The story of a father

The book describes in detail what it was like to be a businessman in the 1960s and 1970s

An Ordinary Life: Portrait of a Generation

Author:  Ashok Lavasa

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 300

Price: Rs 499

How much do we really know our parents? Of course, they invoke awe, respect, love and sometimes exasperation. But how much do we really know about the people involved in what is arguably the most complex relationship on earth?

Ashok Lavasa is lucky. His father, Uday Singh Lavasa, or “Bauji” as his children knew him, kept extensive diaries about his life and times. Based on those, his conversations with his parents, the collective growing-up memories of his brothers and sisters, and research in contemporary history, Lavasa has written a