Bibliofile

Great thing for the literary world that Nanak Singh survived the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, because the Punjabi novel was born with him. But in the world of Punjab, the writings of this much-awarded but not widely-read author have stayed. Until now, that is. His grandson Navdeep Suri has translated one of his better known novels, Pavitra Papi (Saintly Sinner), into English. The novel was adapted into a film by that name in 1968. Now Suri, government spokesperson at India House in London, takes his step into the world of literature with his translation, and a rather good one at that.

Those who voraciously lapped up Bridget Jones's lusty exploits in her eponymous diary can now look forward to another creation by Helen Fielding. Come November 7 and Pan-Macmillan will bring out her new book Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination. Olivia too is a journalist like Bridget but she turns a master spy and is very much a new millennium girl. Coming four years after Fielding wrote the Bridget sequel, this should be one rip-roaring thriller to jump into. Don't miss it.