New Delhi: The Indian capital was the venue of the release of Krishna Bose’s memoirs, An Outsider in Politics. Bose, who is married into the family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, gives a vivid account of her journey from the time she was a schoolgirl, witnessing some of the tragic scenes that accompanied Partition to her stint as chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs.

An eminent writer and educationist, Krishna Bose taught for many years at City College, Kolkata, where she was the head of the English department and later the Principal. She has also been a Member of Parliament in three consecutive Lok Sabhas. In the 1998 and 1999 general elections she represented the Trinamool Congress and became a prominent party leader.

The book was released by eminent film-maker and member of the Rajya Sabha, Shyam Benegal who said it was a great privilege for him to release the book.

In her reading from her memoirs, Krishna Bose recalled her thoughts during her train journey from Delhi to Kolkata, immediately after partition. She said, “my heart was completely frozen by the sights of corpses strewn on the road, and on the sides of the rail tracks.”

She remembers thinking about the uncertain path which lay ahead both in her personal life and that of the country. Though India may be making rapid progress and seems to be charting its course in history, Bose cautions that those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.