Of a certain age: twenty life sketches

Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, M.S. Subbulakshmi and Jyoti Basu were defined by the epoch they lived in and they, in turn, defined it. Their legacies are part of our lore, not yet of our understanding. Of a Certain Age celebrates twenty such individuals with charming biographical sketches. Gopalkrishna Gandhi illuminates key moments in their lives with personal knowledge, conversations and correspondence. He offers us little-known facts, vivid portrayals of their vulnerabilities and strengths and touches upon the qualities that made them the stuff of legend. In sketches that are sympathetic and frank, intimate and objective, Gopalkrishna Gandhi analyses the public and political trajectories of these figures and explores the events that connect them to the broader horizon of history. Written in elegant and fluid prose, Of a Certain Age provides valuable insights to understanding these remarkable men and women who shaped events in the twentieth century and had a considerable impact on the subcontinent we know today.