It was a sentimental occasion for former Governor of Uttarakhand Margaret Alva at the Doon launch of her autobiography titled Courage & Commitment on Sunday evening when she recalled her days in the hill State and how she was inspired to begin writing it here.
“This work took shape when I was here as the Governor. I thank Uttarakhand for having sown the seeds for this book,” said Alva while speaking at the launch
organised jointly by Doon library and Research Centre and University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES). She said that she had loved her time in Uttarakhand and loved the people here whom she missed greatly.
The prologue of her autobiography spells out how the book was conceived. She was at Raj Bhavan, Nainital, all by herself, when thoughts of her childhood and her family came back to her with great intensity. “My thoughts wandered to the days gone by — my early childhood; the growing up years in a closely knit family; my university life where, as an activist, I met Niranjan Alva; my marriage, children…I thought of my years in the party, then in Parliament; my days in Government, followed by the defeat and the days in opposition …the bitter battles for survival, as I juggled home and work. This was my life, my struggle, my ups and downs, my highs and lows, my successes and failures. But through it all, I stood brave and bold, never faltering in my commitment to speak up for what I believed was right, and never afraid to defend the truth”.
Personal and political life mingle in this autobiography to create an extremely interesting and fascinating document of a life well lived with complete belief in oneself. Spanning Mangalore, Bangalore, New Delhi and the world at large; shedding light on family, friends and foes; and detailing politics and policies. It is the story of a simple life made remarkable, and is narrated with great candidness.
Alva said that as she was not too computer–friendly, she had written the book completely in hand. “I could be in the right frame of my mind to gather my memories.” When asked whether she would be writing a sequel of the book, she said she was not sure whether she had the energy or motivation to attempt that.
Alva’s account of her childhood in the first section titled “The Wonder Years” is extremely beautiful. “The first decade of my life was influenced ,to a large extent ,by my maternal family. It was also shaped by Mangalorean society. School, family get-togethers, weddings, vacations–all revolved around that small town.”
The other sections of the autobiography are named “The Indira Gandhi Years”, “The Rajiv Gandhi Years”, “The P.V.Narasimha Rao Years”, “In the lok Sabha” and “AICC Days”.
In the epilogue, Alva writes “My active political life may have ended ,but I have seen history made–Prime Ministers and Governments come and go, policies and programmes change...I have lived through victories and defeats, assassinations, despair and new hope. Indian democracy has evolved; the voter has matured; women and youth in their millions have become politically aware. Media outreach influences citizens even in the remotest corners of the country. India is changing.”
Alva said at the launch that she had not written the book to create any kind of controversy.” This is the story of my life, the ups and downs, the struggles, the achievements.”
“The future remains a mystery. But as I shut the window on my past, I have no regrets. I have lived my life my way. And will continue to do so, whatever the odds.”
The way in which Alva has maintained her family life with her political career come across vividly in her work. According to her , joining politics was one thing and surviving in politics was another thing. “Survival is the main issue in politics.”
She said that despite all odds she had faced in life, she was a contented person today.
The felicity of expression one comes across in the work makes it a literary work of high order.