Destiny’s Child

The book is about my father Ayi Tendulkar,who started his life as Vallabhbhai Patel’s secretary in Sabarmati Ashram,and was sent to study in the UK in 1920 and then Germany. While doing his PhD,he,who was by then a well-known journalist in Berlin,met and fell in love with Thea von Harbou,a filmmaker and ex-wife of another well-known filmmaker,Fritz Lang. The Nazi regime under Hitler,however,made life difficult for foreigners and on Harbou’s advice,Tendulkar returned to India,just before the second World War broke out. On his return,he became involved with Gandhi’s campaign,and then with Harbou’s consent,married my mother,a fellow Gandhian. Caught up in the whirlwind of activism,they spent several years in jail. They stayed together as husband and wife only after after they were released from prison,complying with a condition that Gandhi had put to their marriage. They had also promised Gandhi they would not have children until India gained independence (Dhaul was born in 1955).

How did the book come about?

I had heard the story often in my childhood but I saw it together chronologically only later. A few years before he died — I must have been 18 or 19—I was sitting with my father and he began talking about the past and made a chronological chart of each year,dating where he had been and what was happening. This turned out to be an important guideline for the book.

What are the other sources you have referred to?

Apart from the chart,there were letters of correspondence,newspaper clippings of my father’s articles,photographs from our private collection and,mostly,conversations with my mother. Thanks to the internet and a blog dedicated to Harbou,I got the information that gave a structure to my book.

You have written on diverse subjects,authored biographies,documentaries,recipe books,children’s books and even self-help books.

There has been a long gap between all my books. I wrote a book on the Ajmer dargah. I’ve always wanted to write children’s books and,in fact,my first story came when my children were born. My interests may seem a little disjointed,but they’re all a part of me and this book is my soul.

What are you working on now?

I just finished a self-help book for youngsters which is titled,Magic Mantra. Being young is a very difficult time and I wanted to help youngsters with their self-esteem and confidence. But after In the shadow of Freedom,I’m not sure what I’ll do next. Maybe there will be something in the next six months.