race of my life biography

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Review: The Race of My Life – An Autobiography by Milkha Singh and Sonia Sanwalka

The Race of my Life is an autobiography of the world renowned athlete, ‘Milkha Singh’. The book is written by him, together with his daughter Sonia Sanwalka. The introduction is penned by Jeev Milkha Singh (his son) and the foreword is graced by the words of popular director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The book encapsulates the journey of his life. It opens with Milkha’s birth and subsequently his family is introduced.

The day his whole family was massacred to the day when he won his first gold medal; the day he was forced to get back to Pakistan to face all his painful memories and was further crowned with the title of ‘ Flying Sikh’ ; all the jubilant and gloomy days of his life are captured.

His entire journey is truly stimulating. It will imbue you with a sense of determination, and will teach you to possess strong willpower which will ultimately lead you to fulfil of your dreams.

The writer seemed to possess good knowledge of words, so the book is decorated by a decent vocabulary. But she fails to develop the reader-author relationship. Blame it on the nationwide release of the movie first, but the story was totally known and completely predictable. In addition, the book lacked the charm, the tale had. Even the most intense sequences from his life, were delivered, as you may say, with a straight face.

But no worries, Singh’s inspirational life will overpower all the fallings of the book. If you are a Milkha fan, it is a must read for you. And even if you are not, go for the book, you should know about India’s only individual athletics gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games. The book won’t disappoint you, for sure!

Other sports biographies: Days of Grace by Arthur Ashe , Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times by Thomas Hauser , Open by Andre Agassi , Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman by Gulu Ezekiel

Pratibha Jain

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THE RACE OF MY LIFE An Autobiography

by Milkha Singh with Sonia Sanwalka

Category Bestsellers Sports
ISBN: 978-81-291-2910-9
Pages: 184 pages
Date: August 2013

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Milkha Singh has led a life dominated by running, running, running… From a boy who narrowly escaped death during Partition (most of his family was not so lucky), to a juvenile delinquent who stole and outran the police, to a young Army recruit who ran his very first race to win special privileges for himself (a daily glass of milk). After that first race, Milkha Singh became an athlete by default. And what followed was the stuff legends are made of. In this remarkably candid autobiography, Milkha Singh shares the amazing highs of winning India’s first ever gold in athletics at the Commonwealth Games, the unbridled joy of being hailed as the ‘Flying Sikh’ in Pakistan, as well as the shattering low of failure at the Olympics. Simple yet ambitious, famous yet grounded, Milkha Singh was a man who defined his own destiny and remained committed to running. And yet, remarkably for a man whose life was dominated by sports, he continues to remain disillusioned with the way sports is run… Powerful and gripping, The Race of My Life documents the journey of an impoverished refugee who rose to become one of the most towering figures in Indian sports.

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Born in 1932 in undivided India, Milkha Singh is arguably one of India’s most iconic male athletes. All through his professional career, his mantra for success has been regular practice, hard work, dedication and the determination to perform to the best of his abilities. Although he stopped participating in competitive events in the early 1960s, he has dedicated his life to sports. Milkha Singh has always been a romantic at heart, and he is today a contented husband, a proud father and an indulgent grandfather. The Farhan Akhtar starrer—Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a biographical film that depicts his early life and career.