Trashing A Rumour
This column had referred to a rift between two bosses of a major litfest of the country a few weeks ago, based on the buzz gathered from a few top publishers. No names were mentioned in the item but the Jaipur Literary Festival's top honcho William Dalrymple clarifies that there are absolutely no problems between him and co-director Namita Gokhale. "She is a great lady to work with and a thorough professional. We work as a team and if there are any rumours of any tension between us, it's absolute rubbish," he says. So, that's that then. The preparations for the festival are in full swing, there will be more than 200 speakers this time and the literary feast is on for five days this year. Chalo Jaipur.
Stamping His Class
Veteran journalist B.G. Verghese, who passed away recently, was an ardent philatelist. Last year he did a fascinating book, Post Haste: Quintessential India (Tranquebar), a sort of history, geography and sociological story of India told through stamps. "Postage stamps are like ambassadors, carrying greeting and messages to people everywhere. They constitute dots in a puzzle. Connect them and you find a story, maybe many stories," he writes. Even if you are remotely interested in stamps, this book will delight.
On A High Window
Poet Philip Larkin was not such a nice man to know. "A singularly unattractive man," is how one critic put it. But he was crazy about animals. He used to often mimic their sounds. A young library assistant of his once heard meowing sounds behind her. When she turned around, it was Larkin standing behind her wearing a cat mask he had made himself.
