KK Shailaja, former Health Minister of Kerala, caught the attention of the world for her efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala and before that, the Nipah virus.
Now the Chief Whip of the CPI(M), she recently released her autobiography My Life As a Comrade. Shailaja traces her transition from a school teacher to a much-lauded minister, the influences that shaped her and what motivates her political work.
In a free-wheeling conversation with The Hindu, she talks about her style of functioning, her take on gender equality, her family and her collection of saris.
