I worked as a journalist in New Delhi between 1989 and 1998 which means a majority of my posting coincided with the tenure of the late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao. He took over on June 21, 1991, and left office on May 16, 1996.

On his 100th anniversary June 28, it is as good a time as any to retrospect, particularly because one had had occasions to interact with him. I saw Narasimha Rao as a Yoda-like figure who despite his intellect tended to be inscrutable, mysterious and cryptic. To be accurate, this view of mine does not necessarily track with the reality of the man even though there were some of those features to him.

Rather than putting him in a broader political and economic context, something I have done before, I would like to make some personal observations; an impressionistic account of the man if you will. I have also attached a piece I wrote on this day last year.

I met Rao but a few times, a couple of those were with my colleague and dear friend Tarun Basu who was the editor-in-chief of the India Abroad News Service (now IANS), of which I was the South Asia chief correspondent. Rao always seemed to be chewing something whether or not he actually was. I used to speculate between just a couple of cardamoms or a Maghai paan. Maghai pan, which a particularly valued betel leaf, is sought after because it practically melts in your mouth unlike the other varieties such as Kalkatti whose pulp is thicker. I know this because as a young man I used to relish a paan or a thousand.

Rao had the sort of face and mouth that gave you the impression that he was privy to mouth freshener flavors that were exclusively for him.

As someone who spoke 17 languages, you might be forgiven to think that he was not given to garrulity in any of those. He was, of course, an erudite man with extensive knowledge of Indian and world literature. A voracious reader in many languages, Rao was also extremely well-versed with the intricacies of Indian philosophy. In one of his interactions with Tarun and I,  he reiterated his characteristic approach to many a political crisis. He called it “enlightened inaction” where one chooses quite deliberately to do nothing. His antagonists, and they are a legion, might accuse him of doing precisely that when on December 6, 1991, when barely six months after his unexpected ascension the disputed Babri Mosque was brought down by Hindu zealots. He gave the impression that he took the path of least resistance although it may not be entirely accurate. The Bharatiya Janata Party grandee, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who succeeded Rao as prime minister, told Tarun and I that Rao had believed the assurances that Vajpayee and his fellow leader Lal Krishna Advani had given him about not demolishing the mosque.

“Enlightened inaction”, now that must be among the most remarkable Indian inventions.

A piece I wrote on him on his 99th birth anniversary: https://southasia.typepad.com/south_asia_daily/2020/06/somewhat-personal-reminiscence-of-p-v-narsimha-rao-on-his-99th-birth-anniversary.html

(The writer is a Chicago based journalist, author and filmmaker. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at mcsix@outlook.com)