Book Review: Times of India-MangalorePlus: 14 Dec'07

Book Review: Times of India-MangalorePlus: 14 Dec'07

“I am planning a book on Mangalore…”
meet
Maxwell Pereirkamath
(photograph)

HE IS CALLED ‘THE THINKING COP’ FOR HIS WRITING PROWESS.

MANGALORE-BORN FORMER JOINT COMMISSIONER OF DELHI POLICE, MAXWELL PEREIRA, OF THE IPS CADRE, RETIRED FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, HAS AUTHORED A BOOK ‘THE OTHER SIDE OF POLICING’ BASED ON HIS 35 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN POLICE SERVICE IN NEW DELHI AND THE NORTH-EAST.

HE SPEAKS ABOUT HIS MANGALORE ROOTS AND HIS BOOKS IN THIS CHAT WITH FLORINE ROCHE IN THE CAPITAL

Born on October 3, 1944 in Salem.

Mangalore roots

"I belong to the Bajpe Kuntala-Kambla Pereira-Kamath lineage.

I spent my 12 formative years in St Aloysius College where the Jesuit priests imbibed in me a sense of morality, thus laying a strong foundation for my career.

I graduated as Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Law degrees from Bangalore University.

Most memorable days in Mangalore:

Mangalore is my hometown, the place where I spent my childhood. I love the ambience of Mangalore, the heady cashew flavoured scent of sea breeze that nurtured my growth.

What prompted you to write a book:

I love writing and I have written on a variety of issues throughout my career.

My well-wishers, friends and publishers goaded me to pen down my experiences as a cop in a book. Some of the topics in the book were published as articles earlier and had to be re-written elaborately without bothering about the space constraint.

‘The Other side of Policing’ is about:

My first hand experience as a cop, with an effort to break the stereotype of policing which is usually equated with obsession for guns, crime, criminals and power.

I have tried to provide an insight into what is obscured behind the uniform and on what I have experienced from close quarters as a senior policeman.

The book gives a vivid picture on how policemen try to survive under media glare, intrusive politicians, the common people and their own seniors in the department.

It is a chronicle of events encapsulated in the form of a book.

It deals with various incidents which project men behind uniform as human beings who could succumb to the trials and tribulations of power.

The narration is packed with subtle humour and is sure to interest an avid reader.

My next book will be on Mangalore:

I am planning a book on Mangalore by the end of 2008.

I have done considerable research for the book,

and my own childhood in Mangalore will definitely stand me in good stead.