This evening, at the Taj Palace hotel, New Delhi, Times of India hosted their Delhi Lit Fest launch with much pomp. What was expected to be a gathering of a small group of book lovers ended up being an event with a turn out of over five hundred people.The evening's theme was "from the popular to the elite". At the popular end was the launch of Amish Tripathi's newly arrived novel, The Scion of Ikshvaku, which was followed by the elite of the evening, an interview with Upamanyu Chatterjee, the author of the famous novel, English August and Rahul Bose who played the role of the protagonist in a film later released under the same name.
Amish Tripathi's success with his Shiva trilogy was the main focus of the evening's interview. The story of how a banker turned into a best-selling author with just one idea was an inspiration to all. Coming to his latest novel, The Scion of Ikshvaku talks of the Ramayan and Amish's take on the age old epic. The secret, according to Amish, to get a bestseller was explained with a simple example. The runway of an aircraft carrier is way too small for an airplane to take off. Yet planes do take off, with the assistance of a propellor. A book is an airplane and marketing strategy is the propellor. If the propellor is not effective, the airplane falls into the sea and if you have the best propellor but an engine of poor quality, the plane won't take off. So, the book and the marketing go hand in hand.
Moving on to the elite of the evening, Upamanyu Chatterjee and Rahul Bose were interviewed on the book and movie, English August. It was a laugh riot. Upamanyu's monosyllabic answers and awkward silences left our interviewer sweating as he thought of more ways to engage the man in a conversation that would last for at least a few minutes. Rahul Bose on the other hand described his role in the movie and how much he felt he was like the character he played. As they started going into the crux of the novel, questions were raised as to whether knowing English and having a good command over it made one look classy and sophisticated. Upamanyu rid this off as absurd and said that anyone can be good at any number of languages and English does not have to be the one to make you look "classy".
The evening of literature came to an end with a small introduction to a new initiative taken up by Times of India called "Write India" about which more information can be found on the Times of India website. The event came to a close with cocktails and with fans present flocking in huge numbers to get autographs and selfies with the celebrities. Delhi's own literary fest being held from 28th to the 30th of November 2015, will witness the presence of many such prominent authors. Make sure that you do attend it and for more information please refer to the Times of India website.
Amish Tripathi's success with his Shiva trilogy was the main focus of the evening's interview. The story of how a banker turned into a best-selling author with just one idea was an inspiration to all. Coming to his latest novel, The Scion of Ikshvaku talks of the Ramayan and Amish's take on the age old epic. The secret, according to Amish, to get a bestseller was explained with a simple example. The runway of an aircraft carrier is way too small for an airplane to take off. Yet planes do take off, with the assistance of a propellor. A book is an airplane and marketing strategy is the propellor. If the propellor is not effective, the airplane falls into the sea and if you have the best propellor but an engine of poor quality, the plane won't take off. So, the book and the marketing go hand in hand.
Moving on to the elite of the evening, Upamanyu Chatterjee and Rahul Bose were interviewed on the book and movie, English August. It was a laugh riot. Upamanyu's monosyllabic answers and awkward silences left our interviewer sweating as he thought of more ways to engage the man in a conversation that would last for at least a few minutes. Rahul Bose on the other hand described his role in the movie and how much he felt he was like the character he played. As they started going into the crux of the novel, questions were raised as to whether knowing English and having a good command over it made one look classy and sophisticated. Upamanyu rid this off as absurd and said that anyone can be good at any number of languages and English does not have to be the one to make you look "classy".
The evening of literature came to an end with a small introduction to a new initiative taken up by Times of India called "Write India" about which more information can be found on the Times of India website. The event came to a close with cocktails and with fans present flocking in huge numbers to get autographs and selfies with the celebrities. Delhi's own literary fest being held from 28th to the 30th of November 2015, will witness the presence of many such prominent authors. Make sure that you do attend it and for more information please refer to the Times of India website.
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