On Balance by Leila Seth
An appropriately titled autobiography of Leila Seth. The word 'Balance' is the key to her life. One can see how it almost defines her life, how she lived and the choices she made. For instance, how many people can say or will be able to say in the future – 'I have lived a happy married life for over sixty years.' In addition, I can safely say that this 'balance' also characterizes how she has used the language and how this book is structured.
In general, Indians are emotional and sentimental people which I admire, but here we meet a woman who is judicious, candid, and admirable in almost everything she did. For instance, one of the reasons she wrote this book is so that her grandchildren know who preceded them, what they did and how they lived and so forth. Indeed a remarkable gesture on her part in thinking rationally and with love.
Even though I knew her as the well-known author Vikram Seth's mother, I got totally drawn into the world described in the book. It is interesting to read about different places and people – her friends, colleagues, members of her extended family, parents. The book gives a good a sense of how people lived in the early 50s and 60s. For instance, I liked reading about Patna and Calcutta. There is nothing overblown or exaggerated in the book. Often, when retired bureaucrats and politicians write their memoirs, they brazenly either justify themselves or, even worse, glorify themselves.
There are so many things in the book that I found interesting. For instance, once she went to a police station to lodge a complaint, the policeman was not keen on doing so until he saw she was a judge. A small incident, but it says a lot about what is rotten in the system. On a more personal level, I admire her life with her husband, and the sorts of thing they did and did not do. People in power have privileges and responsibilities, and it might be tempting to ignore the latter.
This is also a courageous book. An Indian mother, irrespective of her status, talks openly about the homosexuality of her son. This is indeed an act of courage. In India, such disclosures can boomerang in unexpected ways. Clearly, she did this for the larger public. I would say that both in the book and in real life, she used her position well to serve society. Usually, it tires me when I hear the rhetoric of good citizenry from famous people, but in her case, it all seems genuine, sanguine, and deeply-felt acts of love toward society.
Many Indians celebrate her life-story primarily because of the success and recognition her children achieved in myriad fields, especially her writer son – Vikram Seth. It is amusing to see how much importance we Indians give to people whose work have been approved by the West. I am sure Vikram could have enthralled any audience anywhere irrespective of the Booker prize. But in India, most of the time, it is the title, the financial reward that is valued more than the work itself.
Success is wonderful, but it is something else that is even more valuable, exigent, and vital than success such as the desire to add to life and give back to society. Leila Seth has that in her. She has left the legacy of that 'something', for her grandchildren, as she mentioned in the book, which to my mind, could be read as a metaphor for the future generation of Indians. The book can guide anyone who imagines and wishes to create a more reasonable world.
In general, Indians are emotional and sentimental people which I admire, but here we meet a woman who is judicious, candid, and admirable in almost everything she did. For instance, one of the reasons she wrote this book is so that her grandchildren know who preceded them, what they did and how they lived and so forth. Indeed a remarkable gesture on her part in thinking rationally and with love.
Even though I knew her as the well-known author Vikram Seth's mother, I got totally drawn into the world described in the book. It is interesting to read about different places and people – her friends, colleagues, members of her extended family, parents. The book gives a good a sense of how people lived in the early 50s and 60s. For instance, I liked reading about Patna and Calcutta. There is nothing overblown or exaggerated in the book. Often, when retired bureaucrats and politicians write their memoirs, they brazenly either justify themselves or, even worse, glorify themselves.
There are so many things in the book that I found interesting. For instance, once she went to a police station to lodge a complaint, the policeman was not keen on doing so until he saw she was a judge. A small incident, but it says a lot about what is rotten in the system. On a more personal level, I admire her life with her husband, and the sorts of thing they did and did not do. People in power have privileges and responsibilities, and it might be tempting to ignore the latter.
This is also a courageous book. An Indian mother, irrespective of her status, talks openly about the homosexuality of her son. This is indeed an act of courage. In India, such disclosures can boomerang in unexpected ways. Clearly, she did this for the larger public. I would say that both in the book and in real life, she used her position well to serve society. Usually, it tires me when I hear the rhetoric of good citizenry from famous people, but in her case, it all seems genuine, sanguine, and deeply-felt acts of love toward society.
Many Indians celebrate her life-story primarily because of the success and recognition her children achieved in myriad fields, especially her writer son – Vikram Seth. It is amusing to see how much importance we Indians give to people whose work have been approved by the West. I am sure Vikram could have enthralled any audience anywhere irrespective of the Booker prize. But in India, most of the time, it is the title, the financial reward that is valued more than the work itself.
Success is wonderful, but it is something else that is even more valuable, exigent, and vital than success such as the desire to add to life and give back to society. Leila Seth has that in her. She has left the legacy of that 'something', for her grandchildren, as she mentioned in the book, which to my mind, could be read as a metaphor for the future generation of Indians. The book can guide anyone who imagines and wishes to create a more reasonable world.
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