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Book Review: One Life Is Not Enough

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one life is not enough

Author: K. Natwar Singh
Publisher: Rupa Publications
ISBN13: 9788129132741
Genre: Autobiography
Pages: 464
Source: Flipkart

One Life Is Not Enough is a searing autobiographic account written by Former Minister in charge of External Affairs, Kunwar Natwar Singh on his life as a bureaucrat, politician, and cabinet minister. He talks about his experiences in Delhi s political corridors and sets the record straight on several events, including the Volcker controversy.Natwar Singh joined the Indian Foreign Service and served as a bureaucrat for 31 years. He joined the Congress Party in 1984, and became a Minister of State in the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s council with the portfolios of steel, agriculture, and coal and mines in 1985.

In this much-awaited autobiography, the former cabinet minister talks justly about his experiences and services in various ministries. Singh has played a significant role in Indian politics for more than twenty years and has been a part of some of the most epochal events of independent India, including Indo-China talks and the formation of Bangladesh. In 2002, when the Congress party came back to power, Natwar Singh was appointed as the Minister for External Affairs. But his eventful career saw its end with the Volcker Report in the year 2005. His name appearing in the Iraqi food-for-oil scam forced him to resign from the cabinet and eventually from the Congress party.
Singh talks about all these events and the ups and downs of the Congress party in One Life Is Not Enough, an account of an insider. His association with the party allowed him to observe some of the historical events closely, and he talks about Pakistan in the 1980s, under the rule of President Zia-ul-Haq, Indo-Chinese and Indo-USSR relations among other sensitive developments.

The book has candid details of the party bigwigs which was why it had a controversial release. It shows you a side of the political system that is not visible to an outsider. If you are an avid follower of the happenings in New Delhi, this book is treat for you. Political reads are an acquired taste, if you are a rookie to this genre, this is where you should start.

A pot boiler in its own sense, One Life Is Not enough wins my vote.

Rating 4/5

The Tricolour

Posted in Thinking Aloud by

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The sight of orange white and green together makes my heart swell with pride every time I set eyes on it. Every single time.
The tricolour always has the same effect on me. Weather it is swaying peacefully with the wind high up on the post or fluttering passionately in the stadium when the India wins a match. Even when it quietly perches itself on my chest as part of my uniform.
I grew up in a country where patriotism is a major blood component. It flows freely in our system spiking the plasma with the required awesomeness. The tricolour is the symbol of that awesomeness.
Belonging to a generation which is confused about patriotism as it is about a lot of other emotions I have been subjected to a lot of remarks and questions. One being what does being a patriot really mean? I can now sum up all that I think in one line.
A patriot for me isn’t the guy who buys a tricolour on the Republic day but he is the one who picks it off the road when the celebrations are over.
The orange on our national flag signifies courage and sacrifice of the martyrs who got us the freedom we take for granted. The white is for peace and truth. The green stands for faith. The blue chakra in the centre represents spirituality. But the flag means differently to each person who looks at it.
Patriotism was handed down to me as legacy. For someone one whose first words “Jai Hind” the emotion rides higher than any other.
I am extremely proud of my country, the flag and everything it signifies. I hope I can make the tricolour flutter in pride for me someday.