On Thursday, Booker Award winning author Marlon James had a taste of Indian airports at less than their best. As many of us are prone to doing these days, he poured his heart out on Facebook. And unleashed a fair bit of hell, and thanks to a rather liberal dosage of the 'f' word, made for less than pretty reading. One could understand the reason for his frustration, of course. Anyone who has had a dose of airport authorities at their intransigent best will empathise with the author. The problem is that not too many will empathise similarly with the language used or the sarcastic "Nice first impression, India" which smacks of petulance. This was not the man whose sensitivity moved the world in A Brief History of Seven Killings, but an irritated mortal, and worse, a slightly spoilt celebrity. Also read: Marlon James lashes out at airport officials And that Facebook post is also the reason why I do not attend "literature festivals." Yes, I love books. Yes, I have been reading since I was three. Yes, I have a few thousand books at home and a few hundred on my Kindle, and I keep adding to both at a frequency that is the despair of those who cherish financial as well as household neatness. But no, I tend to steer clear of events that involve meeting authors. "But don't you want to meet the authors of the books you love so much?" I am asked frequently, Truth be told, I am not too sure. The reason is simple: you cannot judge a person by the way he or she writes. What a person is on paper and ink too often is very different from what he or she is in flesh and blood. Yes, there are people who seem to be what they write, but alas, there are many more who just seem to revel in their own (real or imaginary) auras. I have seen authors whom I idolised making passes at the opposite sex, passing out drunk beneath tables and abusing attendants for not opening doors properly at hotels. The sad consequence of which is that I have often stopped reading what they write - it did not seem right to reward the efforts of someone who could be so inconsiderate and rude to their fellow humans (and in most cases, feel absolutely fine and even preen about it). No matter how well Marlon James writes in the future, there will be a little part of me which will whisper "oh yes, he is the one who was being sarcastic about his first impressions of my country." So what, some will say, that is the way they are. They are human beings, prone to tempers and irritations like the rest of us. And anyway, don't you love their books? Fair point. The truth, however, is that I am far happier reading their books than meeting them. An author to me is not the person who gets annoyed or abusive at a public place or behaves like a salesperson of their work or sits like a celebrity at a table signing autographs for an adoring public. Nay, for me, they are creators of worlds, narrators of history, generators of entertainment. And they do not do so by their appearance or their mannerisms, but by what they write. Authors are defined not by speeches, but their work. Their books. Welcome to India, Marlon James. It is great having you here. But I am going to stick to just reading you. The chances of being disappointed there are fewer.
