Meri Jiwan Yatra – An Autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand - Book Review

 

Meri Jiwan Yatra – An Autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand  - Book Review

Ambassador Bal Anand, my senior colleague in the IFS and a friend, guide and philosopher in my day to day life, was kind enough to send me his recently launched autobiography in Punjabi language – Meri Jiwan Yatra: Simriti Di Sarswati (A River of Memories). I could not resist the temptation of reading this book of 436 pages immediately in a couple of days, as against my normal routine of going slow in reading books. Here I am ready to offer my hearty

congratulations to Ambassador Bal Anand for giving a succinct account of his journey from a remote village in the Malwa region of Punjab to the capital city of Delhi (now NCR – Greater Noida or Gautam Budh Nagar in the IFS Villas where we have had the pleasure of be their neighbors) passing through the distinct milestones spread over the capitals of the world. I don’t know whether I should call it a book review or a humble note of appreciation for a marvelous account of a rich and contented life of a good man. While reading the book, I did not remain a reader alone but felt a part of the narration right from our days at DAV College in Jalandhar in the mid 1960s, as I am also a humble alumnus of the College which the author has mentioned at page 95 and given a photo of our participation at a function in the College, to the corridors of power in the South Block in New Delhi during our diplomatic careers in the Ministry of External Affairs. The places and names mentioned in the narration recalled my own cherished memories of good old days.

The author has rightly said in the preamble of the book that it was very difficult to write about oneself. It is more so for controversial bigwigs. Bal Anand Sahib is the son of the soil who possesses a harmonious personality and as such, it seems, he did not find much difficulty in telling his story. Meri Jiwan Yatra clearly demonstrates that the author has a great sense of history and an eye for details.

The first Chapter is devoted to the early years and his family. One can easily make it that father, Vaid Hardial Nand Singh and uncle Shankar Anand ji had a great influence in shaping the persona of the author. I envy Bal Anand Sahib on the fact that he knows all the minor details of his family so clearly. He has even given the poetic rendering of advice (traditionally called Shikhya in Punjabi) read at the marriage ceremony of his auntie (Bhuaji), Surjit Kaur in March, 1952. The details of Mela Lohri Da in the village and a befitting souvenir published by the author in 2018-19 in this regards shows the ‘sense of belonging’ of the author with his native place and the family, a well established and dignified lot. On page 57 concluding the Chapter, Bal Anand Sahib humbly says and rightly so, “Mein Sochda Han Ki Mein Apne Nek Bajurgan Te Pind Da Nam Ucha Kita” on asking a hypothetic question as to what did he do for the village.  The second Chapter pertains to the author’s education and learning pursuits as the scion of the awakened family of a remote village.  Bal Anand Sahib remained a good student throughout from primary to university. He remembers each detail of his schools, teachers and fellow students – hats off to this great attribute of the author. He even remembered a Persian couplet which his teacher in class 7 used to recite – Ilam Hi Nikla Ilam Se Baghi; Akal Hi Nikli Akal Ki Dushman. It was good to note that Bal Anand Sahib used to go for public rallies/meetings in the vicinity of his native place even when he was a student in the high school. The same was true for me also. This trait paid us good dividends in later years. The incident of his speaking on All India Radio in a school broadcast in 1957 and getting a small honorarium very well testifies that the author was fully involved in current events as a good student. The NDA anecdote (page 75) is interesting – failed in OLQ (Officer Like Qualities). The Army’s loss was the gain of IFS. The details of author’s college/university education make an interesting reading – his going for the Humanities rather than Science for becoming a doctor or engineer in spite of good marks in the Matriculation – his stint at DAV College Jalandhar in early 1960s kindled my own memories of food of the mess of Lajpat Rai Hotel, the college Magazine Ravi etc. and also Harbhalab Sangeet Mela and also encounter with Jagjit Singh Anand after listening to RSS’s Sarsanghchalak Guru Golwalkar along with his father.  Some sweet and sour experiences in the Government College Ludhiana is a sad a commentary on our social system and morality. Students with socially marginalized and economically poor students are treated badly. Bal Anand Sahib, like a complete gentleman, is still discreet in registering his pent up feelings. The gratifying aspect of the exercise was that Bal Anand was fully qualified with a Masters Degree to be on the teaching faculty of a college. The next chapter indicates the sense of satisfaction to have an important prefix to the author’s name as ‘Prof. Bal Anand’ with his job at the prestigious DAV College Jalandhar as a lecturer of English. The narration reminded me of Principal B.S. Behl, an educational administrator of standing, Prof. U.R. Dada, Prof. K.K. Ghai, Principal Jagdish Joshi among others.

At the Alumni Meet at DAV College Jalandhar

The conversation with Prof. V.P. Malhotra about the work ethics with reference to Principal Behl on page 95 is really revealing of human mind. Bal Anand Sahib’s teaching stints at Government College Bathinda and Government College Karamsar proved to be stepping stones in the run up the Civil Services Examination which culminated in breaking the ceiling in 1969 first in the IPS and in 1971 in the IFS. Keeping with his personality and God fearing aptitude, the author humbly concludes this chapter and says, “Mere Te Rab Dian Ania Meharbania Kiven Hoian; Oh Aap Hi Janda Hai”.

The life took a full circle. Bal Anand Sahib was firmly rooted in the elite civil service IFS and joined the LBSNAA at Mussoorie in July, 1971. The narration of his undergoing training with various offices and wings of the government and JNU and also attachment with the various divisions of the MEA makes an interesting reading. Since I was already working in the MEA since March, 1970, Bal Anand Sahib’s presence in the corridors of power in the South Block reminded me of my own humble association with those moments. The author’s brief observatory remarks on some of the senior bosses are interesting. Akbar Khaleeli’s remarks about Bal Anand Sahib are most telling and apt, “You are too good to be a Punjab.” and advised “Don’t waste your goodness on those who don’t deserve it.”

The most eligible bachelor, Bal Anand IFS was ready to get married and was excited to search a suitable match as he puts in his own words “Te Baat Ban Jaye Sade Bhole Panchian Di Bhi”. Baat Ban Hi Gai – with Aradhana daughter of a senior functionary of the Ministry of Railways, Nand Lal Ramdassia and they tied the knot in August, 1973. Babu Jagjivan Ram, a senior Minister in the GOI participated in the marriage and blessed the couple.  

The Chapter 5 of the book pertains to the author’s initial postings abroad – Tehran (Iran), Persian as his compulsory language as required in the IFS, was his first regular posting which was full of interesting developments with regard to the evolving political situation with the rising profile of Ayatollah Khomeini in the later years of 1970s against Reza Shah Pahlavi’s regime. After the first difficult posting in a beautiful country, Bal Anand Sahib landed in yet another difficult station said to be a heaven on earth by some – Maldives, a string of islands in the Indian Ocean as he asked for a posting in the neighborhood on account of his social and family responsibilities back home. It is said, “Ministry’s ways are mysterious.” It is easy to reach Delhi from London and difficult from Male. It happened with me also. From Sana’a, I asked for a posting in neighborhood as my father was not keeping well. I was given Kandy in Sri Lanka and it took two days to reach Delhi when my father died in 1986 by hopping flights via Madras (Chennai).  Some candid comments on non-resident High Commissioner Thomas Abraham are revealing.  With not so good an experience, the author came back to Delhi in the MEA in December, 1978 as Deputy Secretary in the Southern Division. As usual, he has had the taste of the pie – to work with a known quarrelsome boss, interesting conversation between FS Ram Sathe and Australian Deputy Foreign Minister regarding Australian High Commissioner’s reported dispatch on the rumours of army coup in India (page 139) and interaction with a delegation of lawyers and law makers, which visited Vietnam, headed by Law Minister Shiv Shankar who had the habit of mouthing abuses (Galis) in Punjabi as mentioned by the author. But it is not surprising that there were many Punjabi politicians to do so as a matter of habit rather than bad intension. One such personality, whom I met, was Chaudhary Sunder Singh. The Chapter 6 starts with posting to Romania of Nicolae Ceausescu.  Avoiding the unattractive offers of posting to Syria and Brazil, Bal Anand Sahib was posted to Romania in October, 1982, a posting of his liking where he could relax a bit in spite of the fact that, it seems, he did not get considerate bosses to work with and learn from them as a mid-level diplomat. He came back to Delhi as Deputy Secretary and again had to work with yet another ‘quarrelsome’ boss in the MEA. The author does not hide his unpleasant experience and writes, “Hun Tak Tan Jime Videsh Seva De Unsukhamein Pehlu Hi Dekhe Si Asin.” A long stint of postings abroad starts from here. First Madrid (Spain) with a pleasant boss, Ambassador K.D. Sharma – the details in this regard are informative and interesting like; Ambassador Sharma marrying a local staff member of the Embassy and later ending his life with his own weapon,  Speaker Balram Jhakhar’s travails in finding vegetarian food in Madrid,  MP Vishawjit Singh, scion of the Kapurthala Royal family, marrying one of the IFS fraternity posted in Spain and one of the finest diplomats of India, Vijay Thakur and interesting details of PM Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Spain.  From Spain to Saudi Arabia, a country with religious tradition and modern living – the author seemed ill at ease with the social set up “Pakhand Dian Sabh Seema Ton Par.” The first designated Ambassador of India, Abdul Majid returned to India without presenting his Letter of Credence apologized to PM Jawaharlal Nehru, his friend and appointee perhaps because of these social contradictions. It is, of course, is an unusual tale in diplomacy. Yet another difficult posting, Islamabad (Pakistan) but consciously or otherwise, I think, most of the Indian diplomats would love to go there. Bal Anand Sahib was hoping to go somewhere as an HOM but was posted to Islamabad as Deputy High Commissioner in June 1992. The author held High Commissioner Satish Lamba in high esteem and rightly so. Some of the observations of the author are revealing like; the Head of Division dealing with Pakistan in MEA had different notions of friendly relations which did not conform to the Punjabi or say Pakistani psyche. This but I drive from the remarks of the author “Mainu Eh Bhi Japia Ki Pakistani Videsh Mantralya To Bhi Badhere Mainu Ane Mantralya Balon Savdhan Rehan Di Zaroorat Hovegi.” The events of Babri Masjid in December, 1992 and Pakistan’s continuing policy of cross border terrorism made things more difficult. In spite of all these irritants, Bal Anand could win the hearts of Pakistanis with his ‘easy demeanor, love of literature, unpretentious Punjabi behavior, in his own words “Sidha Sadha – Punjabi Bhra.” The quoted Pritam Singh, a renowned Poet to conclude the Pakistan posting: Suljhe To Yeh Taani Kaise Suljhe; Badde Akalmandon Ne Uljgai Hai”

It goes without saying that any diplomat in the IFS aspires to become HOM that Ambassador or High Commissioner to hold the flag of India abroad. The author graduated to become the Indian Ambassador to Panama, a beautiful country in Central America. It seems it was a nice place to relax after the tension ridden time in Pakistan. Since there were not any outstanding political or economic issues with India, the focus was on ‘cultural diplomacy’ which in any case remained the forte of the author with his added interest in cultural and literary matters.  It is surprising to note again some service colleagues played dirty and tried to hit below the belt. From Panama, Bal Anand Sahib reached Yerevan (Armenia) as India’s first resident Ambassador, a break away country from the erstwhile USSR, a beautiful place in the Caucasian region.  Before going to Yerevan, Bal Anand Sahib spent some weeks in the MEA on Consultation Duty. Though I had heard of Bal Anand Sahib quite a lot from my colleagues and friends yet we had not met so far in person. I was the Director of Central Asia Division dealing with Azerbaijan, an immediate hostile neighbor of Armenia on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.  The author has made a reference to the issue in the book (page 171). I do recall that both the designated Ambassadors Bal Anand and Dinkar Khullar, one of the finest diplomats of India who was to go the Baku (Ajerbaijan) were advised to synchronize their joining  in view of the sensitive issue of Nagorno –Karabakh. Azerbaijan was siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue because of our take on the Nagorono-Karabakh issue. We used to meet quite often those days for some ‘Gapchap’ in my

At our humble home in Jalandhar

office. I greatly benefited from Ambassador Bal Anand’s association which later culminated into family friendship. It is gratifying to note, unlike other places, Bal Anand Sahib could get good, competent and friendly colleagues in Armenia and such he could deliver to further strengthen bonds of friendship between India and Armenia particularly in the cultural and educational spheres. From Armenia, the author was posted to yet again a beautiful country, in his own words – Prithvi Da Savaragmai Tota, New Zealand, the last call of duty in the exciting diplomatic career of more than three decades.

The review is getting a bit longer, 2452 words, so far and I would not like to make it unduly lengthy. Bal Anand Sahib is leading a happy and contented life in the greens of IFS Villas in Gautam Budh Nagar in the NCR of Delhi where I happen to be his almost a neighbor. I have personally seen his large collection of books which were arranged in the basement of the Villa with easy access. He is keeping himself busy in his favorite pursuits of reading and writing.  His writings were regularly carried by a periodical “The Identity” published from Chandigarh under the banner “Capital Letter’. I am much impressed by the authors inherited trait of writing and preserving letters. I am happy to add here that I have had the honour of reviewing his two of the Punjabi books in my blog - The Sukh Sunehe and The Nave Nibandh. Bal Sahib’s book ‘Expressions of Freedom’ rightly dedicated to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, was well received in the intellectual circles. The concluding chapters present a free-wheeling narration of the author take on matters of common interest to ‘We the people of India’ with anecdotal inputs of a son of the soil and with a world-view of a seasoned diplomat. The nostalgic account of his native place and people around like Desh Bhagat Diwana (page 210) and impressive personality of Giani Zail Singh is informative and educative. The authors love for poetry and literature is laudable. The author was much impressed by film and literary personality Balraj Sahni and says philosophically “Dunia Doshtian Di Dastan Hai”. The Samriti Di Sarswati – Meri Jiwan Yatra concludes with an emotional note addressed to the author’s revered father on his death anniversary is really touching – in the words of Mirza Galib “Bahut Nikle Mere Arman Lekin Phir Bhi Kam Nikle”

I hope that this piece of mine will give an over-view of the autobiography of Ambassador Bal Anand particularly to the non-Punjabi knowing friends and readers. I conclude with a quote from the retirement speech of the author:

ਜਮੀਨ ਭੀ ਨਾਜ਼ ਸੇ ਰਖਤੀ ਹੈ ਆਸਮਾਂ ਪੈ  ਕਦਮ;

ਲੋਟ ਕੇ ਵਤਨ ਕੋ ਜਬ ਕੋਈ ਗਰੀਬ (ਡਿਪਲੋਮੈਟ) ਆਤਾ ਹੈ.