Bibliofile

Notes of a Patron

Word is fast spreading among writers that the country’s most powerful politician is also a secret patron of books, especially if they’re about Hindustani music and musicians. One of the first things Vikram Sampat did after publishing My Name is Gauhar Jaan is send it to Sonia Gandhi. He soon got a call from 10 Janpath, inviting him for a meeting. It was well worth it—he spent half an hour with Mrs G in her enviable library of over 3,000 books, discussing their common passion: Hindustani music.

Ban Unveiled

The mystery of who banned Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses in India has finally been solved. For 22 years, Rushdie has blamed Khushwant Singh, and not all Khushwant’s protestations of innocence could persuade Rushdie to bury the gauntlet. But former home secretary C.G. Somiah’s memoir puts the record straight. Buta Singh, then home minister, called Somiah to check on whether the book should be banned. It took Somiah two days to read it and decide it would have been apter to call it “Satanical Verses.” The book was banned “in the interest of maintaining law and order in the country,” he writes.