Acclaimed historian and biographer Narayani Basu will visit Bahrisons Booksellers, Hyderabad, for a book-signing event on Sunday, 8 February, at 12:00 PM. Basu will be signing copies of her latest work, A Man for All Seasons, giving readers an opportunity to meet the author and obtain signed editions. 

Readers unable to attend may also order personally inscribed copies by writing to bahrisonshyderabad@gmail.com. 

Published in 2025, A Man for All Seasons: The Life of K.M. Panikkar is a biography of Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, a pivotal yet often overlooked figure in modern Indian history. Panikkar’s long public career spanned several roles like public intellectual, historian, journalist, diplomat, and political advisor, that is through which he shaped India’s constitutional thinking and foreign policy across the colonial and post-Independence periods. 

The book presents Panikkar as a “go-to man in all seasons,” documenting his advocacy for constitutional reforms in princely states and India’s federal structure, his role as Mahatma Gandhi’s emissary, and his position as a co-founder of the Hindustan Times. It also examines his tenure as India’s first ambassador to Nationalist China and later to the People’s Republic of China, a controversial phase marked by interactions with leaders such as Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. Under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Panikkar served as a diplomat in Cairo and France, was a member of the States Reorganization Commission, and emerged as a prolific writer on nationalism, Indian identity, history, maritime policy, and foreign affairs. 

Basu’s biography is based on extensive archival research in India, England, Paris, China, Israel, and the United Nations, alongside Panikkar’s own writings and family interviews. The narrative situates his life within major historical moments, from the British Raj and two World Wars to the Cold War and India’s emergence as an independent nation, featuring interactions with leaders including Nehru, Gandhi, Patel, and prominent international figures. 

A New Delhi–based historian and foreign policy analyst, Narayani Basu holds a postgraduate degree in history and Chinese foreign policy from the University of Delhi. She is best known for V.P. Menon: The Unsung Architect of Modern India (2020) and Allegiance: Azaadi & the End of Empire (2022). A Man for All Seasons is her third major work and has been widely praised for its depth, balance, and narrative clarity.