An Extraordinary Life (A Biography of Manohar Parrikar)

Over the last two decades, the exploits of one man, an IIT-Bombay alumnus, changed the way mainstream India looked at Goa and the political goings-on in the country's smallest state. An Extraordinary Life traces the life and times of Manohar Parrikar through the informed voices of his relatives, friends, foes, bureaucrats and IIT contemporaries. The daily battles of a gifted individual are brought to the fore as he encounters love and vices. But more importantly, the book showcases his rise in politics from the son of a grocery store owner in a nondescript town, a sanghachalak in Mapusa town, an Opposition MLA and leader, to a chief minister (on multiple occasions) and, finally, the defence minister of India.

SADGURU PATIL, one of the most wellregarded bylines in the Goan media, has worked for various Marathi newspapers since 1995. He has interviewed Manohar Parrikar on at least twenty occasions in the politician's different roles. A published poet, Patil authored Parrikar's first biography-soon after the latter's demise-in Marathi. He lives in Panaji.

MAYABHUSHAN NAGVENKAR, known for his irreverence and occasional spells of unemployment, has been a journalist for nearly twenty-two years in Mumbai, Delhi and Goa. Currently, he is the state correspondent based in Goa for the Indo-Asian News Service, largely covering politics and reviewing books. He has covered Parrikar extensively for eleven years in his latest stint in Goa. Parrikar's pet name for Nagvenkar was 'Nagbhushan'. He lives in Anjuna.

**Contents and Sample Pages**