Bibliofile

Secret Ballot
So much for the advance fever in India. L.K. Advani’s memoir was one book for which all publishers here would have happily bid any sum. But instead of auctioning it, the nda’s prime ministerial candidate decided to take the safer route: he consulted the two politicians he knows who write books, Arun Shourie and Jaswant Singh. Both naturally advised him to go with their publisher, Rupa. And having done that, no one could convince Advani to change his stable. Not even Random House. A few months before the release of My Country, My Life, Random House India’s chief Chiki Sarkar met Advani at his home to persuade him to let them do his official biography. Advani politely put her off, saying nothing about his forthcoming memoir.

Evolution Of Man
Indian writers in English have not just made a big dent in literature worldwide, but are getting on the jury panels of the world’s biggest litprizes. Now it’s the turn of Amit Chaudhuri, who is one of the judges for the International Booker Prize (for the confused among us, the Man Booker set up in 2005 for awarding a writer for lifetime achievement, something like the Nobel Prize, and nearly as large, at £60,000). Considering there are nearly 70 writers in the longlist, it’s going to be a long summer of reading for the judges.

The Prizefighters
It’s going to be a prize war this year, with both Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh delivering big novels in time for the Booker. Rushdie’s previous Shalimar the Clown didn’t make the shortlist, and Ghosh dropped out of the Commonwealth race in the first round, but all eyes are now on whether either or both make it to the Booker.