Bookshelf/K Nalinakshan

Mumbai8217;s new municipal commissioner, K Nalinakshan, is a self-confessed 8220;bad reader8221;. His high-profile job does not permit him the luxury of time, which he feels is so very important to be an avid reader.

8220;I don8217;t read. There really is no time,8221; he says. 8220;And if I do, it is basically light novels, like the ones by Jeffrey Archer and Harold Robbins. I have read all of the former8217;s works,8221; he says. His reading is confined to flights, tours and hotel rooms 8220;when there is no one around and when there is nothing else to do.8221; But, of course, the municipal commissioner does keep a regular tab on newspapers and newsmagazines.

Nalinakshan does not hesitate to admit that he prefers the television to the printed word. 8220;I get home by 7.30 in the evening and watch the Malayalam movies very often at 9 pm before I go to bed,8221; he says.