Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of British India who
partitioned the country and led it to their individual independence. His
beautiful wife Edwina and Jawaharlal Nehru who was at the helm of India’s
politics are still rumoured to be lovers. Edwina’s daughter Pamela, at the age
of 78, now writes and gives an insight into the happenings during five tumultuous
months of India’s
history as extracted from the teenage diaries written by her then. Having come
from an English Boarding School, Pamela is woefully
ignorant and unprepared. She recounts the details of the day to day living and
finds the antics of a mongoose and a parrot as interesting as her father, the
Viceroy’s deliberations with Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and various other
rulers trying desperately to save their own little states. She writes about
learning Hindi and the exciting romance of Princess Elizabeth with Prince
Philip. There are dance parties as well as raging riots and, of course, the
instant bonding between Nehru and her parents. Pamela confirms the love between
Nehru and her mother. She confirms that her mother had had several affairs
earlier and insists that with Nehru it was all platonic. Her parents had
undoubted charisma but her mother threw open the hallowed portals of viceroy’s
residence to Indians of every denomination. During the violent days of
partition the residence provided refuge to over 5000 homeless victims. The book
is redolent with nostalgia and reflects the Mountbatten’s affection for India and her
people. For those who want to find out how far is the belief true that Edwina
Mountbatten used her power of love to influence Nehru into taking important
political decisions on the lines suggested by Lord Mountbatten, this book
written in the form of a diary gives clues but not any definite answer.