surprise when he brought to the fore an array of influences which he had capped in his growing years, influences which were to shape 'an old nation with a young heart.'

Rajiv had been brought up with a minimum of fuss and that's the way he desired to bring up his nation too. It was almost a celestial privilege that three potent streams of thought shaped his policy initiatives both at the national and international levels. As Prime Minister, he used and displayed a deep-seated brand of Nehruvianismmarinated it with father Feroze's strong Zoroastrian sense of right over wrong and then tossed a heady dose of pragmatism and change that he had judiciously picked up from the recipe book of mother Indira. Last but not least, it was his very own perception of life overseas as a student, friend and a man in love that lent his regime the healing veneer of humanism and understanding, not to mention personal integrity, honesty, fairness and a bit of technological change. When in England, he had no qualms about sullying his hands as a daily wager at a construction site, a stint that brought to him the importance of dignity of labour. Put together, all these influences translated into Rajiv's most potent weapons on display - oneness, progress, self- reliance, economic maturity, change, scientific tempering and coupling with the people that make a nation.

For a man who, everyone says, would not walk away from an accident site without offering help and arranging for medical assistance, the killer apartheid regime in Africa was too much of an outrage. He castigated the world for turning a blind eye to naked racism in the dark continent; he almost worshipped Nelson Mandela for turning down the prospect of his conditional release and he exhorted the West to aid and abet Namibia's fight for freedom.