This is a well-written, day-by-day account of his flight from England to India in a microlight plane. He did the flight in 22 days, breaking the earlier record of 34 days by Brian Milton, thereby earning for himself a place in the Guinness Book. It was certainly a noteworthy feat but "death-defying"? Far more hazardous flights have been undertaken. If you have around Rs 80 lakh (what it cost Singhania) and the necessary infrastructure, any flyer willing to take a few risks would not find it too difficult to do it in a far shorter time.
"Dying was a secondary matter," he writes. "Honour mattered more than anything. It was not just my honour, but India’s." Sounds like a Rajput rajah going out to fight his last battle against the Mughals, facing certain death. There are also some intriguing revelations: a "bitter and vindictive" stepmother who used to beat him three times a day; and he was just 17 when he got married to his bride of 14. One wishes he had elaborated further. He also admits he failed to get a degree in college but likes to call himself "Dr".
As for his physical courage in undertaking the flight, little doubt about that, especially at his age. However, turning to his newspaper, The Indian Post, with which I too was briefly associated, when a cabinet minister, upset with some reports, threatened to harm his business interests, Singhania cut his losses and closed down the paper.
