Journey Og A Nation

-- Journey Of A Nation ; Published by Academic Foundation ; Pages 306 ; Price Rs 2995/-

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Shri.M.V.Kamath, in one ofhis recent reviews described the book as “unputdownable.”. The book under review is unarguably one such book. It records the 125 yearsof the Indian National Congress. Dr.Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the pioneer biographer of the Congress wrote perceptively “Great movements are like great rivers—they start as small streams, but if the cause is great, they draw to themselves many streams, joining together to achieve and reach their destination.” The Congress met for the first time with only seventy-two people in Bombay on 28th December, 1885. It went on to challenge the mightiest empire of the time, using the slogan of peace and the method of non-violence.

This volume is afascinating record of the struggle for freedom told in admirably precise fashion, rich in rare photographs and archival material of the highest value. What the reader gets is a bird’s eye-view of the tumultuousjourney of a nation. Production values are of the highest quality and Academic Foundation has walked an extra mile to make the journey a pleasure to behold. Special boxes in light colour give photographs and sketches of all Congress Presidents. Important documents and press notices are reproduced.

The book is divided into nine sections. The first section “The Formative Years—1885—1920” deals lucidly with the birth of a new party led by men and women of extraordinary courage, commitment culminating in India’s freedom . Covered are the impact of Dadabhai Naoroji’s “Poverty and Unbritish Rule”, the role of Gokhale, Tilak, the split inSurat, the Rowlatt Act and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Section Two entitled “The Gandhian Era” relates to the period 1920-1935 We are privy to Gandhi’s struggles , the Simon Commission, the Round Table Conference, the Dandi March . The section also covers the ascent of Jawaharlal Nehru .

The next Section deals with the years 1935—1947. Important events analysed are the Government of India Act, the Congress Ministries, the emergence of Jinnah and the strident demand by the Muslims for creation of Pakistan, Cripps Mission, Quit India Movement, the Cabinet Mission, the Wavell and Mountbatten plans and finally Independence,

Section Four deals with the years 1947 to 1964 . The highlights are the tragic partition, the communal riots, the integration ofprincely states, the framing of our own Constitution. Nehru inaugurated an era of planning, built a chain oflaboratories, constructed a number of dams—which he called “The Temples of Modern India”. He made “Non-alignment” an acceptable philosophy.

The next Section analyses the Congress party’s role from 1964 to 1994. Nehru was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri. India was embroiled in a war with Pakistan. Shastri died and was followed by Indira Gandhi who was Prime Minister for 15 years—in two terms. She nationalized 14 major banks, abolished privy purses. The 1971 war withPakistan transformed her into “Durga” and led to creation of Bangladesh. Followed the Shimla Agreement. Pokhran nuclear tests, She declared Emergency after a court order disqualified her, leading on to her defeat in the 1977 elections. The Janata government and the 1980 elections swept her back to power. “Operation Bluestar” led to her assassination.

The remaining Sections dwell on the Rajiv Gandhi era. He introduced computerization, brought peace to Punjab,Assam and Mizoram. The Bofors deal and internal party dissensions led to fresh general elections. Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE agents. The book recalls the advent of P.V.Narasimha Rao and economic reforms initiated by Manmohan Singh. The destruction of Babri Masjid caused turmoil in the country. Sonia Gandhi became Congress President. The BJP led NDA was in power from 1998—2004.The Godhra massacre followed by riots are dealt with. The coalition government led by Manmohan Singh followed. The last Section lays down the Agenda for the future which is “inclusive growth”. “This volume is both a remembrance of things past and acommemoration of the long journey the Indian National Congress has traveled.”

This is volume to cherish and read by all students, politicians of every hue and disciples of history. The book is a tour de’ force—an achievement and accomplishment.

P.P.Ramachandran.

A MASTERFUL SPIRIT--HOMI BHABHA

A Masterful Spirit—Homi Bhabha by Indira Chowdhury and Ananya Dasgupta; Published by Penguin;Pages 240 ;
Price Rs 1299/-
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There are few biographies of the
“Father of India’s Nuclear Revolution”—Dr Homi Bhabha. This lacuna is admirably filled by this book by Indira Chowdhury and Ananya Dasgupta, both closely associated with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Archives. Chowdhury holds the New India fellowship to write the institutional history of T I F R. and is the recipient of the Tagore Prize in 2001 for her book “The Frail Hero and Virile History”. Dasgupta conceptualised the Bhabha centenary permanent exhibition.

The book is profusely illustrated with rare photographs of Bhabha, his family, his great acquaintances, his sketches of eminent scientists, his paintings and correspondence. Also there are delightful doodles by him.

This biography recapitulates Bhabha’s birth, childhood in Malabar Hill, Cathedral High School, Elphinstone College, Royal Institute of Science, Cambridge, the romance with physics, doctoral thesis on cosmic radiation, Indian Institute of Science with C.V.Raman , the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission and finally the Atomic Research Centre, which eventually became BARC. Commending him for admission to FRS, C.V.Raman and a galaxy of distinguished scientists wrote “Bhabha is a distinguished mathematical physicist. Has contributed notably to our understanding of cosmic ray phenomenon, especially the absorption of the rays, the origin of electronic showers.”


Bhabha was a multi-faceted personality. Basically a scientist, he played a violin in a philharmonic concert, took part Cambridge regatta .He sketched the organ players, prepared the cover of the “ Caian”—his college magazine. He designed the sets for a performance of a Spanish play “Life is a dream” as also the sets of Mozart’s “Idomeno” for the Cambridge Musical Society.

There are three outstanding chapters –embellished by photographs--dealing with Bhabha and J.R.D.Tata, Bhabha and Jawaharlal Nehru and the establishment of the T I F R. Bhabha’s vision and ability to transform it to reality emerge clearly from these chapters.

Vikram Sarabhai in a tribute said, “Bhabha is a perfect example of the opposite of what C.P.Snow refers to as the alienation of scientists and humanists. He represented the best in the modern educated world and the best of science, of the arts. Bhabha not only understood the language of modern science but was thrilled with a recital of Bharata Natyam or a beautiful bronze from a temple.” C,V,Raman wrote of him, “..He is the modern equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci.”

The authors deserve special kudos for their skilful choice of photos, significant letters to eminent scientists by Bhabha and their responses. We have charming photographs of Bhabha with Albert Einstein, J.R.D.Tata and Jawaharlal Nehru and delightful cartoons of R/K.Laxman. The volume scales new technical heights. The lay-out and arrangement of images makes the volume highly impressive.

This is one of the finest books on a giant in science and lover of arts and is a “must read” for all students of science as also administrators of scientific organizations. It is undoubtedly a collector’s item.

P.P.Ramachandran

India on the Growth Turnpike--Vijay Kelkar

India on the Growth Turnpike:Essays in honour of Vijay Kelkar --Edited by Sameer Kochhar; Pages 317 ; Price Rs 995/-; Published by Academic Foundation.
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The book under review is a festschrift to Dr.Vijay Kelkar who was the pioneer in dismantling the administrative price for petroleum as also renowned for his fiscal policy reforms initiated through his heading the Task Force for the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act and the chairmanship of the Thirteenth Finance Commission. He was the architect of the New Exploration Licensing Policy which put an end to the monopoly of ONGC and national oil companies, introducing an element of competition in this sphere. This led the country to add more reserves in the last ten years than it had in the previous four decades.

The editor of this book , Sameer Kochhar, President of Skoch Development Foundation, a think-tank on digital, social and financial inclusion issues, concedes that this “festschrift” is to commemorate Dr Kelkar being conferred the Skoch Challenger Lifetime Achievement Award 2010.
There are essays by twelve authorities .To summarise a few-
Arvind Panagariya declares that Kelkar was the first among economists to predict India growing at nearly ten per cent. As policy analyst Ajay Shah says in his monograph, a major achievement of Kelkar lies in his work on fiscal reforms which emphasised on how it was important to focus on both revenue/income and expenditure to achieve fiscal consolidation, which would in the long run expand aggregate demand, goad private investment and depress interest rates. Surjit Bhalla examines the impact of the new tax architecture built by Kelkar. Arvind Subramanian analyses the crash of 2008 and the steps to prevent another. S. S. Tarapore, has praised the role of Kelkar and argued that the reform process must continue with fiscal, monetary and external policies being mutually consistent to ensure sustained growth. Ms Indira Rajaraman, pays full credit to Kelkar for having ensured concern for “transparency of the fiscal system” while formulating the recommendations of the Thirteenth Finance Commission.

Vijay Kelkar “is that rare policy economist who can see reforms necessary to promote growth before anyone else, effectively communicate the rationale behind them to policymakers and the wider public, and sometimes even successfully implement them himself.” His work for over three decades has started yielding fruit and this is abundantly clear from the essays in this book.

Even as double-digit growth for India is forecast in the coming years, Kelkar had said in his 2004 K. R. Narayanan Oration in Canberra that thanks to the “painstaking reforms initiated over the last two decades” that spanned the governments of Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, “India is at the threshold of “a golden age of growth with India's democratic framework being a key growth fundamental”.

The book under review, which has a number of tables, a list of the publications of Kelkar is an outstanding compilation of original articles by acknowledged authorities and is useful for economists, planners, political scientists and students alike.

P.P.Ramachandran,
B-2-64,Snehadhara,
Dadabhai Cross Road 3,
Irla, Vile Parle (West),
Mumbai, 400056
3-10-2010

LEELA NAIDU BY JERRY PINTO

Leela: A Patchwork Life By Leela Naidu and Jerry Pinto. Penguin/Viking. Pages 180. Rs 450.
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The author of this book is a renowned poet and author whose book “ Helen:The Life and Times of an H-bomb fetched him the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema ”.This book was completed shortly before Leela Naidu’s death in 2009. Leela , the film actress, was Anuradha in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film with the same name, where she plays a popular radio singer and daughter of a rich man, falls in love with an idealistic doctor, Balraj Sahni, who serves the poor in a remote village. She also starred in Merchant-Ivory’s The Householder and Shyam Benegal’s Trikaal. She made her own documentaries, dubbed Hong Kong action movies, was Ramnath Goenka’s communication manager, editor of Society and managing editor of Keynotes.
She was married to Tilak Raj Oberoi, the eldest son of M. S. Oberoi, at the young age of 17 and had twin daughters, Maya and Priya. She was divorced before she was 20. She was Dom Moraes’ wife for over 20 years before the marriage ended in a second divorce. After that, and the death of her daughter, Leela, the enigma, became reclusive.
Her life with Moraes makes for the riveting chapters in the book, the writing doused in feelings of scorn as well as fondness for her husband: “He lived under the misapprehension that anything could be improved by the addition of alcohol in good measure.”
Leela has been sketched by Salvador Dali, learned to act from Jean Renoir, hung out with Francois Truffaut and Ingrid Bergman. In the memoirs that she has written in the last five years of her life, Leela’s energy just leaps out of the pages. Pinto is obviously a "devotee" and acolyte of Leela, who seemed to have completely captivated him. The book is accurately sub-titled A Patchwork Life. It offers peeks into a life charming and chequered, with a variegated collection of interesting persons. The story about the impish Sarojini Naidu asking young Leela to meet Mickey Mouse, who turns out to be Mahatma Gandhi, is purely delightful. There are some pictures with famous men and women included in the book—Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Ferdinand Marcos, Sashi Kapoor, and references of Ismail Merchant, Ingrid Bergman, Jean Renoir, J.R.D. Tata, Ramnath Goenka, Peter Ustinov, Mother Teresa, Indira Gandhi, and Jiddu Krishnamurti.
Vikram Doctor wrote, “Naidu was one of a group of beautiful Indian women who, from the Forties to the early Sixties, helped create an idea of a beautiful, elegant and accomplished new nation.”
In a touching Epilogue Leela writes, “I write with a flurry of wishes for the book; that whoever cares to read it may smile, chuckle and laugh and then understand or feel the sadness, the pain of humanity in certain anecdotes in the historical past and the present.”

The chronicler of Leela’s life has done a fine job. The book is written with immense love, and probably with as much veracity as Leela spoke of her life. The moods and the moments are nicely captured .A passionate book written with great passion by Jerry Pinto.
P.P.Ramachandran

THE ART OF COSTUME DESIGNING

The Art of Costume Designing by Bhanu Athaiya; Published by Collins ; Pages 188 ; Price Rs.2500/-
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Who can forget the bewitching angels Vyjayanthimala in “Amrapali” and Waheeda Rehman in “Guide”—both in costumes inspired by classical sculptures? Vyjayanthimala adorned in her role as “Amrapali ’ swept all of their feet by the vibrant costume inspired by Ajanta and complemented by an artistic hairdo and ornate jewellery. Who created this magic?. Bhanu Athaiya.

Richard Attenborough, celebrated producer of “Gandhi” in an affectionate Foreword to the book under review writes, “Bhanu Athaiya is the revered doyenne of Indian costume designers….For the benefit of future generations of filmmakers, film-lovers and designers, it is important to landmark the work done by someone with a such knowledge, vision and passion.” He wrote that while it took him 17 long years to set up “Gandhi”, his dream film, it took him just 15 minutes to make up his mind that Bhanu Athaiya was the right person to create the many hundreds of Indian costumes that the film required.

She was the first Indian to bag the Oscar for her work in Attenborough’s “Gandhi”. She annexed the Lifetime achievement Award at the South Asian International Festival in 2005 as also the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Her work has been displayed in the Festival of India, New York. She bagged twice National Awards for costume designing for “Lekin” and “Lagaan”

Athaiya hails from Kolhapur—where her forefather’s book “Rukmini Swayamwar ” was prescribed as Sanskrit reading in the Rajaram College of Kolhapur University. It is revealing to note that the prize she won for the best essay—a princely amount of Rs 30/- was spent on viewing seven times Walt Disney’s “Fantasia”, famous for its waltz of flowers.
Bhanu comes from a privileged family -- her father was a man of leisure, indulging his artistic passions and interests while encouraging his large family of a wife and seven children to do the same. It was this encouragement that led Bhanu out of her sprawling house in Kolhapur to the city of Bombay, in order to pursue her passion -- studying art at the J.J. School of Arts. "Travelling to Bombay was very exciting for me. It had been a dream for a long time, and I felt like it was finally happening. I made the journey with my art teacher from Kolhapur, who had convinced my mother to send me," recalls Bhanu. She annexed a gold medal from the J.J.School of Arts. She secured a French Government scholarship and went to Paris to study art, culture and cinema.
The next milestone in Bhanu's life was her job at a magazine called Eve's Weekly, where her fashion illustrations would appear in each issue, making her a known name. When its editor opened a boutique, she asked Bhanu to try designing dresses She discovered her flair for designing clothes and her success as a designer soon led to her switching career paths.Guru Dutt asked her to design clothes for his films, start with C.I.D. in 1956 ; there was no turning back for her from then on. She worked for five Guru Dutt films. Meanwhile Bhanu was designing a lot of creations for the boutique. Her customers included actresses Kamini Kaushal and Nargis.
Beginning her career in costume designing over half a century ago she has created a world of her own that set the standards for costume design in Bollywood cinema. She has done costume designing for 131 films beginning with “C.I.D” and ending with “Swades”. She has prepared costumes for six films of Raj Kapoor. Recalling her association with Raj Kapoor, Athaiya writes: ‘One day Nargis decided to take me to R.K. Studio to introduce me to Raj Kapoor. We travelled to Chembur in her car. As we entered the spacious studio, the first thing I noticed was a huge Shiva statue. Then the car took a left turn and moved towards a small cottage, which was Raj-saab’s private cottage. At that time, work on ‘Shri 420′ was in progress and I was asked to design costumes for actress Nadira, who was playing a vamp…I gave her an unconventional look.’
She has assisted a galaxy of directors---to name a few—Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, B.R.Chopra, and Ashutosh Gowariker. Among her most memorable output was designing for Waheeda Rehman in “Guide”, Mumtaz in “Brahmachari” and Zeenat Aman in “Satyam,Shivam,Sundaram”.

Bhanu Athaiya has traced the journey of fashion through films with which she has been associated. She has undoubtedly been a catalyst in defining the contours of Indian fashion. “I knew India and its clothes inside out. I went on a sketching tour as an art student and even spent 10 months in Paris where I visited all the cabaret joints, including Moulin Rouge,” she said. Some of her significant expressions that have indeed become a landmark for Indian films include, the looks that she gave to Helen in “Teesri Manzil ”, in the song “O Haseena Julfon Waali”, or the drunk look of Meena Kumari in “ Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam ’. She was able to give Meena Kumari an endearing look even when the canvas of expression had a Black & White base.
The book under review is the tale of her tryst with creativity in design. We begin with the utterly fascinating world of black and white world of cinema and graduate to the scintillating world of Technicolour—heavyweights like “Sangam”, “Ganga Jumna” and “Lagaan”. Her pinnacle is of course “Gandhi” which fetched the first-ever Oscar for an Indian.
This book is a poem in beauty which is at once bewitching and highly informative. She unravels the mystery of how she tackled period pieces which demanded research of extraordinary dimension and total comprehension of Indian mores and traditions. Costume designing gives an actor complete confidence in the role he or she has to play by creating the mood and take the captive audience to a wholly different and distinct time and clime. What is essential is organization, artistry, discipline, gifted imagination and patient research---in all of which there is no peer to Athaiya. The costumes she has designed range from the colourful Rajasthani attire set against the desert backdrop, to the typical dress of villagers in the Gangetic plains and the Himalayas. She brought renown for India in the world of International cinema. She got National awards for two films—Lekin and Lagaan.

One entire chapter is dedicated to the magic of jewellery, which has a hold on Indians and our Gods and Goddesses. Hema Malini in “Sanyasi” is dressed in resplendent jewellery from head to toe and looks like an Apsara descended from heavens above. No wonder Manoj Kumar was ensnared!. Waheeda Rehman is unforgettable in “Reshma and Shera” in her colourful bandhni oddhna and ghagra typical of Rajasthan. Moghul royalty is completely captured by Athaiya in “Jodhaa Akbar”. The kilangi jhumki, and other jewellery of this era are brought out in all glory and authenticity. Athaiya has spent hours hunting for period piece jewellery in Hyderabad and other places. “Jewellery is the penultimate touch in the adornment of attire.” writes Athaiya.

This is an outstanding book, as evocative as it is colourful and is the complete guide to costume design during the last fifty years in Bollywood. That Athaiya’s fame rests not only for “Gandhi” but her variegated creations of extraordinary artistry for five long decades becomes abundantly clear as one turns the pages of this luscious book.


P.P.Ramachandran,
B-2-64,Snehadhara,
Dadabhai Cross Road 3,
Irla, Vile Parle (West),
Mumbai, 400056,
7-04-2010

HISTORY IN THE MAKING--KULWANT ROY

History in the Making : The Visual Archives of Kulwant Roy; Published by Harper Collins ; Pages 336 ; Price Rs. 4999/-

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This is a magnificent coffee-table book
containing a priceless collection of photographs by Kulwant Roy from the 1930s to 1960s. The prints and negatives of these photographs remained forgotten in boxes for over twenty-five years after his death in 1984. The world must be thankful to their inheritor Aditya Arya, a photographer himself, for making it available. Arya, while cataloguing them, stumbled upon a rare and valuable visual archive, including many unpublished pictures, of a momentous era in India’s history. Some of these unusual pictures relate to Muslim League meetings, INA trials, the signing of the Indian Constitution, as well as significant post-Independence milestones such as the building of the Bhakra Nangal Dam. Indivar Kamtekar, eminent historian provides an illuminating text. All those who wish to pierce the veil behind India’s ‘tryst with destiny’ must dip into this classic volume.

Author Adita Arya graduated in history from St.Stephen’s College, Delhi and plunged into professional photography. He has acquired expertise in the world of advertising and corporate photography.His works have been exhibited the world over and his photographs have been published by renowned global journals. He is the author of
“ The Land of the Nagas ”, a photographic documentation of the Naga people and the first-ever exhaustive visual study of the masterpieces of Buddhist art at the Aichi monastery in Ladakh. Indivar Kamtekar is a name to reckon with in the field of teaching. He teaches modern history at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and has been a faculty member of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and a fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study at Shimla. For his doctoral thesis from Cambridge he selected the end of British rule in India.


Kulwant Roy was an Indian photographer, who was born in Lahore in 1914. As the head of the "Associated Press Photographs" he secured several iconic images of the Indian independence movement and the early years of the Republic of India. He joined the Royal Indian Air Force and specialised in aerial photography. After relinquishing his link with the RIAF, he moved to Delhi in 1940 and set up a studio, which later expanded into a full-fledged agency, in the Mori Gate district of Old Delhi. This area was to become an important centre of Press Photographs in the country. He followed Mahatma Gandhi , for a number of years, in his travels around India in a third-class train compartment; this endowed him with an insider status that meant that he was permitted to record many crucial events of and major participants in the independence movement, including Jinnah, Nehru and Patel—surely the dream of any photographer. Roy covered Jacqueline Kennedy's visit in 1962 to India and India's war with Pakistan in 1965.

To Kulwant Roy’s utter dismay, he noted that a new breed of aggressive young photojournalists acquired dominance. He heartily disliked this and hung up his camera and faded into obscurity. "No one knew him or his past," Arya said. Roy was a frequent visitor to Arya's parents' home in New Delhi, having known Arya's mother's family from Lahore. But by the time Arya was old enough to remember him, Roy was a poor and lonely man. "He never wanted me to be a photographer because of the hardships and the fact that one has to live a life a bit like a vagabond," Roy died of cancer, virtually penniless and with no children of his own and left Arya his photo collection. Arya is now dedicated to restoring Roy to what he sees as his proper place in the annals of Indian photojournalism. Roy sold many of his photographs to international news agencies during his lifetime and some of them are now found in archival collections, but they are rarely credited with his name. "For me making sure people know his name is as important as making sure they know his pictures," declared Arya. Arya believes that some of the images - for instance a picture of a loin-clothed Gandhi descending from a third-class rail car - could become as iconic as the vintage India photos taken by the celebrated Margaret Bourke-White and Cartier-Bresson. Again, Nehru's hand curled tenderly around grandson Rajiv's neck, Gandhi and Jinnah arguing in 1939, Nehru and Ghaffar Khan strolling in Shimla-these nuggets of history were captured through photographs by Kulwant Roy from 1940 to 1960.
Roy thoughtfully selected frames that attempt to capture moments of time that will make one pause, and revive hidden memory. This is an ultimate treasure trove for anyone, who loves photography. There are a wide range of rare exhibits from Roy's collection. He captured various moods, showing glimpses of political leaders in different facets of life. He, with his photographs, threw light on last years of British rule but didn't get the recognition. Moreover, he captured off-the-cuff moments of great leaders making them approachable figures. Roy's photos depict rare glimpses of pre and post -Independence era and freedom fighters who have endured many years of conflict. We have rare photographs of the visit of Gandhi to meet Khan Abdul Ghafar Khan in the North East frontier province, visit of Sir Stafford Cripps to India in 1941, Simla Conference in 1945 , Muslim League meetings, fund raising by Gandhiji , building of Bhakra dam and visits of dignitaries.

The Nationalist movement is covered by tracing mainstream politics through portraits .Wonderful images of Mahatma Gandhi collecting money from a woman for Harijan fund, Mahatma Gandhi addressing members of INA at Harijan colony Delhi have been captured by Roy .
It is a mystery when a news photographer, makes history from deadline to deadline, never really knowing when he might take a photograph that will determine how an entire era is remembered. Consider the famous photograph of Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at a Congress meeting in 1946. Gandhi, looking into the middle distance, is, as ever, talking mainly to himself; Nehru and Patel, one on either side, straining to listen in, Nehru looking intently at his mentor’s mouth, and Patel’s face showing the effort it took for him to lean over at an uncomfortable, forty-five-degree angle. Could Roy have dreamt when he took it that it would be the most memorable representation of those strained relationships? It was chosen as the basis for a commemorative stamp after Patel died.

Turning the pages of this majestic volume holds a lesson for us and that is that great men influenced history but they did not control it. Manmohan Singh in his Foreword has rightly written “..History in the Making takes us back in time to a momentous and inspirational chapter of our past. The images captured by photojournalist Kulwant Roy bring alive the years which saw the birth of an independent India. Kulwant Roy’s photographs are sources as well as products of India. I hope that more such visual archives are brought to light and given the recognition and importance they richly deserve”.

One tragic note. Roy travelled to Japan, Hong Kong, USA, Panama, Brazil and various European countries. The negatives and prints of photographs taken there were mailed back to his address in Delhi but were never delivered. A shattered man, he spent the next few years looking for the negatives and prints in garbage dumps and open spaces around Delhi.


We welcome such breath-taking books as also the India Photo Archive Foundation, which has been established to identify, preserve and document photographic legacies like the output of Kulwant Roy. It will contribute towards creating a culture of dialogue on diverse narratives of photographic archives which are landmarks of history.


P.P.Ramachandran,
B-2-64,Snehadhara,
Dadabhai Cross Road 3,
Irla, Vile Parle (West),
Mumbai, 400056,
25-03-2010

MINT ROAD MILESTONES

“Mint Road Milestones” by Bazil Sheikh, Ranjeeta Dubey and Surendra Khot ; Published by Reserve Bank of India; Pages 476 ; Price Rs. 1650/-
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April 2009 to March 2010 was the Platinum Jubilee year of the Reserve Bank of India, which commenced operations on April 1, 1935. The RBI has rightly celebrated the entire year with a variety of events such as release of P J stamps, release of special P J coins, outreach programmes at schools, colleges and villages, lectures by eminent persons, discussions, etc. One of these worthy of high praise is their bringing out “Mint Road Milestones” a Coffee Table Book copiously illustrating the history of the RBI. The Bank has earlier released three volumes of history of RBI with exhaustive and exhausting reading material aimed at the student and the scholar.

Governor Dr. Subbarao in a Foreword to the book under review declares, “The Bank has been at the forefront of building public policy and economic thought. Its story, in some ways reflects the story of finance and banking in India…This retrospective gives a glimpse into the Bank’s eventful past and the road it has traversed. The journey is supported by visuals and vignettes that transcend time to bring alive the spirit of one of the oldest central banks of the developing world.”

An introductory chapter furnishes a cogent and abbreviated history of the Bank, beginning with the Hilton Young Commission, the efforts of J.M.Keynes, the Central Banking Enquiry Committee Report, etc. The RBI Act came into force on January 1, 1935. The first Governor was
Sir Osborne Smith, an Australian who resigned before his term was over. We are furnished details of how RBI was transformed from a private shareholders bank to a fully government owned institution. The slow, sure and steady enlargement of its functions led to new areas such as agriculture, industry, economic development and financial inclusion. Covered are the devaluation of the Rupee, demonetization of high-value currency notes, exchange control regulations, establishment of several bodies such as UTI, IDBI, ARDC, etc. All these innovations were in addition to its traditional role of issue of currency, debt management, etc. A primary concern of the Bank was the building up of a tremendous data-base with a variety of publications like the Annual Report, the Currency and Finance Report and the valuable monthly bulletins. The Bank provides a cornucopia of valuable and accurate information on vital aspects of our economy.

The period of 75 years is divided, in this volume, into six phases. The first period—1935—1949 covers the years up to nationalization of RBI and the legislation Banking Companies Act. The first era of planning (1950-68) forms the essence of the next section and includes establishment of new institutions to build a fresh financial architecture for the country. The crucial event of bank nationalization and its aftermath is the subject matter of the third period (1969-81) which was plagued by a nightmarish external payments position and witnessed our resort to IMF loan. The period 1982-90 was the era of liberalization, especially after mid—1980s. The year 1991 spelt crisis and became the stage for jumping into opening up of the economy toward a market economy. It covered the years 1991-2000.The final phase is dedicated to the new millennium (2001-09) and shows how reforms were consolidated and the country moved over to strikingly higher growth rates.

A Time-Line of events very skillfully summarises major world events throughout the volume. International events of significance are provided in a capsule form. This includes not merely banking developments but other arenas too. A few examples will illustrate the gamut of this successful attempt. “Black Tuesday” when the US stock exchange collapsed (1929 ), the Royal Indian Naval Mutiny (1946), Bandung Conference (1955),Launching of Sputnik (1957), Martin Luther King’s outstanding oration—“I Have A Dream…”(1963), Mother Teresa being awarded the Nobel Prize and the Bharat Ratna (1997 and 1980), Barack Obama becoming America’s first-ever Black President (2009). All the Nobel Laureates in Economics are covered with their photographs. This work of highlighting major events is meticulously done and is highly commendable.

The RBI , as stated earlier, has published three volumes of its authorized history covering the period up to 1981.These are serious tomes for the scholars and students. The volume under review will attract not only students but the lay public --the vast number of persons thirsting to improve their knowledge and widen their vision.

There are three chapters worthy of special mention. One is devoted to all the 22 Governors beginning with Sir Osborne Smith to the latest incumbent Dr.D.Subbarao. One paragraph is allotted to each Governor, recounting the highlights of his tenure. We have excellent portraits of all the Governors. Another chapter deals with all the buildings owned by the Bank at various centres including the three training colleges in Mumbai,Chennai and Pune. There is a hilarious account of the statues of the Yaksha and the Yakshini on the two sides of the entrance to the RBI New Delhi Office building. Questions were raised in Parliament about the Yaksha and the Yakshini. The Yaksha bore an uncanny resemblance to a Bombay politician Sadobha Patil. Actually the statue is that of Kuber, the God of wealth. The Yakshini which was described as the statue of a semi-naked woman is the representation of agriculture and prosperity.

The chapter “Lives and Times at the Bank” is surely bound to excite nostalgia with rare and unobtainable photos of persons, groups and events during this long period. Special mention must be made of the inclusion of the photo of Subedar Sam Bahadur who worked with several Governors and who came in for special praise by Governor H.V.R.Iengar, who paid tribute to Sam Bahadur’s “Dharma”.

Admirable is the tremendous effort involved in ferreting out newspapers of these 75 long years and providing photostat copies of the reports on major events. Also one is entertained by the original reaction of two of India’s greatest cartoonists Shankar Pillai and R.K.Laxman, who employ their pungent wit to comment on many a development.

A couple of omissions deserve to be highlighted. During the 1993 serial Mumbai blasts, three officers of the Bank, belonging to DBOD, lost their lives while inspecting a foreign bank in the Air-India building. It is a matter for deep regret that sadly there is no mention of this great sacrifice in this volume. In fact the volume should have been dedicated to these three officers as also all those who lost their lives during service ein RBI. A matter of minor regret is the failure to mention in the portion on Governors of the Bank that seven of them have been conferred by Government of India the national awards Padma Vibhushan / Padmabhushan.

The Governor and his team of Editors deserve to be warmly complimented in bringing out this excellent compendium which is an easy-to-absorb capsule history of our Central Bank and the Indian economy for 75 years with a backdrop of international events. It is a veritable feast to the eyes and rich repast to the brain.


P.P.Ramachandran,
B-2-64,Snehadhara,
Dadabhai Cross Road 3,
Irla, Vile Parle (West),
Mumbai, 400056
12-04-2010