An Examined Life is a collection of writings from politician and scholar Karan Singh. There are momentous events here drawn from Jammu and Kashmir's history, as well as essays and letters on subjects ranging from political science to active politics, metaphysics and spirituality to Hinduism as a way of life. The essays, particularly, often anecdotal, feature important figures in contemporary history and offer insight into the years following Independence that set the tone for the world's largest democracy. While his official correspondence with Jawaharlal Nehru over three decades casts light on the political turmoil in Kashmir post accession to India, his letters to Indira Gandhi address a dark period in contemporary history - the 1975 Emergency, and the events before and after. The anthology also contains select poems and excerpts from his travelogues and novel set in Kashmir.