The Hindu : New Delhi News : Time for the final bow?

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Friday, Oct 15, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Time for the final bow?

By Mandira Nayar

V.S. Naipaul releasing his book "Magic Seeds" in New Delhi on Thursday. Photo: Sandeep Saxena

NEW DELHI, OCT. 14 . More than "Half a Life'' later it was time for probably one of the most celebrated Indian writers, V.S. Naipaul, to take a final bow. Scattering his "Magic Seeds" across continents, Naipaul's last book launch at the British Council here today was an evening of remembering old traditions, setting some new ones, plenty of nostalgia and the end of an era of book writing.

Choosing carefully to avoid ruffling feathers, Naipaul instead gave his audience a little glimpse of the world of a writer with a good deal of humour. "The idea of launching a book is a new one. In the old days, the publishers published the book and that was it. A couple of months later you would get a royalty statement, which you might crumple up in disgust as it had not moved much. Nowadays it is different, you don't have publicity departments, but publicists who take over your work. I think I preferred the old ways when your books made their own way. The books I wrote in 1957, 1958 and 1959 are still alive. But it is better for a book to be a book. Since it will be my last book, I think this is the last time I will stand here fumbling with the ribbon,'' said Naipaul.

While it might be his last attempt at writing a book, old habits don't seem easy to break. With "Magic Seeds'' no longer "singing in his ear", it was a chance to see a rare side of this writer -- creative, desperate to write but lacking the "energy'': "People don't write when they are 72. When I was young, I had tremendous energy and I used to write in the mornings when the mind is sharp. Writing is a process, and once you finish a book you lose touch and you wonder how to get into it. If I get well and have the energy, how will I write again? Even if I don't write in the morning I think, but then it was for a purpose. But if there is nothing at the end, then it really would be pointless,'' he said.

Noted actor Roshan Seth read out excerpts from the book.

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