TALES FROM THE DECCAN AND MORE
he gets a call from the chief minister at the crack of dawn and initially fails to recognise his voice. An embarrassed NTR gruffly tells him that he had called Luther to compliment him on his ideas to revive tourism in Andhra Pradesh.
The candour with which Luther writes isn’t restricted to the foibles of public representatives alone. He is equally honest when it comes to his own life. This lends his autobiography an intimate, personal subtext. A large chunk is devoted to his son’s struggles with alcoholism and drug abuse. Luthers’ response evolves from disbelief, to rejection, to despair and acceptance. The sections in which the son moves in and out of rehab and his struggle holding on to his dignity and his loved ones are particularly poignant. After close to three decades, the son overcomes his personal demons and returns home. Despite all his tribulations, the former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary’s autobiography isn’t a sombre life story. Luther’s humour often lifts the narrative. Sample this: “During Nehru’s visit to the state in November 1959, at my suggestion he (PV Narasimha Rao] was chosen to interpret Nehru’s speeches from English to Telugu… Nehru opened his speech with his usual ‘Friends and Comrades’ when Narasimha Rao proceeded to translate it into Telugu. Nehru waved his hand imperiously at him and said, ‘O, shut up. Let me finish my sentence.’ This snub was carried over the public address system and we heard a snigger rising from the audience much to Narasimha Rao’s discomfiture.”