How Shashi Tharoor wrote his books against all odds

Abu Dhabi - He termed his first novel as a 'hugely ambitious task', which he had lot fun finishing.

Shashi Tharoor's love for language is well known. He has authored 18 bestselling works of fiction and non-fiction. What's less known is his how penned his first novel - while having to handle his twins, who were 'world's most terrible sleepers'.
For the Indian politician, writer and former diplomat, it was while working in the UN that satirical novel 'The Great Indian Novel' happened.
"It was 1980s. I had small twins. And when they would sleep for few hours. they were the world's most terrible sleepers as babies . that I would write," he told the audience at the first Hay Festival in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
He termed his first novel as a 'hugely ambitious task', which he had lot fun finishing. "The edition is into its 47^th reprint."
Managing his works at the UN and love for writing was difficult, he said. "Fiction requires a sustained commitment. I found that my laptop was littered with half-begun manuscripts. It was ridiculous."
That was when he switched to non-fiction with the next 14 books.
"Non-fiction was interruptible. If you were caught in middle of crisis at work and returned to what you were writing, since it's your own thoughts, you would know where your mind was heading and you could pick the arguments, even if it was a week later."
His non-fiction works includes 'Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India', 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister and The Elephant', 'The Tiger and the Cellphone'.
Hay Festival will continue at Manarat Al Saadiyat till Friday.
'Sense of horror as Delhi burns'
Tharoor is 'hurt' by clashes in capital city of New Delhi. He expressed there is 'sense of horror' as opponents and supporters of India's new citizenship engaged in clashes that left at least 21 dead.
Tharoor is apologetic about being at Hay Festival when Delhi is burning. The present day India, he said, isn't the one he grew up and cherished.
"It hurts to see this happen to my country," he said.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com  

• Abu Dhabi