27 November 2012, 02:21 PM IST
Even as Richard Parker and Pi wow audiences around the world, I thought it might be interesting to see what their creator Yann Martel had been up to after the stupendous success of the 'Life of Pi'. Had there been a sequel? That's how I came across his interaction, one-sided for the most part, with Stephen Harper.
As he describes it: 'For as long as Stephen Harper is Prime Minister of Canada, I vow to send him every two weeks, mailed on a Monday, a book that has been known to expand stillness. That book will be inscribed and will be accompanied by a letter I will have written. I will faithfully report on every new book, every inscription, every letter, and any response I might get from the Prime Minister, on this website.'
Which he did with metronomic regularity and unflagging enthusiasm until he'd sent a hundred books. Stephen Harper is still the Prime Minister of Canada and during a recent visit to Bangalore came across as an affable man who made time to exchange garlands with his wife at an Ulsoor temple and pass it off as a "renewal of wedding vows". I won't go into the books Martel sent Harper – there're all listed on the website along with his explanatory note. The notes have been spun off into an e-book but I can't seem to find a copy online. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough, but if you do, drop the link in the comment box.
Anyway, this got me wondering if any our writers would be brave enough to launch something similar here. It'd be interesting to see what our writer thinks Manmohan Singh should be reading to know his country better. Actually, the task is forbidding, for not only is our erudite Prime Minister a regular reader with a scholarly bent of mind but also because he may have already read the book our writer sends him. Also, the books should be interesting enough to hold his attention given his extremely busy schedule.
So, with what will our writer start, and with what will end the project whatismanmohansinghreading (hat-tip to Martel)? Martel started with 'The Death of Ivan Ilych' by Leo Tolstoy and ended with 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust (the 101st actually). My suggestions, for whatever they're worth, would be to start with 'Behind the Beautiful Forever: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity' by Katherine Boo and end with 'India Becoming: A Portrait of Modern India' by Akash Kapoor.
What would your Hundred Books for Manmohan Singh be?
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