Lost and found: The art of letter writing

Natwar-Singh-book Natwar Singh| via Commons

Your style is sharp and precise and your review is not only a review but a lovely vignette, writes R. K. Narayan of Malgudi Days, about former MP, diplomat and prolific writer K. Natwar Singh. But the latest book by “Natji” as Narayan fondly calls him, does not display that kind of a style. Treasured Epistles is, as the name suggests, a compilation of letters that Natwar Singh received from eminent people he was close to or knew, and more importantly corresponded with, in the era of snail mail, when letters, particularly those from overseas, took even weeks to reach.

The 'epistles' span for more than an era. They are letters the former Congress MP received from Indira Gandhi, E.M. Forster, C. Rajagopalachari, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Lord Mountbatten, Mulk Raj Anand, Krishna Hutheesing, Han Suyin, and of course, R. K. Narayan.

But Singh is not absent in the book. Had he not reached out, cultivated a very personal bond and corresponded with each of these people, exchanged greeting cards and made visits whenever an opportunity presented, he would not have received these treasured letters. More importantly, he had, as he says, “the good sense to preserve the letters”. In the preface, he acknowledges the contribution of these people—“indulgent and warm-hearted individuals of rare distinction and exceptional quality” to his own growth as he had met most of them when he was in his 20s and 30s.

Singh has also written a small piece about each of the authors of these letters.

When he was a diplomat, Singh informed the then prime minister Indira Gandhi that he had suffered a slipped disc when he bent down to give his son Jagat his teddy bear, and so would be on leave. Gandhi offered her sympathies and suggested he could “ruminate on the past, present and future”. She reminded him that when the same thing happened to K.P.S. Menon, India's foreign secretary from 1948 to 1952, “he had to stand in a very artistic Ajanta pose for quite some time”. She also commented, “Now you know the pleasures of fatherhood!” In another letter, she describes Maneka Gandhi as a “delightful girl, gay and joyous”. In yet another, she comments on Subramanian Swamy, saying “In India, he has no influence whatsoever even in his own party. He has not been a success in Parliament and there are often sniggers when he gets up. He seems to have a complex of some kind and is aggressive and defensive in a way if you know what I mean. He is a strong advocate of the Atom Bomb..... After our experiment in Pokhran, his first reaction was that news was probably not true”.

Indira Gandhi clearly shared Singh's passion for books, and in some letters, discussed the same.

treasured-epistels

Her aunt, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit made Singh call her “masi”—translates to “like a mother”. Her letters are chatty as she expresses her concern over her brother Jawaharlal Nehru's (referring to him as PM) failing health and his work pressure, and about her foreign tour plans that may or may not materialise. About the niece she never got along with, Pandit writes, “I hope and pray she may be given the wisdom” (on Indira Gandhi's election as prime minister).

The letters in which the authors discuss their books and what others are writing offer glimpses into their inner selves and sensitivities, perhaps more than their books themselves.

For a generation that are unfamiliar with the art of letter writing, the warm and witty exchanges between two people through pen and paper could come as a revelation, or even as an incursion of privacy. It could also make them realise what the quick mail and social media have put to death.

Title: Treasured Epistles

Author: K. Natwar Singh

Publisher: Rupa

Pages: 242

Price: Rs 500