MANGALURU: A double thumbs up shown and words Insha Allah uttered by former minister B A Moideen to his auto biographer B A Mohammad Ali indicated that the mind was willing. Little did Mohammad Ali or Moideen realise that this gesture of willingness at 7.30pm on July 9 was the last this affable minister would make for he met his creator the next morning at 5.30am as his body could not keep up with what the mind wished.This interaction, Ali said summed up the eagerness with which Moideen was looking forward to the July 20 Town Hall release of his much anticipated autobiography Nannoligina Naanu. Noting that this was not to be, Ali said the release of the autobiography would still go ahead as scheduled on the above date in the presence of his galaxy of peers, well-wishers and family members as willed by Moideen even as he battled age related complications in hospital.The 232-page book published by Bharatha Prakashana, Jeppu-Mangaluru priced at Rs 250, Ali said will provide rare glimpses in to the life of Moideen, some of which even his family did not know. One such incident was Moideen beating his wife, an act which he profusely regretted in the book. “It is rare for any person, let alone a politician to own up for such acts, which are passed off as common in households,” Mohammad Ali said.Explaining the title Nannoligina Naanu, Ali said book will lay bare two facets of Moideen – one which the world saw and the one he saw within the person. “There was this facet of Moideen which he could not express due to his upbringing. This inner self of his could not express in open the profound love that he had for his wife, a fact that he laid bare during the course of his yearlong interaction while penning the book,” Ali said.Admitting that it was a herculean task to get Moideen to open up about his life and works, Ali said it took a lot of cajoling and coaxing spread over three–years before this project could materialise. It was finally in November last that Ali and Mohammad Kulai , who collaborated with the former that Moideen relented after the duo convinced him that the autobiography, if not for self, was meant to be an inspiration for generations that followed.On the process involved, Ali said each meeting was recorded and the transcript reviewed with Moideen and additions or deletions made. The final draft of the book as it progressed was read out to Moideen and finalised with his approval. “It was when we started probing his child hood did his faculties sharpen up and he was forthcoming in unravelling his deepest inner feelings, some of which even made us and his family emotional,” he said.With a galaxy of leaders confirming their participation for the release, Ali said nearly 3,000 copies would be sold on the release day. His close friends have come forward to purchase 1,500 copies which would be distributed to libraries of educational institutions. “We also have plans to provide a copy of this book to all elected representatives – current and former, so that the person that Moideen was, is known to all of them,” Ali added.The book has copy of resignation that Moideen sent to then CM J H Patel. It contains a mixture of colour and black and white pictures of Moideen. The book will be sold at a concessional rate of Rs 200 on day of release. It is silent on awards conferred on Moideen as per his wish. Moideen finalised the guest list for the book release and fixed its date. Folk scholar B A Viveka Rai to release the book at Town Hall.

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