M.L. Fotedar joined Indira Gandhi as political secretary in July 1980, working from a room at 1 Akbar Raod that was once used by Sanjay Gandhi. From assessing future leaders—be it V.P. Singh, Pranab Mukherjee or Ahmed Patel—with remarkable foresight to straightening up those who were being difficult, he did it all during Mrs Gandhi’s final term in office. The Chinar Leaves paints a portrait of a six-decade-long political career that began in Kashmir and gives insights into the murky world of national politics. Here are the stories of many careers that were made and unmade in the Congress. Among these are the saga of Narasimha Rao’s no-holds-barred effort to stay in power, Amitabh Bachchan’s falling out of favour with the Gandhi family, the machinations of succession after Indira Gandhi’s death, Giani Zail Singh’s tiff with Rajiv, and many more. Fotedar, for long the voice of political wisdom in the party, also passes his verdict on the current crop of Congress leadership and search