Gopalkrishna Gandhi released Book on 20 Great Personalities of India

India Current Affairs 2011. Of a Certain Age: Twenty Life Sketches- Gopalkrishna Gandhi

A fresh offering on the lives of 20 great personalities titled Of a Certain Age: Twenty Life Sketches penned by former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi was released by Penguin Books India in New Delhi on 26 September 2011. Social activist and National Advisory Council member Aruna Roy unveiled the first copy of the book and presented it to National Commission for Minorities chairperson Wajahat Habibullah.

The book carved out the lives of prominent personalities ranging from Jayaprakash Narayan to Jyoti Basu, K. R. Narayanan to R. Venkataraman to Pupul Jayakar, Mahatma Gandhi to the Dalai Lama. M. S. Subbulakshmi was another character who found mention in the book.

Commencing with the profile on former President K. R. Narayanan, Gopalkrishna Gandhi remarked that  Narayanan was a great President but a very difficult boss.

The sketches of the personalities were not just histories of people but helped to show the ageless qualities of the persons who have significantly touched the lives of people.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, a 1968 Indian Administrative Service cadre served as Secretary to two Indian Presidents before serving out an eventful tenure as Governor of West Bengal from 2004-2009. As a former member of the Indian Administrative Service, he served as High Commissioner to South Africa and Sri Lanka, among other administrative and diplomatic posts. He was given additional charge as Governor of Bihar in 2006. polyglot, writer, translator