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Writing his way to critical acclaim

It might have been the third book on the city of dreams in recent times, but judging by the turnout of people at the launch of Vikram Chandra's "Sacred Games'' in the Capital on Monday, Mumbai seems to be the right muse for India writers.

Released in grand style, reserved only for the big writers with Penguin, the publishing house didn't spare any costs. Well attended by Page 3 regulars as well as serious book-lovers, unlike many other launches, the author here got a chance to interact with his readers on a one-to-one basis.

With the lines blurring between both the Penguin Vikrams, Chandra is "The Suitable Boy'' of the writing world now. Having received rave reviews for his latest book, Chandra has written his way to critical acclaim. As he read out extracts from his book with a trace of his American accent, some of the listeners in the audience were overheard saying that all the rumours about the amount the book fetched appeared to be worth it. The biggest book of the year from Penguin, it took six years in the making. Bringing alive all the clichés of Mumbai, the darker side to the city with its mafia, Chandra has managed to produce a book that critics claim will not be forgotten in a hurry.

An epic tale of friendships and betrayal, of terrible violence, of an astonishing modern city and its darker side, the book resurrects an old character from Chandra's "Love and Longing in Bombay'', Sartaj Singh. Not his first brush with fame, his book "Red Earth and Pouring Rain'' was received with outstanding critical acclaim. It won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for the Best First Book. Chandra has also had strong attachments with the Hindi film industry and has co-written "Mission Kashmir", the much talked about movie by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. His work has been translated into eleven languages.

The new book will also be released in Hindi later this year. - Mandira Nayar

- Mandira Nayar

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