Journey To Eternity
If you thought only rivals had poet-politicians among its fold, like the redoubtable Kapil Sibal (of My World Within fame) of the Congress or AAP’s motormouth bard Kumar Vishwas, it’s ‘time to change’ your thoughts. The secret is out—none other than Narendra Modi is a hidden poet. Rupa will bring out A Journey: Poems by Modi—first English translation of his poems in Gujarati. And all those who thought he was arrogant, hear this. “I don’t consider my poetry to be an extraordinary literary creation. These are streams of thought, like a spring of fresh water....” he writes in the foreword. So all you Modibhakts, go grab your copy soon.
Chrome Swells
The first tangible shake-up of the merger of Penguin India and Random House is the shifting of the Penguin HQ from a south Delhi shopping complex in Panchsheel Park to the business-like Infinity Towers in Gurgaon. Though it is bigger, swankier and very chrome-and-glass, old-timers miss the charm of ambling to Hauz Khas Village or Shahpur Jat, Delhi’s chic hang-outs, for a long lunch with an author to discuss if the twist in chapter six works or not.
In Like Flynn
Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowlands, which missed out on the Booker, is shortlisted for the Orange Prize (now called the Bailey’s Prize). But competition is tough—Burial Rites by Hannah Kent, The Undertaking by Audrey Magee, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, A Girl is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride, and, of course, the mammoth The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt—which is a fixture in top-ten lists. Good luck, Jhumpa.
