Netherfield Ball – The Superhit Show at Rana Ayyub’s Book Launch, India Habitat Center
The party secrets.
[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]
There was so much room to breathe during the forgettable launch of Tavleen Singh’s book a few weeks ago at the India Habitat Center. The veteran journalist with 233K followers on Twitter is a passionate devotee of the current regime and there were barely any people in the venue.
There was almost no room to breathe at Rana Ayyub’s memorable book launch. It ended up being the biggest event of the season.
One recent evening The Delhi Walla attended the unveiling of Ms Ayyub’s book Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up. The young journalist with mere 98.8 K followers on Twitter is a passionate critic of the current regime and the hall was filled beyond capacity. A long queue stretched outside the auditorium.
Inside, it was a scene straight out of a Bombay local. The elegant women in hand-woven saris had a hard time making their way through the leftist crowd–most men were unshaven. The hall was so packed that there was no way to watch the author in perfect convenience—her wildish hair looked like a bird sanctuary. Most of the attention on the stage was claimed by lawyer Indira Jaising who frowned through the evening. She looked like India Gandhi with a daughter-in-law trouble.
Even so, the beautiful people must be noticed. Journalist Saba Naqvi was in a red sari. Academic Zoya Hasan came in a salwar suit with a blue dupatta. Former East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit flaunted a diamond earring. TV news star Rajdeep Sardesai wore a pink shirt and an iPad.
Author Raghu Karnad looked quite solemn.
A lot of famous faces stood in the waiting line outside. Celebrity journalists Barkha Dutt and Shekhar Gupta behaved like true Delhiwallas by jumping the queue (see photo 17 below). HarperCollins India publisher Karthika VK walked in muttering about Veerappan. The dreaded sandalwood smuggler was from South India. Ms Karthika, too, comes from somewhere in the South. Author Sankarshan Thakur looked irritated, as always. Rajni Malhotra of Bahrisons Booksellers flashed happiness.
Ellen Barry of The New York Times was also spotted.
Arundhati Roy, too, was sighted. The novelist’s shoulders were scandalously bare (I’m not showing her photo).
An evening to remember
1. (Rana Ayyub)
2. (Barkha Dutt)
2a. (Indira Jaising)
3. (Saba Naqvi)
7. (Raghu Karnad, right)
8. (Karthika VK, center)
9. (Sandeep Dikshit)
10. (Rajdeep Sardesai)
11. (Zoya Hasan)
12. (Ellen Barry)
13. (Abhinandan Sekhri)
14. (Seema Chishti, right, Jyoti Malhotra)
15. (Shuddhabrata Sengupta)
16. (Rajni Malhotra)
17. (Shekhar Gupta, in blue kurta)
18. (Rana Ayyub’s face)
You Delhiwallas do live interesting lives…
Thanks for letting me gate crash. As always, wonderfully captured.
That book’s Amazon/Flipkart page seems to have been swamped by a host of bigots/trolls!
Loved this. It was like Page 3. Amazing writer
If you start reading then you fell a sense of happiness
Wonderful.
I was trying to buy the book on Amazon but it has only Kindle edition. Will somebody inform me for paperback or hardbound edition availability.
I don’t like kindle editions at least when it comes to reading books.
I was trying to buy the book on Amazon but it has only Kindle edition. Will somebody inform me for paperback or hardbound edition availability.
I don’t like kindle editions at least when it comes to reading books.
So, basically the whole Congress party was there.
Ha ha ha ha…hope the auditorium had good air conditioning considering the level of bile people mentioned sitting in it usually carry..:) 🙂
Never imagined fiction is so popular amongst the intellectuals.
Wah
These women in saris you’ve photographed, how much do they sell for?
The saris? Or the women? Be careful of dangling modifiers.
Ha Ha… Witty and clever…. bet Kanhaiya wasn’t invited.
BTW, your site’s brilliant.
she has inspired whole lot of seekers of justice
It appears the crowd living off alms of Sonia sarkar and thriving on Lies and Untruth and falsified history were all there may be to console each other and to form a union to protect their livelihood. Chor Chor Mausare Bhai!
Wonderful photos, captures the pimps of indian media..
Interestingly, you did not post ahmad patel’s pic who was just behind burqa dutt in this pic! it would have completed the coterie of usual suspects.
Zoya Hasan is not a historian. She is a political scientist, which is different.
Made the correction. Changed ‘historian’ to ‘academic’. Thank you.
The book is a very well researched
document for the present and future
generation.
A brave girl.
Fine job.
Rana Ayyub was awarded the journalist of the year by the MUSLIM MIRROR and was listed as the 50 most influential Muslims in India since the partition. How secular, no conflict of the interest, and no mixing religion with journalism and awards? And, she profits from accusing others of this. lol.
What is this, the “bitch collective” (in the gender egalitarian sense, I saw Rajdeep Sardesi too) who are so intolerant that they can not tolerate corruption-free India that will not give any rewards in first place that they can later return if the plum govt favors are not granted to them? Who is she gonna return her awards to – the MUSLIM mirror?
I respect journalists but no one has to respect and suffer the bitter presstitutes. I respect human of all gender and age, I also respect animals including canine, but no one has to respect the homo sapien bitter bitches (male included). 🙂
I respect people, but no one should have to suffer vishaal diatribes. 🙂
Rana Ayyub – the Kashmiri muslim: the anatomy of manufactured bitchiness against anything Indian and anyone who is nationalist Indian
She is known for having pathological hate for Narendra Modi. She mistakes right to abuse using fabrication as freedom of expression, DNA news website had her article removed within an hour of publication when they discovered she had puked vitriol against Amit Shah based on “factual error” (manufactured facts, lol) thus earning her credential as distinguished presstitute who has pathological hate for the nationalist Indians, the reason – because she is “Bharat tere tukde tukde honge” KASHMIRI Muslim.
journalist with Tehelka where she was part of the heinous campaign of the Congress led UPA government to malign Narendra Modi in particular and Gujarat in general. Sometimes, she goes to the extent of abusing her fundamental rights of enjoying freedom of speech. For example, recently she supported Shah Rukh for airing his views, but at the same time she openly abused Raveena Tandon for calling India a great and tolerant country.
Read more at http://ipious.blogspot.com/2015/11/rana-ayyub-journalist-profile-husband.html#qiQpDI2dbOrbPsmq.99
India’s clowns in one tent 🙂
Honoured to know that all attention was focused on me, it certainly was by the government of India who delivered to me a show cause notice within two days of my saying that we would file a petition in the supreme court against the discharge of Amit Shah.
Looking like Indira Gandhi is a compliment to me , and yes my parents did name me after her. I do have several daughters in law who are troubling me right now, including many sitting in the Cabinet, so yes, you are spot on.
The Great Indian Rudaali Collective. Courtesy, IHC.
Every card in that pack is a joker.