Belonging to the pre-World War-II generation, Catherine Clement saw death and deprivation before she could quite grasp what it meant to be alive and happy. Today, sitting at Apollo restaurant in South Paris, she is both fearless and frank. Unwilling to be wistful, steadfastly refusing to entertain nostalgia, Catherine, now 70 and ageing gracefully, says, “I don't miss the past. The future is important, not history. Past is important only in the context of affecting the future.”
Scarcely a wonder then that this prolific author of some 50-odd books expresses her concern at President Sarkozy's call for a debate on national identity in France. She has the past as a guiding light.
Smart one-liners
Having seen what the Nazis did in Germany, Catherine feels such a debate can lead to uncalled for tension. “It can lead to social fissures. Government cannot run a debate on national identity.”
Then she trains her guns at India. “Sorry, but India has no culture policy today. Earlier there used to be great cultural exchange. But your Prime Minister is a good man, sweet and nice. Manmohan Singh is a good listener.”
And Catherine is a fine orator, often adding nice smiles and smart one-liners to her profound thoughts. So, when she talks of things in the world of literature and beyond you listen to her in rapt attention. Her words are alternately measured and firm, sweet and free-spirited. Wrapped in layers of woollens which protect her from cold but do not prevent her from exuding warmth, she says, “I have never known a dull moment as a writer. I have 55 books of novels, poetry and essays to my credit. I am coming to Jaipur for the Literature Week as part of Bonjour India: Festival of France celebrations. I intend to release three of my books there. I just love coming to India though it did not quite start that way.”
Love affair with India
When quite young, Clement was reluctant to come to India. “I was maybe even hostile. I took many months to reconcile to the idea of coming to India. My mother was 30 when she donned the orange robes of the Ramakrishna Mission. But when I arrived in India all the hostility disappeared.”
And a love affair began. So much so that Catherine soon found herself writing about India, its various facets, its luminaries. She wrote about Benares, about Meerabai, about Mahatma Gandhi…
She wrote about the kings and the queens, sultans and the Sufis. Then came the book on Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru. Brought out in translation by Penguin, the book Edwina and Nehru: A Novel hit it off, and Catherine finds all the attention surrounding their relationship puzzling and the denial of the same quite ridiculous.
In a measured tone and precise words she shares, “Edwina's love for Nehru was mostly platonic”, making sure that she uses the word “mostly” rather than “completely”. She had spoken to the wife of a close associate of Nehru for the book.
Catherine says, “I have an account of people who were living then. I don't know why so many Indians are angry about this Edwina-Nehru thing? He was a handsome man; she had her own charm. The first Prime Minister of the country goes and conquers a foreigner! Their relationship was not a sex scandal. Their feelings were not always manifest. They did not go around kissing in public. Edwina came to India once a year, so, why the fuss? When I wrote the novel, I sent it to Sonia Gandhi. She said it was okay.”
In the spotlight
Through with all the attention her writing on Edwina-Nehru has got, Catherine is prepared for the media spotlight on her during the course of Bonjour India. The reason is her memoirs that will be released here shortly. “Half of the book is on India as India is a very key element of my life.”
Then there is going to be a book of poetic essays followed by a novel, Ten Thousand Guitars . “It is a historical novel, yet a fantasy. It is a very heavy novel on the world history in the 16th Century. It talks of a Portuguese king who disappeared in Morocco. It talks of the Crusades. And the story is told by an Indian rhinoceros!”
However, considering the novel comes from the pen of Catherine Clement, it is likely to be both frank and fearless. The prudes may just prepare to squirm some more! I just love coming to India though it did not quite start that way.
