A Moment in Time

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Apa Pant, (born 1912) popularly known as Apa Saheb, is a scion of the Royal Family of Aundh, which played a notable part in the Maratha Struggle against the Moghul Empire.

During the days of India's independence struggle under the leader- ship of Mahatma Gandhi, Apa Saheb pioneered a significant socio-poli- tical reform with the "Aundh Experiment" in Village Democracy - a fore-runner to the Panchayati Raj which Free India introduced several years later under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Apa Saheb was India's Commissioner-General in Eastern and Cen- tral Africa and India's Political Agent in the Himalayan States of Sikkim and Bhutan. He was also India's Ambassador to Indonesia and later to Norway and Egypt. Next, he was India's High Commissioner in the U.K. and Ambassador to Rome.

A MOMENT IN TIME reveals the mystic and philosopher that is Apa Saheb. While he was in the tortuous, make-believe world of diplomacy, it was "the evanescence, the temporariness of it all" that struck him. He believes that the true and normal urge of every man is to be friendly, to be happy and to be in tune with the people and things around him.

Apa Saheb accompanied the Dalai Lama and the Panchan Lama on their Indian travels.

Apa Saheb gives in this book enchanting glimpses of some of the leading figures of our age Gandhi, Nehru, Kenyatta, and Soekarno.

Apa Saheb is an ardent advocate and practitioner of meditation. He was given the Padma Shri Award.

APA SAHEB IS NOT THE USUAL DIPLOMAT. HIS AUTO- biographical narrative mirrors his zest for life and his probing into its mysteries. As a child I sometimes saw people in colours, so I was interested to read of his sensitivity to auras.

The part I like best is the Raja of Aundh's portrait, drawn with a few bold strokes. I met this remarkable human being as a young girl and have a vivid recollec- tion of his enthusiasm for surya namaskar. What an upright man he was in every sense of the word. His ardent nationalism and his concern for the health and welfare of his people stood out in sharp contrast to the attitude and behaviour of the majority of Maharajas and Rajas who not only abjectly supported the British but were even more harsh and unimaginative in their dealings with the mass movement for independence and human rights.

Our trip to Bhutan is an indelible experience, reasserting that the joy of being in the mountains, the pleasure of companionship and good conversation are heightened rather than diminished by physical effort or the lack of what some might consider essential comforts.

I have known Apa Saheb in some of the avatars he has described and have been struck by his ability to be in tune with the spirit of each new place. This book enables a larger audience to share his enthusiasm and to glimpse aspects of life in different countries from a refreshing point of view.