Yesterday evening I had a marvellous dinner with 100 guests from the world of entertainment, politics and business. Among them was Mr Krishna Kumar, the man who was responsible for taking over Corus Steel, Jaguar, Landrover and Tetley tea. Mr Kumar's fascinating tale of the bidding process between him and the Brazilians locked away in separate rooms is worthy of a short story in its own right. Failed for the fifth night in a row to get to bed before midnight.
Up this morning at six, and we decided to drive rather than take the plane to Pune, which was a very pleasant experience on the excellent express highway paid for by tolls. The problems only arose when we approached the outskirts of the city to find all the roads blocked off because a minister was passing through on his way to a meeting in Pune. I pointed out to my minder that if a British minister, even the Prime Minister, stopped everyone getting into a town, he'd lose the next election by a landslide. "Yes," he said, "but you don't assassinate your ministers." Shocked, I asked him how many ministers had been killed in the last 10 years. He replied, "I can't tell you how many in the last 10 years, but in the past 2 years 10 have been murdered." One of those rare occasions when I was speechless, and reminded how lucky we are in Britain where the only pot shots we take are usually in cartoons.
After 6 print interviews and a radio interview, this evening I am doing another 'meet the people speech'. Because of the bank holiday weekend in the UK, it will be 2 or 3 days before you get my next post. Have a great weekend.
Up this morning at six, and we decided to drive rather than take the plane to Pune, which was a very pleasant experience on the excellent express highway paid for by tolls. The problems only arose when we approached the outskirts of the city to find all the roads blocked off because a minister was passing through on his way to a meeting in Pune. I pointed out to my minder that if a British minister, even the Prime Minister, stopped everyone getting into a town, he'd lose the next election by a landslide. "Yes," he said, "but you don't assassinate your ministers." Shocked, I asked him how many ministers had been killed in the last 10 years. He replied, "I can't tell you how many in the last 10 years, but in the past 2 years 10 have been murdered." One of those rare occasions when I was speechless, and reminded how lucky we are in Britain where the only pot shots we take are usually in cartoons.
After 6 print interviews and a radio interview, this evening I am doing another 'meet the people speech'. Because of the bank holiday weekend in the UK, it will be 2 or 3 days before you get my next post. Have a great weekend.
8 Comments:
You have been misled Mr.Archer, 10 ministers assasinated in last 2 years in India is not correct. In fact as far as I could remember none in last two years...
Sir, It was a sheer delight to have you in Pune and to attend your book reading session.
Seldom have we seen a celebrity so down to earth and so approchable.
I took up reading books very late in my life and am greatful to you for the stories you have written, as they were the ones which made me an avid reader. I really liked your "The Fourth Estate", "Sons of Fortune" and "First among Equals".
I would be really greatful if you can write a story whose plot is set up in the future. As you have travelled around the world experiencing cultures, people and life styles, it would be interesting to see a book with the plot of an united world :)
People often look upto philosophical literature or self help books to gain inspiration or perspectives on life, but for me, reading your books, and seeing characters like Abel and many others who began with humble backgrounds and rose to pinnacle of success is what inspires me the most.
Keep up the good work :)
One among the many million fans of yours,
Venky
(venky85@gmail.com)
Dear Mr. Archer,
Needless to say, I am great fan since I stumbled upon Kane and Abel's dilapedated copy many years ago...
Missed you again in Pune...didn't know u were coming here n ended up kicking myself for not going to landmark.
N regarding u being happy in Britain, it reminds me of a very famous line from the movie 'Snatch'
which goes like this -
Avi: London.
Rosebud: London?
Avi: London.
Avi's Colleague: London?
Avi: Yes, London. You know: fish, chips, cup 'o tea, bad food, worse weather, Mary f**king Poppins... LONDON!!
:)
Vikrant
dear sir,
you are right in commenting that you are LUCKY to be a british. india has a long history of fight against terrorisum. right from the biggining we were fighting agaist assailares like changes khan, ahamad abdali and so on. we have a prime minister killed in a sucied bomb attack and we have to face and have to live with the fear of terrorisum in our heart each and every day.
i am a working 25 years old in mumbai. and tell you the truth, when i leave my house in the morning for work i do not know what will happen to me befor i come back in the evening. because we have bombblasts in train, in buses even in office buldings in the recent past. and i think that is the legesy of we indians who were borne in the land of gautam buddha and mahatma gandhi, two of the greatest angels of peace which world has known.
hey jeffry nice to hear about u n india though i wld hav app. the tour fo urs to be somwht long
coz i had exams at this time sry to hear tht ull not be here until the 27
i wld advice u to read yhe monk who sold his ferrari by robin sharma n plzz make ur stays in india a little longer n dicover india frm the next time
Dear Mr. Jeffrey!
I am an ardent fan of yours and an aspiring writer. Or shall i say budding writer? I request your help. I need ten minutes of your time. Will you please give me your e mail id? I shall forward to you one of my stories (just 600 words). Will you please comment about my English, Story telling abilities and my style of writing? Will you please bless me with this Mr.Jeffrey? (ravi815@hotmail.com)
snp - many thanks, I'll pass this on to the person who told me otherwise!
Many thanks for all your interesting comments which I have enjoyed reading. Best wishes, Jeffrey.
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