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During my chat with Jai Arjun last week, we spoke about how many books we read. I generally manage around two per week. He was surprised that my reading rate, as a non-lit person, was the same as his. Well, there are caveats. First, I count work related books in my reading list. Second, I read a lot of “easy-reading” fiction like Agatha Christies, Wodehouses and Dan Browns (two nights maximum for such books but Ludlums bore me now). Third, a book I’m rereading is counted as well, and I enjoy rereading favourites. That apart, I love to read, and can’t sleep without reading something even if it’s the back of the newspaper the bhajias were packed it. I generally read two or three books at the same time.

Currently I’m reading Rajni Bakshi’s Bapu Kuti and The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. Rajni was someone I saw and admired from a distance while continuously disagreeing with quite a few of her views. Swati Ramanathan of Janaagraha introduced us in October last year. Since then, we continue to bump into each other, but now it’s by design! She also signed my copy of the book—with a one-word flourish!

Bapu Kuti is the name of the hut where the Mahatma lived while he was in Sewagram, Wardha. Rajni uses it as a metaphor to write about the life and work of various activists as if they too ventured from Bapu Kuti to do the work, which Bapu would have been proud of. Incidentally, the story of Swades is inspired by the book. If you look closely during the scene, early in the movie, when Mohan is in the bookstore with Gita, you’d see a copy of Bapu Kuti on the table.

In Delhi, I was gifted a few books and I’m also dipping a bit into the commentary edition of Jonathan Gullible published jointly with Liberty Institute and Law, Liberty and Livelihood edited by Parth J. Shah and Naveen Mandava.

New Resolution: I should also break out of my laziness and post a few reviews, especially of books I’ve read recently. First on the list would be The Man Who Tried to Save the World, Scott Anderson’s adventure in search of Fred Cuny, followed by Malcolm Gladwell’s brace of Tipping Point and Blink.