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The 13th President of India, who served as India’s External Affairs, Defence, Finance and Commerce
Minister at different times; a Parliamentarian with the unique distinction of being the leader of both
Houses; and a member of the Congress Working Committee for 23 years, Pranab Mukherjee was a
scholar par excellence, powerful orator and one of India’s most towering statesmen.
But to his daughter, Sharmistha Mukherjee, he was Baba, the workaholic; the history teacher who
narrated events in the spirit of adda at dinner time; and the devoutly religious man who never
imposed his faith on his daughter. In public and private, Pranab was always larger than life.
In Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers, Sharmistha offers a fascinating glimpse into the
illustrious life of Pranab Mukherjee. She invites us into her family’s private world that was peopled
by the Gandhis—Indira, Rajiv, Sonia and Rahul; Prime Ministers P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Behari
Vajpayee, Dr Manmohan Singh and, more recently, Narendra Modi. She uncovers new, hitherto
unknown facets of Pranab’s political life—his unfulfilled ambition of becoming India’s prime minister
arising out of his inability to emerge as the ‘number one person’ to earn Sonia’s trust, the personality
cult around the Nehru–Gandhi family, Rahul Gandhi’s lack of charisma and political understanding,
Mamata Banerjee’s opposition to Pranab’s nomination as the presidential candidate (which sealed
the deal in his favour) and his advice to PM Modi to acknowledge the contributions of Jawaharlal
Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Through Pranab’s diary entries, personal stories narrated to Sharmistha and her own research—enhanced
by her collection of never-before-seen photographs—this is a sweeping, multigenerational narrative
from a flickering lamp in West Bengal’s remote village to the glittering chandeliers of India’s capital.
Refreshingly original as it is exquisitely rendered, Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers is a
remarkable debut book that celebrates a special father–daughter relationship.
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ISBN : 9789357026826
Pages : 392
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