Forgotten author

In a desperate bid to woo the Brahmin votebank in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress organised a function to commemorate the 103rd birth anniversary of late chief minister Kamalapati Tripathi last week. Party president Sonia Gandhi released a book, Rajneta Pt Kamalapati Tripathi, published by the AICC and based on a 1989 Ph.D. thesis on him at the Benaras Hindu University. The moment of glory, however, almost eluded the writer, Dr Satish Kumar, as he was stopped by the SPG when he was trying to get on the dais with Sonia. He settled for a chair near the dais and watched the proceedings silently as Sonia, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh beside her, released the book. But Tripathi8217;s grandson, Rajeshpati, while delivering his thanksgiving speech, made it a point to call the author on the dais. During the course of the function, the auditorium often resounded with slogans of 8220;Har Har Mahadev8221; from a predominantly Brahmin audience.