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Ambedkar: The Attendant Details
This book is an attempt at intimacy with B.R. Ambedkar in his hours away from history and headlines. The aim here is to recover the ephemera that attended Ambedkar’s life and died with him—his pleasure in his library and book-collecting, his vein of gruff humour, the sensation of seeing him in the flesh for the first time, or of stepping out of a summer storm into his house and hearing him at practice on his violin. Here, we have his attendants, admirers and companions speak of Ambedkar’s love of the sherwani, kurta, lungi, dhoti, and even his sudden paean to elasticated underpants. We meet Ambedkar the lover of dogs and outsize fountain pens, proponent of sex education and contraception, anti-prohibitionist teetotaler and occasional cook.
The fragments that make up this volume enable the recovery of his many facets—a rewarding biographical quest.
The fragments that make up this volume enable the recovery of his many facets—a rewarding biographical quest.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2020
“There can be no doubt about his outstanding qualities, his scholarship and intensity with which he pursued his conviction. He has been the symbol of that intense feeling which we must always remember…” was the tribute from Jawaharlal Nehru in the parliament, on Dr. Ambedkar’s death. For those who not had the good fortune of knowing Dr. Ambedkar at close quarters, he is likely to appear an austere and almost awe-inspiring personality. But those who are privileged to know him intimately have known all along how very humane he is. The lack of personal memoir or autobiography of Dr. Ambedkar makes it difficult for the modern readers to know who Dr. Ambedkar was, in person. Till now, ‘Waiting for a Visa’ is the only substantial autobiographical account by Dr. Ambedkar’s life. This book is compilation of personal recollection from Dr. Ambedkar’s close companions, attendant and admirers, sharing the never-heard-before aspects of the tallest statesman, politician, economist, anthropologist, amiable historian, and the sculptor of Modern India.
The contemporaries of Dr. Ambedkar remark his not-so-well-known-side as a jocular, witty, dog-loving, ambidextrous, wise-examiner, and occasional cook and as a passionate gardener, who knew every botanical name of the plants he grew in his garden. Seemingly, every person who moved closely with Dr. Ambedkar throughout his life, whether his typists, secretaries, maid or personal bodyguards reflect their profound admiration and praise for Dr. Ambedkar’s love for reading and writing books and his sacrifice and devotion in building one of the richest private libraries in India. He firmly believed that a man should invest ten per cent of his income on books. By the end of 1956, Dr. Ambedkar had around 35,000 books to his personal collection in his residence ‘Rajgruha’. His books covered topics from politics to poultry and from the theory of relativity to Buddhism. This book also recollects the memories of his religious conversion to Buddhism, just few months before his death. Dr. Ambedkar believed that Buddha was scientist and that he never made any claims beyond the data at hand, declaring that ‘there is no place for anything unscientific in Buddhism.’ As much as he despised hero-worshipping, gurudom, temple entry, superstition and the notion of religion and God, he considered teachings of Buddha as a philosophical and scientific doctrine, rather than a religious one. He was progressive rationalist who vehemently asserted that ‘Like Buddha I do not believe in God, nor do I believe in the soul.’ In 1938, at times when even the idea of birth control was considered sacrileges by all sects of society, as fierce proponent of sex education and contraception, Dr. Ambedkar brought in a bill emphasising the need for family planning citing credible numbers on maternal mortality, fertility rate and population of different countries with family planning programs, only to be opposed and dismissed later by members of every religion in the house.
One cannot deny the fact that, though Dr. Ambedkar took extreme pride and honour in the glorious past of Maharashtra, he identified himself as an Indian, firstly and lastly. Recounting the felicitation ceremony in Columbia University, in which Dr. Ambedkar was to be awarded with Doctor of Law, while the speakers were surprised and remarked their disappointment that no Indian university had thought of honouring Dr. Ambedkar, he assured the audience in his speech saying, ‘Do not harbour any notion that I will speak against my country here. I have always fought in the interest of the nation. I have not entertained any anti-national ideas even for a moment. At the Round Table Conference, in respect of patriotism, I was 200 miles ahead of Gandhiji.’ Even though Dr. Ambedkar was critical of Gandhian philosophy and politics, he nursed a secret affection and tenderness for Gandhi, as explained by one of his publishers how Dr. Ambedkar used to engage in good humoured leg pulling particularly with his associates who had weakness for Gandhi and Gandhian studies, wondering ‘The number of books that people write on this old man takes my breath away!’
There are interesting essays from Vasant Moon, who was the compiler of Volumes of Ambedkar’s Writings and Speeches, Jogendra Mandal, who was part of constituent assembly and later became the first law minister of independent Pakistan, Namdeo Nimgade, a close associate of Dr. Ambedkar, who later became an agricultural scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute and many other attendants who moved closely with Dr. Ambedkar during his lifetime. The essays from this book recover many facets of Dr. Ambedkar and his deep love for books, violin, fountain pens and his aversion towards alcohol, smoking and tobacco. In summary, this books attempts to reconstruct the life of Dr. Ambedkar who was one and the same in both his public and private life as he believed that ‘the individual and public characters of a leader should be the same, else he will fail in his duties.’
The contemporaries of Dr. Ambedkar remark his not-so-well-known-side as a jocular, witty, dog-loving, ambidextrous, wise-examiner, and occasional cook and as a passionate gardener, who knew every botanical name of the plants he grew in his garden. Seemingly, every person who moved closely with Dr. Ambedkar throughout his life, whether his typists, secretaries, maid or personal bodyguards reflect their profound admiration and praise for Dr. Ambedkar’s love for reading and writing books and his sacrifice and devotion in building one of the richest private libraries in India. He firmly believed that a man should invest ten per cent of his income on books. By the end of 1956, Dr. Ambedkar had around 35,000 books to his personal collection in his residence ‘Rajgruha’. His books covered topics from politics to poultry and from the theory of relativity to Buddhism. This book also recollects the memories of his religious conversion to Buddhism, just few months before his death. Dr. Ambedkar believed that Buddha was scientist and that he never made any claims beyond the data at hand, declaring that ‘there is no place for anything unscientific in Buddhism.’ As much as he despised hero-worshipping, gurudom, temple entry, superstition and the notion of religion and God, he considered teachings of Buddha as a philosophical and scientific doctrine, rather than a religious one. He was progressive rationalist who vehemently asserted that ‘Like Buddha I do not believe in God, nor do I believe in the soul.’ In 1938, at times when even the idea of birth control was considered sacrileges by all sects of society, as fierce proponent of sex education and contraception, Dr. Ambedkar brought in a bill emphasising the need for family planning citing credible numbers on maternal mortality, fertility rate and population of different countries with family planning programs, only to be opposed and dismissed later by members of every religion in the house.
One cannot deny the fact that, though Dr. Ambedkar took extreme pride and honour in the glorious past of Maharashtra, he identified himself as an Indian, firstly and lastly. Recounting the felicitation ceremony in Columbia University, in which Dr. Ambedkar was to be awarded with Doctor of Law, while the speakers were surprised and remarked their disappointment that no Indian university had thought of honouring Dr. Ambedkar, he assured the audience in his speech saying, ‘Do not harbour any notion that I will speak against my country here. I have always fought in the interest of the nation. I have not entertained any anti-national ideas even for a moment. At the Round Table Conference, in respect of patriotism, I was 200 miles ahead of Gandhiji.’ Even though Dr. Ambedkar was critical of Gandhian philosophy and politics, he nursed a secret affection and tenderness for Gandhi, as explained by one of his publishers how Dr. Ambedkar used to engage in good humoured leg pulling particularly with his associates who had weakness for Gandhi and Gandhian studies, wondering ‘The number of books that people write on this old man takes my breath away!’
There are interesting essays from Vasant Moon, who was the compiler of Volumes of Ambedkar’s Writings and Speeches, Jogendra Mandal, who was part of constituent assembly and later became the first law minister of independent Pakistan, Namdeo Nimgade, a close associate of Dr. Ambedkar, who later became an agricultural scientists at Indian Agricultural Research Institute and many other attendants who moved closely with Dr. Ambedkar during his lifetime. The essays from this book recover many facets of Dr. Ambedkar and his deep love for books, violin, fountain pens and his aversion towards alcohol, smoking and tobacco. In summary, this books attempts to reconstruct the life of Dr. Ambedkar who was one and the same in both his public and private life as he believed that ‘the individual and public characters of a leader should be the same, else he will fail in his duties.’
February 10, 2019
Dr. Ambedkar, a music lover, a dog lover, a child at heart, greatest bibiliophile India has ever seen! All these never-heard-before aspects of the tallest statesman, politician, economist, anthropologist, amiable historian, and the sculptor of Modern India, Dr. Ambedkar and his personal life.
A thrilling read for those who long to figure out the other attributes of Dr. Ambedkar and his personality. A person with exceptional flair for writing and analysing, this book delves into the aspects of his life which are seldomly talked about, lest people think of him as a mortal. Though mortal, he was no less than a god and saviour of the untouchables in(of) India. His zest, drive, and the zeal can be glimpsed through this book.
The book is essentially a record of the experiences of several renowned (often forgotten) people who had spent a considerable amount of time with Dr. Ambedkar in various capacities. arrangement of the experiences of various folks working with Dr. Ambedkar.
The arrangement of the experiences is sorted in a distinct way by Navayana. Beginning from those who knew Dr.Ambedkar from farthest to the nearest, this book is a savoury read for those who know little of Dr. Ambedkar. Some of the stories mentioned have become folk-lore in Maharashtra, yet a lot remains hidden from public view.
Navayana, as always, has done a wonderful job of printing this lush copy. Navayana is by far the best Publishing House in India in terms of content and appearance. All the books of Navayana are lush and premium, much better than Harper-Collins I would dare say.
A thrilling read for those who long to figure out the other attributes of Dr. Ambedkar and his personality. A person with exceptional flair for writing and analysing, this book delves into the aspects of his life which are seldomly talked about, lest people think of him as a mortal. Though mortal, he was no less than a god and saviour of the untouchables in(of) India. His zest, drive, and the zeal can be glimpsed through this book.
The book is essentially a record of the experiences of several renowned (often forgotten) people who had spent a considerable amount of time with Dr. Ambedkar in various capacities. arrangement of the experiences of various folks working with Dr. Ambedkar.
The arrangement of the experiences is sorted in a distinct way by Navayana. Beginning from those who knew Dr.Ambedkar from farthest to the nearest, this book is a savoury read for those who know little of Dr. Ambedkar. Some of the stories mentioned have become folk-lore in Maharashtra, yet a lot remains hidden from public view.
Navayana, as always, has done a wonderful job of printing this lush copy. Navayana is by far the best Publishing House in India in terms of content and appearance. All the books of Navayana are lush and premium, much better than Harper-Collins I would dare say.
May 22, 2024
Such a great insight and POV of whoever came across Ambedkar's life in one way or the other to his struggles and life beyond public eyes. The more I know about him the more I wanna know about him. Great job by Navayana publishing house. Yet another gem of a book from their collection.
September 12, 2018
A somewhat intimate portrait of Dr.Ambedkar containing hues of various facets of this iron willed man ranging from being a cook,a bibliobibuli,a fountain pen collector,a scholar etc.
These shades were hidden behind the veil of his erudite scholarship,which gave a pensive look to him.
These shades were hidden behind the veil of his erudite scholarship,which gave a pensive look to him.
January 17, 2020
Of all the icons of India's national movement, Ambedkar is the most fiercely loved. He is now a demi-god, no less. But Ambedkar has not been served well by biographers. Dhananja Keer's biography written in the 1950s is still regarded as the best biography of Ambedkar available. To a modern reader, this does not read very well. Although Ambedkar himself wrote profusely, he did not care to write a memoir. As a result, there is no Ambedkar lore similar to Gandhi or Nehru lore. By lore, I mean the intimate personal details of a great man that humanises the man rather than the significant public events of the great man's life. This volume seeks to bridge the gap. it is a compilation of personal recollections of Ambedkar by his contemporaries. The writers are not very well known and the quality of writing varies substantially from writer to writer. I found the extended peice by U.R. Rao to be the best. There is a small extract from MO Mathai's Infamous book, 'Reminiscences of the Nehru Age'. Mathai has some interesting things to say about Ambedkar.
Ambedkar is quoted as saying: "The Hindus wanted the Vedas, they sent for Vyasa who was not a caste Hindu. The Hindus wanted an epic, and they sent for Valmiki who was an untouchable. The Hindus wanted a constitution and they sent for me."
In these pages we meet Ambedkar, the bibliophile and workaholic. A short autobiographical article by Ambedkar himself, which recollects the slights he received in his childhood and youth on account of his low caste, is also included.
Ambedkar is quoted as saying: "The Hindus wanted the Vedas, they sent for Vyasa who was not a caste Hindu. The Hindus wanted an epic, and they sent for Valmiki who was an untouchable. The Hindus wanted a constitution and they sent for me."
In these pages we meet Ambedkar, the bibliophile and workaholic. A short autobiographical article by Ambedkar himself, which recollects the slights he received in his childhood and youth on account of his low caste, is also included.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews