Memoirs...

 

This is not an ‘Autobiography’. I do not consider me so noble to write about self, nor am I able to do that. Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had accepted in his autobiography that it is difficult to write about oneself, that too write all that is true. An exception is people like Mahatma Gandhi, who had the confidence to write all about his life. Gandhiji had the courage to face the ‘self-abuse’ and publicly own up his mistakes. Nehru says, ‘one can not write bad about one self…and if one writes only good about oneself, people can easily judge his hypocritical superficial writing’. Hence, it is strange that I decided to write about my life story…There are several reasons… I wanted to thank all those who helped me reach where I am today, those who kept me alive, those who touched my life at various stages of my journey, those who nurtured my childhood, those who stood by me in my struggle.

I remain indebted in gratitude of all those who blessed me till their last breath. This is my humble attempt to pay homage to all these angels in my life. All kinds of people survive, ordinary and extraordinary… I have no right to say good or bad. There are many moments in one’s life when success or failure is faced. And we want to share all these moments with someone. Just like we keep searching our picture in someone’s wedding album, or some event photographs. ‘How do I look in these old pictures, where am I…’ Exactly the same way people are curious to read about themselves in other’s memoirs. I, sometimes wonder, whether any one will be interested to read about my memories which are so very dear and unforgettable for me. No one has the time and patience to understand and appreciate for other’s stories. 

 Everyone carries a different perspective to the happenings. Like the three blind men had their imaginations when they touched the Big Elephant… one blind touched its trunk and thought it was huge pipe… send blind touched its body and thought it’s a wall… and third blind touched its tail and thought it was a cord. Everyone has a different perception of all the events. Therefore, I am sharing my perception of the events which truly took place, and leaving it for you to judge it. I am sharing in this book, some such highlighted events, which may not be extraordinary but surely are ‘other than ordinary’. 

Hence, we may call this book as a “Basket of incidents”. Another reason to start this memoir is… my darling daughters. Famous Mathematician Bhaskaracharya wrote his amazing book of Mathematics on insistence of his daughters. Pandit Nehru’s letters to his daughter Indira are unique in itself. All fathers will agree with me that it’s hard to say No to your daughters. For them, their father is the supreme and unmatched. So, this book is for all my children, who insisted that I write down my experiences in life. 

-Raghunath Pralhad Bhoraskar