Bibliofile

Kaur Ideology

As the First Lady, Gursharan Kaur has launched several books, including one by her friend and mentor Khushwant Singh. And now the veteran writer has persuaded her to pen her own memoir. The journey of this Jalandhar-born devout Sikhni to a poised and dignified First Lady, “the first to perform the duties expected of the wife of the prime minister of India”, is a story worth telling, according to Khushwant. Gursharan’s daughter, Daman Singh, who recently debuted with her first novel, is helping her mother with the memoir. It is still too early to offer to a publisher, but Khushwant is hopeful that he will bag it for Penguin for whom he still works as a consultant.

Sign of the Crab

Siddhartha Mukherjee’s book on cancer, Emperor of All Maladies, is being touted as the “next big thing” in non-fiction to hit world book stores next year. But his publisher in India, HarperCollins, is curiously unaware of either the book or the author. The book by Mukherjee, who is attached to Columbia University’s Cancer Centre, is a sweeping social and cultural history of cancer, rights for which have been sold in eight major countries, including the US and UK.

To Spouse a Cause

Is it a publicity stunt or a genuine spat between spouses? No one could quite decide from the public brawls between Om Puri and his biographer wife Nandita before the launch of her book on husband Om, Unlikely Hero. But invitees to the star-packed launch in Mumbai on Monday were left even more flummoxed when the thespian broke down in tears after a heartfelt confession with the words: “I am so guilty.” One thing’s for sure, this is every publisher’s wet dream.