Back to Bolshoi

And, for a Busybee book review, a few stray thoughts, a few general opinions and a few points of view (all irrelevant to the work). Like this book will sell especially well at Strand and Crossword. Most Busybee fans shop at these two places for their books though there are more flashy bookstores in the city. Not that Crossword is not flashy but at least it smells of books and coffee. Like whether what is contained in the book is worth a read or not depends entirely on whether you are a fan of his ‘Round and About’ column or not.

And, of course, on whether you love Mumbai at least one-fifth that he did. Like those who have lived in Bombay, and then in his friend Thackeray’s Mumbai, will see many front-page stories in his columns from 1967, carefully and lovingly selected for this anthology. Those who haven’t been living that long might just get a keyhole, satirical peep into those years. Like the anthology proves what all journalists knew all along but did not acknowledge, that good work is good work and it will find its space no matter which newspaper you are working for. It helps if, like Busybee, you were the editor of two of the three newspapers you wrote for but what really matters is whether people want to read you at all. Like it is possible to write about the big events, seminal (I don’t like the word) developments and complex issues in so simple a manner that even the man (or the woman) in the street understands what you are trying to say, and even spares a laugh, at least a chuckle now and then.