CAREFREE DAYS

In his unusual and extraordinary life, Pran Nevile has donned several hats - journalist, researcher, diplomat, Soviet bloc expert, United Nations adviser and writer. On short notice, he even turned pandit to perform the wedding ceremony of a close friend's daughter. Carefree Days is the story of his multifaceted life, beginning in pre-Partition Lahore, where he completed his education. It was a time of happy camaraderie between Hindus and Muslims in college that gave way all too soon to the trauma of Partition. His diplomatic postings took him into the corridors of power in Japan, the Soviet Union, Poland and the US. There was a sojourn in Yugoslavia under President Tito in the heyday of India's friendship with the country, which would split up after Tito's death. Along the way, he observed keenly the cultures and peculiarities he encountered, from the Japanese emphasis on discipline and loyalty to the aura of secrecy that shrouded KGB officials in Moscow. During his postings, he also became something of an authority on trading with the communist economies. A great raconteur, Nevile began writing much later in his life. His interests range from the nautch culture of India to the music of K.L. Saigal, in whose memory he has established a music society. A pilgrimage to the past, Carefree Days is an autobiographical account of a life well lived - of several lifetimes lived in one.