With No Regrets An Autobiography

by Krishna Nehru Hutheesing

AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY Krishna Nehru And time remember d is grief forgotten An Asia Press Book The John Day Company New York FOREWORD I seldom consent to write a foreword, but as I have known Krishna Hutheesing since she was a child, I readily conceded her claim for my blessing on her sheaf of memories. She undertook this book, she tells us, to solace the loneliness of those long anxious months following on the black Sunday of August 1942 that saw so many national workers, including almost her entire family, in prison. With characteristic directness and complete candor, she recounts the tale of her own young life for she is still quite young. She speaks of her happy if wayward childhood in a home of wealth and beauty, of her somewhat difficult and sometimes rebellious girlhood in surroundings strangely and unbelievably altered by the influence of the meek but oh how mighty Mahatma, from a background of rich festivities to a battle camp of austere conflict and tremendous sacrifice. She gives us glimpses of her stay in Switzerland with an ailing sister-in-law, her travels with her father and brother in France and England, Germany and Russia, and mentions some famous people whom she met. She relates her experiences as a Satya grahi prisoner in a womens jail, and confides in us the romance of her unconventional courtship and marriage, her reactions to new modes of living in new cities and unfamiliar environments she presents to us her two small sons, Harsha and Ajit, for whose sakes she has been persuaded to refrain from an active share in the current political movement. Here and there the leaves are stained with tears of bereavement for father, mother and others dearly loved. But this very personal narrative is closely woven into die 7 fabric of the family history of the Nehrus. Therein, for the wider public, will lie its special value and appeal. Has the his tory of the Nehrus not been for a quarter of a century both a living symbol and an integral part of the story of the Indian struggle for freedom In this simple and intimate chronicle, we discover the mag nificent Motilal Nehru where shall we ever find his equal in his most endearing and delightful role as the benevolent and genial patriarch and dictator of an adoring family, whom he loved with a surpassing devotion which impressed Mahatma Gandhi as the most remarkable of his many great qualities. Here, Jawaharlal, that passionate and intrepid crusader for world causes, doffs his armor and sheathes his fiery sword, and proves himself an incomparable exponent of many-sided relationships as son and brother, husband, father, friend and perfect playmate of little children. Here, too, drawn in tender colors, is the portrait of Jawa hars lovely and heroic wife, Kamala, the pathos of whose brief life and the poignant tragedy of whose death have al ready passed into lyric and legend in the country. Swamp, now called Vijayalakshmi, winds her way through the pattern of this tale like a gleaming thread of silver and Indira floats before our eyes for a moment, a delicate vision in her saffron bridal robes. But to me most precious, perhaps, of all is the remembrance of that tiny and exquisite, aged and suffering woman, Motilals wife, Jawahars mother, in whom love and faith wrought so sweet a miracle of courage and endurance. She, who was care fully cherished and jealously guarded like a jewel in an ivory casket throughout her fragile youth and middle years, trans formed herself in her frail old age into a gem-like flame of inspiration to guide those whose feet were set irrevocably on the steep and perilous paths of freedom. Precious, too, is the pendant picture of that older sister, widowed in childhood, who dedicated her life to the tireless service of the Nehru household, and who, having fulfilled her 8 last duties to her sister, laid down her life within twenty-four hours after she died undivided in death as in life...

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Krishna Nehru Hutheesing was an Indian writer, the youngest sister of Jawaharlal Nehru and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, and part of the Nehru-Gandhi family..

Reviews

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

With No Regrets - An Autobiography (Paperback) by Krishna Nehru Hatheesingh. Author has described her life which is a part of history of independence of India very well. She has written beautiful pen-portraits of her father Motilal Nehru, her mother Swarup Rani, her sister Vijay Laxmi Pandit, her brother Jawahar lal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, her husband Raja Hatheesingh, her Bhabhi Kamala Nehru, her niece Indira Gandhi. She has described her trip to Europe well and it is interesting to note the people she met at International school and during her journey to various parts of Europe. Her description of jail life in India and compared jail life in Russia well. Her description of life in Sabarmati Ashram with Bapu and her journey to Kolkata, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Ceylon are helpful to understand the situation of India during 1920-1941. She has described well the death of her father Motilal Nehru. Her mention that Jawaharlal said to her the he is only a trustee of his father's property and she and her mother can use the property and money as they desire - is such a forward looking idea of broadminded brother. It is worth reading.

[Valerie]

Krishna Nehru Hutheesing was one of Jawarhalal Nehru's two sisters--but not the better-known one. (That was Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit).

Krishna Nehru Hutheesing was a devotee of ironic detachment, and her book is somewhat amusing. It also provides useful information that's not in the more hagiographic sources on the period.

I wouldn't advise it for a novice, however. The author tends to assume a level of background knowledge that not everybody has.

[Amit Chawla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wonderful read. The book flows like a river. Krishna takes you through the journey that none of the books of that era do. Very real.