Lt Gen NS Brar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (retd) has authored Drummers Call: An Anthology Of Writings While Following The Drum. He had a distinguished military career spanning 40 years. Notably, he was appointed colonel commandant of the artillery regiment and was honorary ADC to the president of India.He speaks to HT’s Aishwarya Khosla.
Three books one must read before one dies
In the present environment with Kargil in the news, politicians and laymen should read The Guns of August by Barbara W Tuchman. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts And The Battle Against Fate by Robert D Kaplan and The Rise And Fall Of The Great Powers: Economic Change And Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 by Paul Kennedy. The regime makers will perhaps be more deliberate with their speech if they read these books.
Growing up, what were your favourite books?
Frederick Forsyth’s Day Of The Jackal, which chronicles the story of a professional assassin contracted by a French dissident organisation to kill president Charles de Gaulle,was a favourite, as was Reader’s Digest. I also grew up on a steady diet of Commando comics, which are sadly disappearing .
Your autography will be called…
Up Front. It will be anecdotal and factual with no holds barred.
Advice for budding writers
Amateurs should strive to keep their language simple and sentences short and crisp. Whatever facts and figures are put out should be checked and rechecked multiple times. For instance, Khushawant Singh never used highflown language. He made a point and moved, to leave an impact on the reader.