Source : The Indian Express
The main characters of his novel, Lord Spider and JL Pillai, are an attempt at changing “the ideas about patriotism, love, compassion — all the things we take for granted,” Zacharia says.
Left is dead. Whether it is Rahul Gandhi or (Narendra) Modi, the Left has lost its chance in India. They should have grabbed the opportunity in the ’50s. Once they tasted the fruit of power, they became lazy,” said Paul Zacharia at the launch of his book A Secret History of Compassion (Context) in New Delhi on Friday evening.
The conversation, moderated by independent journalist Aditya Mani Jha, with historian Romila Thapar and poet K Satchidanandan, also had Karthika recount an episode when Zacharia was engrossed in reading aloud from his book while poet-lyricist Javed Akthar, sharing the stage, was whistling and tapping his fingers. “Javed was irritated because his fans weren’t responding properly. In fact, I didn’t exist for him,” said the good-humoured Zacharia.
