Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Lucknow Boy: A Memoir
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question tests knowledge of autobiographies and who wrote them, a very common theme in competitive examinations. Vinod Mehta was a noted Indian journalist and founding editor of several publications, and candidates are often expected to know the title of his memoir among other high profile autobiographical works.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- The subject is Vinod Mehta, an eminent Indian journalist and editor.
- The question asks for the title of his autobiography.
- All four options are genuine autobiography titles, but they are written by different people.
- Only one title belongs to Vinod Mehta, and the others are distractors linked to other public figures.
Concept / Approach:
The concept here is simple recall. Autobiography questions work by presenting a set of famous titles and requiring the learner to correctly match them with their authors. "Lucknow Boy: A Memoir" captures both Mehta's personal background and career and is widely cited as his autobiography. The other titles refer to autobiographical or political works by different personalities, so the approach is to match each option mentally with the correct person and then identify which one aligns with Vinod Mehta.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that "Lucknow Boy: A Memoir" is associated with a journalist who grew up in Lucknow and later became a prominent editor, which fits Vinod Mehta.
Step 2: Recall that "One Life Is Not Enough" is the autobiography of Congress leader Natwar Singh, not Vinod Mehta.
Step 3: Remember that "The Accidental Prime Minister" is written by Sanjaya Baru about Manmohan Singh, again unrelated to Mehta's personal memoir.
Step 4: Know that "The Substance and the Shadow" is an autobiography of actor Dilip Kumar, also not linked to Vinod Mehta, leaving "Lucknow Boy: A Memoir" as the only correct choice.
Verification / Alternative check:
An additional verification method is to think of the way newspapers and magazines reviewed Mehta's book. Many review headlines explicitly use the phrase "Lucknow Boy" while describing his journey from a middle class boy in Lucknow to a powerful editor. None of these reviews use the other titles, which firmly confirms that his autobiography is named "Lucknow Boy: A Memoir".
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"One Life Is Not Enough" is linked to politician Natwar Singh and details foreign policy and political events rather than the life of a media editor.
"The Accidental Prime Minister" is a political account focused on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, written by his media adviser, not an autobiography of Vinod Mehta.
"The Substance and the Shadow" is associated with film legend Dilip Kumar and belongs to the world of cinema rather than journalism.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often mix up autobiography titles when several similar sounding political and biographical books are studied together. It is easy to choose a familiar title like "The Accidental Prime Minister" without checking whether it really refers to the person mentioned in the question. The best way to avoid this is to mentally pair each title with its correct personality during revision so that, in the exam, you only need to recall the correct mapping.
Final Answer:
Vinod Mehta's autobiography is titled "Lucknow Boy: A Memoir".
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