From The Horses Mouth 1965 -2000 Memoir Of A Bureaucrat in Pakistan and Bangladesh

The third volume of the author\'s memoir takes the readers to a kaleidoscope of his career as acivil servant. The journey is across time and places and is full of events. Many people appear in the book, some ordinary, some very well-known. The author\'s interaction with and impressions about them provide glimpses into the working of the government in particular and about the polity and society in general. Many of the pieces of writing appear like a commentary on the contemporary history. In this respect the author has tried to be as objectivc as possible, but his personal likes and dislikes are also apparent. Unlike the first and second volume of his memoir the present volume is based almost entirely on memory, with no recourse to secondary sources. Being nearer to the events the recollection has been vivid and evocative. To be able to write three volumes of memoir covering different phases of life has been a distinct achievement of the author, a feat not seen very often. These volumes will constitute an important landmark in our history of memoir writing.