Pranab Mukherjee's diaries may soon be a book

New Delhi, Feb 1 Sharmistha Mukherjee, national spokesperson of the Congress and the daughter of former India President late Pranab Mukherjee, said that she is contemplating to come out with a book based on her father's handwritten diaries.

Announcing this at a session with Rasheed Kidwai during the Kalinga Literary Festival, Sharmistha said that though she would like to write her father's biography, she faced a moral and ethical dilemma of what to include and what not to mention in the proposed book.

Sharmistha, who is also a classical dancer, spoke on a range of subjects. Apparently, Mukherjee has left her with 8,000 books and a collection of pipes that he used to smoke.

Talking about 'The Presidential Years', the fourth and concluding volume of Mukherjee's memoirs, Sharmistha said, "This is completely my father's book. I may or may not agree with everything mentioned in it, but I am glad that it is out. However, I feel terribly sad that he is not there to talk about his work."

She also said that the former President religiously wrote diaries. "Writing diary was a daily ritual for him. Despite his hectic schedule, he would never miss his morning walk, puja and writing the diary," she said.

Talking about a biography of Mukherjee, Sharmistha said, "Well, I would definitely love to have one and as I have the diaries, I will publish them. However, the form is yet to be decided, I am working on that."

( With inputs from IANS )