Straddling the period before independence and after, Trilok Nath's memoirs deal mainly with his impressions about the Indian Police both as an onlooker and as a member of the fraternity. In an easy, narrative style the author gives us a vivid picture of the Police in the days of the Raj and carries the story forward up to his retirement from the force in 1975. Casting Ins mind back over the past feu decades, this former l.G. of Police attempts to analyse the style of functioning of the Indian Police in the light of past traditions and experience- Loosely woven into the narrative are echoes of the Raj : the visit of the Simon Commission, Darbar Day at Patna, and leisurely bird shoots on the Maharaja of Jeypore's estate. But the real value of the book iies in the seriousness of the author's approach to what he feels are the duties and responsibilities of the custodians of the law, and his assessment of the functioning of the force. The locale of the book, for the most part, is the itatc of Bihar. However, these memoirs are likely to be of interest to both professional as well as lay readers all over the country and elsewhere.
