The book under review is a thorough analysis of  the academic and practical aspects of the working of the institution of the Indian President.

The author Lokendra Malik is a practicing advocate in our Supreme court. He was awarded a prestigious doctorate by the National Law School of India University, He taught in the Indian Institute of Public Administration and has written over 15 books.

The President is the constitutional head of the Union government and the Union’s executive power is vested in him which he exercises  on the aid and assistance of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. He appoints the various high officials like the Prime Minister, Governors of States, Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, etc.

Though a titular head he enjoys extraordinary powers. However, the responsible government system does not leave any scope for the President to act independently of the Council of Ministers. The 44th Constitutional Amendment empowers the President to return the advice of the Council of Ministers for reconsideration. But he has to act on the reconsidered advice.

Beginning with Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India had thirteen Presidents and mostly all of them have been constitutional heads and have acted on the advice of the Council of Ministers and have not deviated from the precedents.

Prof. M.P.Jain has accurately portrayed the President,     “The President’s role is advisory; he may act as the guide, philosopher and friend to the Ministers but cannot assume himself the role of their Master. The Constitution intends that the President of India should be the centre from which a beneficent influence should radiate over the administration and not that he should be the centre of any power.”

Malik’s book is an analysis of the role, responsibilities and powers conferred upon the President by the Constitution. Our polity is based on the Westminster model of governance and the President is like the British monarch—a constitutional monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister and his Council.

The last sixty five years have produced a wealth of landmark judgments settling controversial questions of law about the Presidential powers. The changes brought about by the 42nd and 44th constitutional amendments have been highlighted by Malik.In the case “ Samsher Singh Vs State of Punjab” the Supreme Court while upholding the supremacy of the President throws a flood of light on some grey areas where he may have to act on his own judgment and wisdom. These are 1) Appointment of the Prime minister in a situation where no single party or alliance commands clear majority in the Lok Sabha ; 2) Appointment of a Prime Minister in the case of sudden death  , where the ruling legislature party is  unable to meet immediately to elect a leader, there is no settled seniority among Cabinet Ministers and a name from outside the Cabinet is suggested ; 3).Dissolution of the Lok Sabha on the  advice of the Council of Ministers that may have lost majority support or against whom a vote of No-confidence has been passed and 4) Dismissal of Council of Ministers in case the Council loses the confidence of the House but refuses to quit.

The author dissects all problems very thoroughly. The book is divided into eight chapters. The “ Introduction” by Malik poses as many as fourteen questions which he has answered “with finesse, exhibiting his erudite formulations”, as observed by Justice Sikri in his “Foreword”. The historical background to the institution of the President is delineated sharply in Chapter Two. The author tackles the history from the beginning of the British rule and gives a neat analysis of the  debates in the Constituent Assembly. The next chapter is concerned with the Constitutional provisions. Malik critically covers issues such as Elections, Tenure, Oath, Privileges and Impeachment of the President. Chapter Four is an analysis of the relevant constitutional powers and the President’s relations with the council of Ministers. The discretionary powers of the President which he can exercise without consulting the Council of Ministers is the subject of the next chapter. Taking a judicial and juristic approach Malik analyses the Presidential powers. An interesting chapter compares the constitutional position of the President and the British Monarch. The final and absorbing chapter is a discussion of the functioning of different Presidents from Rajendra Prasad to Pranab Mukherjee.

The Appendices are highly valuable and contain notes and statements of eminent Presidents and advocates, There are rich reference sources and a plethora of court cases.
The book is of great value to economists. lawyers, academicians, students of  constitutional law and Indian political history.

P.P.Ramachandran

27  /  12  2015


Easy  Money by  Vivek Kaul ; Published by Sage ; Pages 325;  Price Rs 425 /-

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The author of the book under review has worked for DNA, Economic Times as also a number of business publications. Presently he is with First Post,Com. He is an authority on finance, political economy and marketing.
This book is Part Two and the first volume dealt with  “ Evolution of Money from Robinson Crusoe to the First World War"
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 The second volume  is dedicated to the period 1914 to 1945 and thus covered the developments during two World Wars—and also  the current problems and is about the evolution of the global financial system upto the great bubble burst.

The starting point of the book is a paper written 130 years ago entitled, “Shall silver be demonetized?” (1885).
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Ac​cording to that paper even though money is one of the oldest human inventions, there is none that has been perfected so slowly. Kaul is of the firm view that this ancient doctrine of W.G.Sumner of Yale College holds even  today and is unassailable.

Kaul predicts that the great recession  started seven years ago and was appropriately christened “ the Second Great Depression”. He graphically recounts the significant slowdown in the world’s largest economy in terms of its purchasing power parity –that is China,

Kaul warns of  consequences of the depreciation of the yuan and the decline for the demand for raw materials and other commodities. An eminent economist is adduced as saying,”New Chinese government under President Xi Jinping is keen on popping the domestic bubble and allowing wider defaults” ( Worth Wray ).

Kaul throws a flood of light on the convoluted financial movements of Greece, Russia and China.

The financial meltdown has brought back to the front stage Karl Marx and J.M.Keynes. the tools fashioned by them have acquired renewed relevance.

The volume shows the author’s penchant for  America. The dominance of  the United Stat​es led to  its currency , the  Dol​lar  becoming the international currency. This led to America having an important privilege which it still continues to have. Over the years this  privilege has led to many financial crises in different parts of the globe. It has also been responsible for the current financial crisis . Quite recently this doyen of Capitalism has been transforming itself into a Welfare State. China will become, according to Kaul, the most capitalistic country in the world amassing billions of dollars and using it to help finance the great American budget deficit.

The story of twentieth century global economics has been one of a periodic build-up in money supply that resulted in booms followed by busts. This did not prevent economists from presci​bing more money printing to enhance growth and reduce unemployment. This led to hyper-inflation as also depression. Kaul’s book enlightens us about the experimentations and follies of governments and economists involving the use and abuse of money over the ages.

This book deals with the evolution of money in the last one hundred years. Three major events of a catastrophic nature are the Asian Financial Crisis of the late 1990s, the Dot.Com collapse of the last decade and finally the Lehman crisis.

Why have the lessons of History not been learnt?. There is strong evidence that politicians and central bankers committed  the identical financial folly. Busts are precipitated by events like Subprime defaults or by a shift in public expectations. All bubbles burst ultimately. Warren Buffet wrote—“ ..but a pin lies in wait for every bubble.” Vivek Kaul’s book throws the searchlight on the follies of politicians and economists. Alan Greenspan was honest enough to admit that the old way of thinking does not work any more. However, economists are not ready to give up the efficient markets hypothesis. The dazzle of this belief has blinded economists so much that they cannot spot bubbles any more.

An important Appendix in this book deals with the astounding contribution of an Italian immigrant in USA—Charles Ponzi who acquired notoriety with a scheme named after him. He was the forerunner of scams the world over which enveloped politicians, government officials and honchos of the corporate world. The original scheme was innocuously called “ How to double your money in forty five days”. Now the schemes are infamous as “ Ponzi Schemes”.

There are many lessons that History offers. Two economists wrote wisely, “ If we learn from experience, History need not repeat itself.”

This book is a fascinating historical account of the decline and fall of the monetary system which is chockful of racy anecdotes. It is a useful guide to students, economists, politicians of every hue.

P.P.Ramachandran. 13  /  12  / 2015


Baat  Niklegi  Toh  Phir—The Life and Music of Jagjit  Singh by Sathya Saran ; Published by Harper Collins ; Pages 225 ; Price Rs. 699/
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Sathya Saran was the editor who ensured “ Femina “ became the last word in Fashion and Lifestyle.. She is an accomplished film biographer with her volumes on Guru Dutt and S.D.Burman ( reviewed by us).

The book under review is the saga of a “King of Ghazal”, Jagjit Singh, who was loved by many, revered by some and has not been surpassed by any one in his chosen area. Jagjit re-invented the ghazal at a time it was groaning under the onslaught of  giants of the Hindi film music like Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata. He introduced novel expressions, unexpected  twists and a variety of instruments leading to a new avatar of the traditional ghazal.

Jagmohan was the third of eleven children. His father Amin Chand was by birth a Hindu but adopted consciously the tenets of Sikhism. He became a Namdhari Sikh and changed his name to Amar Singh. His guru advised him to change Jagmohan’s name to Jagjit. The guru declared, “ He will win the world over.” His father discovered Jagjit Singh’s passion for music and encouraged him. His first guru was Pandit Chhaganlal Sharma, a blind singer. Ustad Jamal Khan, a descendant of Tansen, taught the boy thumri and khayal.
The alphabets of Jagjit’s music were the songs of Mohammed Rafi and the Gurbani. His first successful rendering of a song in public was “Ki Tera Aithaar O Rahiyaa” in Raga Bhairavi followed by the Rafi classic from Baiju Bawra. In fact Rafi was his idol and he chose Rafi songs that tore at the heartstrings.

Jagjit drank deep the songs of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir  Khan and Talat Mahmood. For getting a foothold and  to get a picture of himself he decided to cut his hair, beard and cast away his turban. Thus was born the Jagjit Singh we know.

The “ Unforgettables “ released in 1976 catapulted Jagjit to an unprecedented level of popularity. Sharing the limelight with him was Chitra Singh, his one-time student and wife. She acquired fame for her jingles and she was called “ Jingle Queen”. She was the  first wife of Deboo Dutta and they had a daughter Monica. Dutta made her go through the agony of a divorce and the  wife and daughter stayed separately. Jagjit was their protector. Jagjit married Chitra in 1970.

Chitra and Jagjit started singing as a couple. Jagjit started recording E P which became highly successful. A son was born to them in 1971 and was named Vivek and called Baboo. HMV approached Jagjit to record a full album. A revolution began with the release of “ The Unforgetables”. The Singhs never looked back.

Jagjit made the ghazal sound cool with western instruments and stereophonic recording. The “ Singh-ing “ duo were invited to the most prestigious performance venues—Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, etc. Their music transcended the barriers of language. Jagjit has to his credit a staggering eight albums. Highly successful albums were,   “ Live at Wembley” and “Come Alive”.

Jagjit’s three songs in the film “ Arth “ of Mahesh Bhatt are attributed by Shabana Azmi as partly the cause of her success. Jagjit did great work in giving music for Gulzar’s serial “ Mirza Ghalib” with Naseeruddin as the poet.
The world crashed for Jagjit and Chitra when their son’s car crashed into a ladder as he was driving on a night. Baboo was at the wheel and died soon after being admitted in a hospital. He was only 18 years old. Chitra stopped singing. It took six months for Jagjit to become normal. The duo released a new album, “Someone Somewhere” in memory of Baboo.

Jagjit Singh’s persona changed with this great tragedy. He drifted into new realms and his songs became more introspective and more spiritual. His songs took on  serious spiritual overtones and his lyrics expressed human life in a contemplative context.

More tragedy piled up. Monica their daughter committed suicide at the age of 46 due to marital disharmony.

This is a very passionately written book about a singer who had  more sorrow than justified.

The volume gives the texts of important ghazals and is veritable album of photographs of the Jagjit Singh family.

P.P.Ramachandran

 06/ 12 / 2015

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