Srinagar, Oct. 3 -- George Bernard Shaw once remarked, "All autobiographies are lies." The aphorism offers an interesting touchstone for reading any autobiography. The reader must ask whether the author has truly opened the windows of his life or merely arranged its furniture to present a flattering portrait of himself. Perhaps the most convincing test of authenticity is the author's willingness to disclose his own limitations, vulnerabilities and moments of inadequacy. It is in such admissions that an autobiography acquires the texture of truth.Yet an autobiography must possess more than truth. It must have substance, human interest and literary merit; and, above all, the life must be presented in a manner that makes the reader wish to t...