Among all forms of self-expression, autobiography can be read and studied as a telling record of the narrator’s evolution of identity and his/her ongoing quest for the attainment of identity. The present book, therefore, is an attempt to study four representative autobiographies— The Crusade, Wings of Fire, Romancing with Life and My Country My Life— in the light of the notion of identity in general and cultural identity in particular. It also tries to reread a few other milestones in the domain of autobiographical writing.
I expect that the in-depth study of these texts serves as a valuable source to formulate certain judgements about their architects - B. G. Shirke, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Dev Anand and Lal Krishna Advani - both as individuals and representative figures sharing collective attributes. It vividly demonstrates the substantial impact of culture, society and family on the formation of self-image. Moreover, it reveals how different social relationships - friends, foes, teachers, colleagues, etc. - contribute in the evolution of one’s identity. A critical response to these representative autobiographies attests to the fact that satisfaction of success is experienced to the full only if life connects the self to the society. Perhaps, it is the clandestine formulary for an iconic personality.
