It is always difficult to remember all those who made a book possible.
First, I would like to thank my late friend Pranab Basu to whom I first mooted the idea with a request to read the letters. He not only confirmed my intuition that the letters could make the backbone of a book but also actively encouraged me to start the writing.
I have to admire Dechen Pradhan, who with great patience and care typed the handwritten letters, numbered them and collated them by date.
After struggling with a few drafts, I finally sat with my friend Emeshe Williams, fellow student at UCLA, to do the final draft, which she herself typed. She jogged my memory for events and incidents I had forgotten, and also asked me crucial questions to identify the different Indian personalities in the text and include their details in the footnotes. We easily assume that others worldwide are as familiar with us as we are in India, which of course is not so.
At length, I finally gathered the courage to show it to professional writers. Jean-Claude Carrière was the first one and he generously agreed to write the superb foreword. In India my long-time friend Tavleen Singh was the first to see the manuscript. It was her encouragement and praise that made me show the manuscript to others.
I am deeply grateful to Premola Ghosh and Indrani Majumdar at the India International Centre, who vetted the manuscript further. Indrani’s expertise as a Ray scholar was of immense help in correcting factual errors and dates.
I am grateful to Madhu Jain for connecting me with Mona Joshi, who edited the book before it went to the publishers. Mona did a Herculean job, with extreme care and precision.
My heartfelt thanks to Richard Gere for taking time out from his crowded schedule to read the book and write a blurb for it.
Without Sathya Saran, this book would not have reached HarperCollins. It was a chance meeting with her at the Lucknow Literary Festival that reconnected us and that prompted her to take up the promotion of the book.
Of course, without the applied and concentrated dedication of Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri at HarperCollins, the book would not have seen its final form.
A word of gratitude and thanks to Andrew Robinson, for his wonderful introduction to the book and his enthusiasm for it.
Finally, I must thank my domestic staff, Geetaram Painully and Chander Sharma, who bear my irritations and moods to keep me comfortable and in good health.
I sincerely apologize for any names I may have inadvertently left out.