Rajiv Malik, HPI Correspondent
NEW DELHI, INDIA, March 12, 2007: “Karan Singh : A Tryst With History, a Pictorial Biography” was launched with grand fanfare by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India’s Union Minister For External Affairs, in the Rose Gardens of New Delhi’s India International Center on Friday, March 9, the 76th birthday of Dr. Karan Singh.
In his foreword to the book, Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh describes Dr. Karan Singh as one of the most respected cultural ambassadors of India, who has “illuminated intellectuals, diplomats and audiences with his prose and profound understanding of India.” The Prime Minister lauded Dr. Karan Singh’s deep understanding of Hinduism and of India’s rich and varied past. It was because of these qualities of head and heart that Dr. Karan Singh had endeared himself to successive generations of Indians. His personal association with Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a profound effect on him. He was held in high regard by both of them, he added and expressed confidence that this pictorial biography will be read with great interest both in India and abroad.
In his own address, Dr. Karan Singh said, “I was just 16 yrs old when India became free. I have seen history unfold and in my own small way I have contributed to it.” He went on to say,” My advent into politics was hardly a decision. I was born into public life. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru was my political guru and Dr. Radhakrishnan my intellectual guru.” An ardent devotee of Lord Siva in his personal life, Dr. Karan Singh made it a point to mention in his speech that whatever he has achieved in life is due to the ever-flowing blessings of Lord Siva.
The 144 pages book published by Niyogi Books sums up Dr. Karan Singh’s philosophy in the following words, “Life is necessarily a mosaic of joy and sorrow, of pleasure and pain, of failure and success, of shadows and sunlight; that we must accept these dualities as a necessary stage in our spiritual progress until we are able to transcend them; and that each experience can be valuable means for inner growth, unpleasant situations often affording greater opportunities for development than superficially pleasant ones.”