The Untamed Maverick

An introduction has got to be brief and yet it has to bring out the essence of the contents of the work. As I get ready to write the introduction, I recollect the following episode in the life of Abraham Lincoln:

Once some people approached Abraham Lincoln with a request to address a gathering that day for five minutes only. He said to them,

“If you want me to speak for one hour I come just now. But if you want me to speak only for

minutes, I will need fifteen days previous intimation.”

The shorter the duration of speech, the longer it takes for preparing it. What holds good in the case of speaking is equally applicable to writing. I got a short span to prepare the introduction to “The Untamed Maverick”. I will, however, do justice to the task entrusted to me.

In the title of this biography, whose introduction I have the privilege of penning, two evocative words—Untamed and Maverick—immediately captured my attention. At first glance, they appear to overlap semantically, both conveying a spirit of independence and resistance to conformity. A maverick, by definition, is one who departs from accepted norms and conventions, charting a course distinctly his or her own. The adjective untamed further intensifies that image, suggesting a personality that refuses to be restrained by convention, expectation, or precedent. The title therefore arouses curiosity. Can one be both untamed and a maverick without the description becoming redundant? Reflection soon dispels the doubt. While a maverick thinks and acts differently, the untamed maverick remains impervious even to attempts at domestication by society, institutions, or tradition. Indeed, one cannot truly quiet a maverick. As the reader proceeds through these pages, the apparent semantic overlap reveals itself to be deliberate and meaningful. The title ultimately proves apt, illuminating the remarkable personality portrayed in the biography. The credit for this felicitous choice belongs entirely to Sonali Sharad Dudihalli, whose narrative successfully justifies and enriches the promise contained in those two compelling words.