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The Brothers Bihari
Laloo Yadav and Nitish Kumar, chalk and cheese. One a charismatic populist, the other a shrewd introvert. Taken together a mesmerizing duo: heroes to some, villains to others, champions of the underdog yet imperious of manner; allies in youth, foes in midlife, now ageing veterans. For a quarter of a century, the two by turns dictated the destiny of Bihar. What do Laloo and Nitish mean to Bihar? Here, for the first time, an omnibus edition of Sankarshan Thakur’s widely acclaimed biographies of the men Subaltern Saheb and Single Man. From one of India’s finest journalists, this revised, updated and collected volume is essential reading to understand Bihar. In the lives of the two giants lies the arresting story of one of India’s largest and most challenging states.
448 pages, Paperback
Published October 19, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 17, 2018
The Brothers Bihari is an omnibus edition that combines the author's sketches of two of Bihar's more recent and longstanding chief ministers, Subaltern Saheb: Bihat and the Making of Laloo Yadav, and Single Man: The Life and Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar. Sketches, because, while both books clock in at around 200 pages each, the author seems to use the life stories of these two fascinating figures as a vehicle for his flamboyant prose. And to be fair, the prose is exquisite. But a little less conversation, a little more detail, please?
3.5 stars. If nothing else, you'll not be bored.
3.5 stars. If nothing else, you'll not be bored.
July 2, 2020
I like the poetic language of Sankarshan Thakur. However, I discovered him at the most unlikely place - the footpath of Hauz Khas market. The cover was attractive with a title like "Making of Laloo Yadav" and a sub-title "the unmaking of Bihar". As a person whose growing up years were spent in undivided Bihar in the 1970s and who was now headed back to the state in 2006 to build an ambitious rural development programme through civil society actions, I was collecting whatever insights I was offered, from wherever.
Politicians normally evoke extreme passions, and Laloo Yadav did not even pretend to hide his political chutzpah. Yet, Thakur's narrative of the person, his politics, and the caste oppression of Bihar appeared to be quite logical. I recommended the book to my colleagues but a later edition was renamed "Subaltern Saheb", perhaps to endow him with an elevated legacy which, frankly, I do not grudge.
"The Brothers Bihari" is a double book, with the first part covering his writings in the earlier book on Laloo Yadav and the second part covering a new set of writings on Nitish Kumar (which originally emerged as a separate book "Single Man - the life and times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar". My primary interest was to read up this second part, although I did re-read the first part, which continues to be both relevant and relishing. The second part was difficult, partly because the life of the introvert Nitish Kumar is not as colourful - no drama, no scandal, and not even expletives.
Thakur seems to be well aware of the limitations and therefore decided to club the two. He has tried to enliven the text by focusing on the development actions of Nitish Kumar, but good roads and good governance do not necessarily make a good read. I believe subsequent editions will have more "masala". Nitish's parting with the BJP, and then realigning. his parting with Laloo and Sharad Yadav, his decision to impose prohibition in the state, all have the potential for more interesting tales. Unlike Laloo, Nitish is firmly ensconced in the pilot seat of Bihar at the moment, is taking important decisions and building his legacy.
Living in Rajgir now for over six years, I marvel at how he persists with his development agenda. He has built an institutional area, complete with an international university, a police academy, a film city and a cricket stadium. He has also built a modern amusement park, a new ropeway and a statue of Buddha in the middle of an artificial lake, and is building a wildlife safari. Rajgir continues to be a traditional tourist hub, mostly of the subaltern, but Nitish is showing them the possibilities. The annual Rajgir Mahotsav gathers talent and products from various places and the International Convention Centre is occasionally opened up to the public who can then appreciate what state-of-the-art facilities might mean. Every day there are buses filled with students from various parts of the state who visit Rajgir as part of the Chief Minister's programme for Bihar Darshan. As of now, it is just inspiring. The money may not be flowing yet, but the foundations are certainly being laid.
Will it translate into political approval? Or, is Nitish Kumar still trying to find his constituency? We will have to wait for future editions of the book.
Politicians normally evoke extreme passions, and Laloo Yadav did not even pretend to hide his political chutzpah. Yet, Thakur's narrative of the person, his politics, and the caste oppression of Bihar appeared to be quite logical. I recommended the book to my colleagues but a later edition was renamed "Subaltern Saheb", perhaps to endow him with an elevated legacy which, frankly, I do not grudge.
"The Brothers Bihari" is a double book, with the first part covering his writings in the earlier book on Laloo Yadav and the second part covering a new set of writings on Nitish Kumar (which originally emerged as a separate book "Single Man - the life and times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar". My primary interest was to read up this second part, although I did re-read the first part, which continues to be both relevant and relishing. The second part was difficult, partly because the life of the introvert Nitish Kumar is not as colourful - no drama, no scandal, and not even expletives.
Thakur seems to be well aware of the limitations and therefore decided to club the two. He has tried to enliven the text by focusing on the development actions of Nitish Kumar, but good roads and good governance do not necessarily make a good read. I believe subsequent editions will have more "masala". Nitish's parting with the BJP, and then realigning. his parting with Laloo and Sharad Yadav, his decision to impose prohibition in the state, all have the potential for more interesting tales. Unlike Laloo, Nitish is firmly ensconced in the pilot seat of Bihar at the moment, is taking important decisions and building his legacy.
Living in Rajgir now for over six years, I marvel at how he persists with his development agenda. He has built an institutional area, complete with an international university, a police academy, a film city and a cricket stadium. He has also built a modern amusement park, a new ropeway and a statue of Buddha in the middle of an artificial lake, and is building a wildlife safari. Rajgir continues to be a traditional tourist hub, mostly of the subaltern, but Nitish is showing them the possibilities. The annual Rajgir Mahotsav gathers talent and products from various places and the International Convention Centre is occasionally opened up to the public who can then appreciate what state-of-the-art facilities might mean. Every day there are buses filled with students from various parts of the state who visit Rajgir as part of the Chief Minister's programme for Bihar Darshan. As of now, it is just inspiring. The money may not be flowing yet, but the foundations are certainly being laid.
Will it translate into political approval? Or, is Nitish Kumar still trying to find his constituency? We will have to wait for future editions of the book.
June 14, 2016
I loved this book. It is one of those books that completely engrossed me, and a sure sign of that is my constantly going back to earlier pages while I read, rereading earlier content, musing over it.
This book is about politics in the Indian state of Bihar and more precisely, two politicians from that state: Laloo Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. Both are active as I write this review, even if one cannot fight any elections or hold any formal posts because he was found guilty and jailed in a criminal case. He makes up with ease for that shortcoming by proxy: he has one spouse and nine children.
Though the book is pretty much biographic in nature, it avoids being boring. It kept its grip on me all the way through. The author does a marvelous job of presenting the inside story on what makes these two politicians tick: each a character in his own right. One is more steady, more reliable, more committed: I was surprised at how much the book taught me about his virtues. The book also confirmed everything negative that people know about the other.
The authorship behind the telling of the two stories is very good, excellent in spots. The author, who is himself from Bihar, communicates with the weight of deep personal knowledge of his topics and mastery over his language.
I am not sure, though, if my enthusiasm for this book will be shared by folks who are not interested in politics in general, Indian politics in specific and Bihar politics to be even more precise. This book gripped me all the more because I am writing a fiction work about politicians, and I was able to dig up some nuggets in this book that I might have not accessed otherwise.
To be fair to the author, I would have enjoyed this book even if I wasn’t writing my own.
If you are reading this review, my strong recommendation is you read the book, too, unless you are allergic to politics.
This book is about politics in the Indian state of Bihar and more precisely, two politicians from that state: Laloo Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar. Both are active as I write this review, even if one cannot fight any elections or hold any formal posts because he was found guilty and jailed in a criminal case. He makes up with ease for that shortcoming by proxy: he has one spouse and nine children.
Though the book is pretty much biographic in nature, it avoids being boring. It kept its grip on me all the way through. The author does a marvelous job of presenting the inside story on what makes these two politicians tick: each a character in his own right. One is more steady, more reliable, more committed: I was surprised at how much the book taught me about his virtues. The book also confirmed everything negative that people know about the other.
The authorship behind the telling of the two stories is very good, excellent in spots. The author, who is himself from Bihar, communicates with the weight of deep personal knowledge of his topics and mastery over his language.
I am not sure, though, if my enthusiasm for this book will be shared by folks who are not interested in politics in general, Indian politics in specific and Bihar politics to be even more precise. This book gripped me all the more because I am writing a fiction work about politicians, and I was able to dig up some nuggets in this book that I might have not accessed otherwise.
To be fair to the author, I would have enjoyed this book even if I wasn’t writing my own.
If you are reading this review, my strong recommendation is you read the book, too, unless you are allergic to politics.
July 17, 2017
This is a brilliant book. For someone completely unfamiliar with the Bihar and its politics in general, this book does a good job of explaining it really well. Laloo's rule, for all the evils it unleashed in the society, has empowered millions of downtrodden castes which remained in the fringes in most parts of country even now. This book describes how he masterfully carved an electorate for himself and led it ruthlessly. The chapters about Nitish were good and describe some interesting incidents in his life but compared to the portions where the author talks about Laloo, it seems lacking. Overall, a great book. I highly recommend it
December 17, 2025
An engaging and informative read.
It was the author's recent demise and the subsequent obituaries that made me aware of him and his work: a renowned journalist who kept a record of events even as party propaganda and shifting loyalties muddle the truth. Beyond providing background on several national and state-level political figures, his writing quenched my thirst for the contemporary history of Patna and Bihar. While other places are often recorded through the fiction of their times, it is hard to find similar sincere works on what has become the nation's backwaters. Hence, when Sankarshan Thakur paints images from his childhood, such as the India Coffee House at Fraser Road witnessing discourse between an old Dinkar and a young Dushyant, they hold immense importance for me.
This edition is a portmanteau of two separate books: Subaltern Saheb: Bihar and the Making of Laloo Yadav and Single Man: The Life & Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar. As hinted by the titles, the books are as much about the region as they are about the two men commanding it in turns. The author provides various vignettes to describe the changes ushered in by them, and it is remarkable how little repetition there is despite writing about two figures so contemporary and intertwined.
Subaltern Saheb is largely a complete portrayal of its protagonist, tracking the rise of Laloo till 1995 and his subsequent decline into the early 2000s. On the contrary, even though Single Man follows Nitish Kumar's trajectory to the later date of 2014, it tells only the first half of the Nitish era. Its climax is Nitish breaking away from the NDA; the steady build-up prior to that describes his deep-seated aversion to Narendra Modi. All that narrative loses its charm when the next ten years have seen Nitish returning twice to NDA's fold, and, of late, even literally bowing at Modi's feet. However, this is the inherent risk of writing about politicians before they retire for good: their ability to change course can put even the fearsome Kosi to shame.
The narration is soaked in satire, and the humour often appears dark against the dismal state of affairs. It does not hesitate to indulge itself, taking you for a ride like an expert autowallah. Having started down a main road, it will take a u-turn back up, enter into a side alley, a turn right, a turn left, cut through a congested colony, loop around the local park. As you get lost and engrossed in the characters and episodes passing by like quaint houses and markets along the ride, the narrow lane suddenly opens back into that main road you were originally on, not far from where the u-turn was taken.
However, as you lend your ear to the driver's tales, you cannot help but wonder how much of myth has been mixed in for the sake of a good story. Owing to the lack of written documents, a fair amount of hearsay gets featured as authoritative quotes, and it becomes apparent that proof of veracity is not the primary criterion. The positive is that such content only fill gaps rather than deciding the big picture.
A final, minor issue was the frequent use of archaic words. It felt almost as if the author learnt his English from documents left behind by colonial masters. It regularly irked me throughout an otherwise gripping narrative.
It was the author's recent demise and the subsequent obituaries that made me aware of him and his work: a renowned journalist who kept a record of events even as party propaganda and shifting loyalties muddle the truth. Beyond providing background on several national and state-level political figures, his writing quenched my thirst for the contemporary history of Patna and Bihar. While other places are often recorded through the fiction of their times, it is hard to find similar sincere works on what has become the nation's backwaters. Hence, when Sankarshan Thakur paints images from his childhood, such as the India Coffee House at Fraser Road witnessing discourse between an old Dinkar and a young Dushyant, they hold immense importance for me.
This edition is a portmanteau of two separate books: Subaltern Saheb: Bihar and the Making of Laloo Yadav and Single Man: The Life & Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar. As hinted by the titles, the books are as much about the region as they are about the two men commanding it in turns. The author provides various vignettes to describe the changes ushered in by them, and it is remarkable how little repetition there is despite writing about two figures so contemporary and intertwined.
Subaltern Saheb is largely a complete portrayal of its protagonist, tracking the rise of Laloo till 1995 and his subsequent decline into the early 2000s. On the contrary, even though Single Man follows Nitish Kumar's trajectory to the later date of 2014, it tells only the first half of the Nitish era. Its climax is Nitish breaking away from the NDA; the steady build-up prior to that describes his deep-seated aversion to Narendra Modi. All that narrative loses its charm when the next ten years have seen Nitish returning twice to NDA's fold, and, of late, even literally bowing at Modi's feet. However, this is the inherent risk of writing about politicians before they retire for good: their ability to change course can put even the fearsome Kosi to shame.
The narration is soaked in satire, and the humour often appears dark against the dismal state of affairs. It does not hesitate to indulge itself, taking you for a ride like an expert autowallah. Having started down a main road, it will take a u-turn back up, enter into a side alley, a turn right, a turn left, cut through a congested colony, loop around the local park. As you get lost and engrossed in the characters and episodes passing by like quaint houses and markets along the ride, the narrow lane suddenly opens back into that main road you were originally on, not far from where the u-turn was taken.
However, as you lend your ear to the driver's tales, you cannot help but wonder how much of myth has been mixed in for the sake of a good story. Owing to the lack of written documents, a fair amount of hearsay gets featured as authoritative quotes, and it becomes apparent that proof of veracity is not the primary criterion. The positive is that such content only fill gaps rather than deciding the big picture.
A final, minor issue was the frequent use of archaic words. It felt almost as if the author learnt his English from documents left behind by colonial masters. It regularly irked me throughout an otherwise gripping narrative.
May 4, 2021
Sankarshan Thakur is a veteran journalist, who has seen Bihar under regimes of both these leaders. An excellent piece covering biographies of two leaders who started politics from student life and ended up becoming CMs and union ministers.
The book chronicles Bihars growth for three decades. Various anecdotes and internal stories make it a lucid read. A must read to know Bihar politics.
The book chronicles Bihars growth for three decades. Various anecdotes and internal stories make it a lucid read. A must read to know Bihar politics.
May 23, 2021
A well written book on two leading figures in Bihari politics. A bit dated now given the changes that have taken place over the last half decade. Good pen portraits of both leaders. It tells a terrifying story of what bad governance looks like. On the other it gives glimpses of what good governance can do for a state. Politics particularly politics in Bihar is not for the faint of heart!
February 4, 2019
Flat first half but the book really comes to life when the focus shifts to Nitish. Useful insights (ugh! not my favourite word) into Bihar for readers like me who know next-to-nothing about the state.
August 2, 2018
A hugely insightful book on socio-political trajectory of modern Bihar. And it reads like a fast paced novel, with all the thrills and thunder. Not to be missed!
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January 23, 2023Good
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January 10, 2016The Brothers Bihari written by Journalist Sankarshan Thakur traces the political lives of Laloo Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar, their ups and downs. It becomes an interesting read in the context of the recent elections where these two leaders so different came together to form a Grand Alliance. From the very beginning of their political careers the two were a contrast to each other. While Laloo Prasad was a maverick who often made the best of the turmoil in political situation, Nitish seemed to be always the reluctant one playing by the book. The journeys of both political leaders are quite interesting. While Nitish was beyond Laloo’s first win, over a period of time a distance developed between them and they parted ways, only to come back together again for 2015 elections. The book talks of caste as an important political factor in Bihar. It also states that with Nitish at the helm since 2005, while many changes might have been superficial, a crucial change was that his regime inculcated hope in people and made them believe in institutions. Thakur delves in details in the fodder scam which finally let to the downfall of Laloo. The book traces the events that led Nitish to severe ties with an ally of seventeen years. Thakur’s way of writing makes it a very enjoyable read.
December 26, 2016
Excellent though brief pair of biographies. Could have gone into more depth, particularly about the mechanism of Bihar's "turnaround" under Nitish and the motivations/power bases of other Bihari politicians, both within the JD(U) and outside of it. Particularly interesting (to me at least) is the relevance of Lohia to Nitish Kumar's thoughts - it puts his die-hard opposition to Modi (but willingness to align himself with the BJP to drive out Lalu) in context.
An informative and well-written set of biographies of these now-reunited opponents.
An informative and well-written set of biographies of these now-reunited opponents.
April 9, 2016
An engaging read! Gives amazing insights on the rise and fall of two of Bihar's best known CMs. Their parallels with current politicians is amazing. Laloo's early days are quite contrasting to the rise of Kejriwal and his turbulent times post being a CM are too! Similarly, Nitish and Raj seem to have some similarities, trying to hitch a majority using vote banks that are quite untapped and unsuccessful till now. A must read for those curious about Indian politics..
November 15, 2015
This book traces Lalu and Nitish’s rise as politicians, their time as CM, their downfall and rise. It helped me understand caste politics and how they play out in Bihar. I came away with an understanding of why Bihar loves Lalu and a deep respect for Nitish Kumar.
September 26, 2016
Great book which outlines the social and political forces that shaped Lalu & Nitesh, and their journey till 1 Anne Marg. Thakur being a Bihari himself brings a totally new flavour to the discussion. Great and memorable read
February 12, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Wittily written with characters as diverse as Laloo, Nitish and Bihar itself, this one is quite a read.
January 21, 2019
Must read
October 12, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews