THE MIND MEANDERS By Haridas Bhattacharjee, Published by the author, Rs 225 This book could not have been better titled. It moves effortlessly from one incident to another and the anecdotes are not apparently connected. The only link is in the author's own mind. Most of the stories narrated here convey the impression of a man who enjoyed his life and the company of the people he met. This is not an easy achievement in old age when most men are prone to become crabby and bitter. A word is, therefore, necessary about the author. Bhattacharjee is better known in Calcutta circles as the man who married the film star Kanan Devi, the beauty who in her prime broke many a heart and was the heart throb of thousands who saw her on the screen. But this introduction, interesting though it is, is irrelevant for the purposes of this book since Kanan Devi makes less than a cameo appearance in this book. Bhattacharjee was born in Burma and was preventive officer in the Rangoon customs. He later joined the Royal Indian Navy. When C. Rajagopalachari became governor of West Bengal, he chose Bhattacharjee to be one of his ADCs. Bhattacharjee continued to serve the next governor, Kailashnath Katju, but resigned from the post to join Tollywood to direct films. Unfortunately for readers with a propensity for prurience, Tollywood does not feature in any big way in Bhattacharjee's tells. The bulk of the stories provide an insider's view of life inside Raj Bhavan under the two governors that Bhattacharjee served. My favourite is his account of the prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, ever the charmer of ladies, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Yellow Drawing Room surrounded by good looking ladies, wives of bureaucrats and diplomats, and showing them the yoga exercises he did every morning. He turned suddenly to General Cariappa and asked him to execute the lotus pose. Bhattacharjee watched in trepidation as he feared that the trousers of the Sandhurst-trained general might split. He breathed when the general gave up. Then the prime minister turned to Bhattacharjee and said, 'Come here, young lieutenant, see if you can do it.'' The ADC replied, 'I can sir, but I shan't because my guru has forbidden me to do these asanas after a heavy meal.'' On being asked who was his guru by Nehru, Bhattacharjee said, 'Mr Ranjit Gupta, the home secretary.'' And Mr Gupta who was present in the room, bowed to the prime minister. There are many such anecdotes. This book can be compared to a delectable box of chocolates. One can, in fact begin to read this, from wherever one wants. The book ends, with a delightful account of a motor trip that Bhattacharjee and his wife took with Sajanikanta Das, the editor of Sanibarer Chithi, and his wife. Bhattacharjee was obviously a good driver and enjoyed driving and his description brings back a whiff of a different age. Bhattacharjee's prose style has a quaintness to it. This adds to the charm of his anecdotage.