Beefy Concerns
The book launch of The Turn of the Tortoise, by the renowned economic editor T.N. Ninan, was a cracker. The ferocity with which Arun Shourie lit into the Modi government has made headlines. What went unreported were the one-liners. Shourie tore into the NDA’s penchant for hyperbole and exaggeration when announcing policies, whether coal production or FDI in Gujarat, and said their motto seems to be ‘Jo Hyper Bole, So Nihaal’. But the line of the evening belonged to Shyam Saran, who complained about the lack of a big picture in the government’s foreign policy. Across the world they’re asking of India...he deadpanned, ‘Where’s the beef?’
The New Bits
Yet another Gandhi book? This one, by publisher and author Pramod Kapoor, promises some rare photos and documents never published before. For instance, the book has the facsimile of a 10-page letter that Gandhi’s estranged son Hari Lal wrote to the Mahatma. The book focuses more on Gandhi’s family life, and has many anecdotes and personal details from family members. It details Gandhi’s very poignant role at the time when Kasturba was dying in custody in the Aga Khan Palace, Poona. As Sunil Khilnani says, “Pramod Kapoor’s book is a personal and wonderfully intimate photographic journey through Gandhi’s life. Even those familiar with Gandhi’s story will discover things to surprise, delight, and inform them in this moving book.”
