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Calm and pleasant, that was Vikas Swarup, a diplomat-turned-author, when he came to Landmark, Nungambakkam, January 21 for 'Meet the Author' session in Chennai. A significant number of visitors was present at the much-familiar Apex Plaza to listen to Vikas Swarup talk about his book, Q and A. A quiz was held for the audience and there were some exciting prizes. Dr Naveen Jeyakumar, the Landmark quizzer, was the anchor of the show. Here are some interesting tidbits from Vikas Swarup: The theme of Q and A: I wanted to emphasise that luck is everybody's pot. The hero goes out and creates his own luck. He who strives, wins. A glimpse of a day at Indian Foreign Service (IFS): I lead two kinds of life. One is in Delhi, as a bureaucrat. The next one is as a diplomat, abroad. The IFS is short of staff and it's 9-to-9 job. The structure of Q and A: It's a series of short stories. You can find that each episode can be read as an individual story. The various incidents in the hero's life are narrated as different stories and they form the circumstances for the hero to guess the answers in the quiz. How easy/difficult was it for the author to put the thoughts into paper: Literally, I don't put my thoughts into paper. I type on the computer. For Q and A, it took two months flat. It was not that difficult to put down the thoughts. I could write 20,000 words in a weekend. The process of writing: I wrote the difficult ones first. For example, the soldier's tale of 1971. It's a true depiction of psychology.
Autobiographical element in the book: There's no autobiographical element in the book. The real skill of a writer is in bringing an imaginary world alive. When there is a series of questions in a quiz show, there are chances for the participants to guess the answers from real incidents which they have heard being told or they have undergone or what they have witnessed. It's an amalgam of all these. Comments on the name of the protagonist: Ram Mohammed Thomas: The name is symbolic. He uses it in different ways. It embodies the diversity of India. (There was some choose-the-best type of questions from Naveen Jeyakumar) Who would you choose as the hero for your film which is based on your book? Shah Rukh Khan. Who will be the director of your film? Is it Maniratnam or Manmohan Desai? Manmohan Desai Which is the most exotic place? Is it Istanbul or Washington DC? Washington DC.
Vikas Swarup as a Foreign Minister. There was also a quiz for the audience and gift vouchers worth Rs 100 to Rs 1,600 were given away as prizes for correct answers. There were some lucky winners, chosen by the author, who got copies of Q and A.
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2009, Chennai Interactive
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Please give the chronological order in the profile of Vikas Swarup - Vikas Swarup as a Crorepati and Vikas Swarup as a Foreign Minister.
