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This week @contingent_mag published a mailbag (our explainer pieces) by @narayani_basu. Her essay answered the question, "how do you write a biography?"
If you haven& #39;t had a chance to read, I strongly recommend it and here is a short thread why 1/9 https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/05/21/how-do-you-write-a-biography/">https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/05/2...
If you haven& #39;t had a chance to read, I strongly recommend it and here is a short thread why 1/9 https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/05/21/how-do-you-write-a-biography/">https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/05/2...
To begin, Narayani& #39;s biography, "VP Menon:
The Unsung Architect of Modern India" proved an especially challenging work because
a. no comprehensive bio of Menon existed
b. he had a unique role in the history of Indian independence
c. Narayani is VP& #39;s great-granddaughter 2/9
The Unsung Architect of Modern India" proved an especially challenging work because
a. no comprehensive bio of Menon existed
b. he had a unique role in the history of Indian independence
c. Narayani is VP& #39;s great-granddaughter 2/9
On top of those challenges, her subject VP was a private man, not accustomed to revealing his emotions or inner thinking. So Narayani thought about sources broadly and consulted family records, both immediate & extended, including living relatives, eager to tell their stories 3/9
Besides finding/obtaining family records in India, Narayani& #39;s research also took her to London where she analyzed papers on VP& #39;s career at sites like:
a. British Library
b. Oxford& #39;s Bodleian Library
c. Southampton’s Hartley Library
d. School of Oriental & African Studies 4/9
a. British Library
b. Oxford& #39;s Bodleian Library
c. Southampton’s Hartley Library
d. School of Oriental & African Studies 4/9
At the School of Oriental & African Studies Archive, she found gold: the private papers of VP& #39;s former boss, Henry Hodson. In those papers were 18 hours of interviews between the two men. VP& #39;s voice illuminated the behind-the-scenes drama when India prepared for independence 5/9
Narayani& #39;s piece makes the case for oral histories: She writes, "Oral histories provide a fuller, more accurate picture of the past by augmenting (and this is important) the information provided by public records, statistical data, and other historical material.” 6/9
If you& #39;re interested in oral histories, and considering conducting one yourself, you must check out Kate Dahlstrand& #39;s recent @contingent_mag mailbag, "The Five Oral History Commandments." 7/9 https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/04/21/the-five-oral-history-commandments/">https://contingentmagazine.org/2020/04/2...
Narayani& #39;s mailbag warns about the ideological weaponization of history, and how certain historical narratives are used to vanquish another. Her writings touch on editor Erin Bartram& #39;s previous mailbag that asked, "What is Revisionist History?" 8/9 https://contingentmagazine.org/2019/08/08/mailbag-august-8-2019/">https://contingentmagazine.org/2019/08/0...
