Non-fiction writers have long had a grouse against fiction writers. That they spend years researching and it's the fiction lot that runs off with the prizes, and the advances. No longer. A prize of Rs 1 lakh has been set up by the New India Foundation for the best book on any aspect of the history of independent India. They will also offer a one-year fellowship of Rs 50,000 a month to the best proposals for writing books on any aspect of the history of independent India. The trustees include author Ramachandra Guha, sociologist Andre Beteille, and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys. For more information, go to www.newindiafoundation.org.
The last mail to arrive from Dom Moraes was on June 23. No, it wasn't his ghost but his companion Sarayu saying that the day before he died Dom said he'd have liked to live in Odcombe, home of Thomas Coryate, English hero of Dom's last book. So, on his birthday, July 19, Dom will have a special funeral service in Odcombe church. There, etched on a stone slab, would be the legend, 'Dom Moraes who followed Thomas Coryate's footsteps and returned home.'
