It is not often that one sees Delhi’s literary circle dressed in their festive best for a book launch. But with Diwali festivities in full swing, even a literary evening called for bringing out the satins, chiffons, organzas, Banarasis and brocades. The occasion was the launch of author Rakhshanda Jalil‘s book The Aunts of Gangapur, which turned into a grand gathering of friends and familiar faces from Delhi’s literary and cultural circles. And no one seemed more surprised by the scale of the celebration than the author herself, who admitted that such “grand” events were rare for her.“I’ve only ever had very modest book launches for all my various books at the IIC with tea and cookies. So this is really a grand affair, and I’m very grateful and quite overwhelmed, actually,” she said as she welcomed the gathering. The author added that she had envisioned the launch of this book as a celebration with her friends, who did turn up in good numbers.
Aman Nath, Laila Tyabji and Salman Khurshid (l to r)
Saba Ali
William Dalrymple and Laila Tyabji
A debut novelist at 63Introducing her book The Aunts Of Gangapur, Rakhshanda shared that she was a “debut novelist at 63”, having spent much of her writing career working on non-fiction, biographies and translations. “My métier has been non-fiction, literary non-fiction. I’ve written a clutch of rather boring books, biographies and translations and so on. So this is a leap of faith, something very new. I thought this book would be a fun way to talk about serious things. Serious things that get brushed under the carpet in the din of more politically vibrant issues. It’s located in the Gangetic heartland, an area that I’ve come to know and understand. But my one takeaway from this book, really, the writing of this book, really, is that age is just a number. I am a debut novelist at 63,” she said.
Sanjoy Roy
Madhu Trehan
Kapil Sibal
Neelima Dalmia Adhar
When Delhi traffic joined the conversation While the book remained the focus of the evening, Delhi’s traffic managed to become a talking point of its own, with delayed arrivals and stories of getting stuck on the roads finding their way into conversations. Sharmila Tagore, who was among the guests invited to read excerpts from the book, had her own traffic story to share as she took to the stage. “I am sorry I’m late, but it’s not my fault. It’s that traffic; I think all of you must have faced it. I’m coming from Vasant Vihar and then for some reason I went to another hotel, I have no idea why,” she said, drawing attention to a predicament many in the gathering could relate to. The evening continued with readings from the book by authors William Dalrymple, Laila Tyabji and Sanjoy Roy.
Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee
Salma Sultan
