Recalls Mrs Birja Devi, a frail old lady in her 60’s, in the book, “Soon after she became CM, I visited her residence to congratulate her after giving her a formal call. To my utter surprise, she was spotted waiting for me at the main entrance of her new official residence. She touched my feet in everyone’s presence. Soon I was taken to her bedroom where I was ordered to rest. No sooner I sat on the bed then Rabri pulled my legs and began massaging gently like a typical daughter-in-law. I tried hard to overcome my emotions but could not hold my tears rolling down my cheeks. I can’t forget all that”.

‘Sharma chachi’ nicknamed Rabri as “Sundari” and then gave her Rs 11 as “Munhdekhai” (a ritual followed in Hindu marriage where the relatives had to give some gift to the new bride).

As a chief minister, Rabri again paid the ‘debt’ she owed to “Tiwari Sir’ who taught her basic alphabets during her childhood days at the primary school running at her native village Selar Kalan in Bihar’s Gopalganj district that produced two chief minister from underprivileged families in an span of 15 years. As a mark of respect towards her teacher, she got a tarred road laid up to Amatha village in Gopalganj district where Baldeo Tiwari, popularly known as ‘Tiwari Sir’, leads a retired life now.

The 277 book is divided into 14 chapters and throws enough lights on the last 15 years of Bihar’s political scene after the advent of social justice formula.

(Excerpts from the book titled "Rabri Devi: Lalu's Masterstroke", authored by Manoj Chaurasia, a senior Political Journalist with The Statesman")