Bibliofile

Father’s Day...
Dedicating a book to the wife and kids is not extraordinary, but Ashvin Desai’s recently released book has a dedication that most writers would kill for. The first name in the round dozen that makes up his family is a Booker shortlister, and the last is a Booker prize-winner. Yes, Papa Desai, a management consultant and now stricken with cancer, has joined the literary family club, following in the tracks of wife, Anita Desai and daughter, Kiran. But his Between Eternities is not fiction nor even on management but a philosophic take on life and the cosmos.

...And a Daughter’s
Upinder Singh’s History of Early and Medieval India made history of sorts: its launch turned into the kind of Page Three event that one associates with Vikram Seth or Shobhaa De: five-star hall, a mounted photo exhibition, a three-screen backdrop, and dozens of TV cameras poised for the action. What was different was the punctuality of the invitees, who not only arrived half-an-hour before the event started but also sat down obediently in pindrop silence when an official commanded them to do so. Surprise of the evening: Upinder the historian turned out to be a more powerful and entertaining speaker than her father, the PM.

Sip That!
For authors in doubt about whether to drink or not during their book event, a word of advice from two veterans: both Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth prefer to sip a clear drink while the reading is on. Rushdie’s poison is vodka, while Seth prefers gin.