Third #BookWalk

On 4th of this month, I conducted another book walk and this time, we had Brishti Guha with us. The other members couldn't make it, and it ended up being just the two of us.

My meetup group is turning out to be such a fun experience. I had looked up Brishti online before coming to the meetup and I was already in awe of her academic achievements.  She is an economist with broad research interests and a PhD from Princeton!!! She knows Sanskrit and her interest areas range from cooking to dancing. Needless to say, it was an absolute joy meeting her and listening to her.

We started off the conversation with 'fear of dentists' and how she wouldn't get a consultation by me because she thought all dentist are sadists (well, not really!) and then we talked about myriad things.

She talked to me about William Dalrymple and the history behind the white Moghuls- about how those Britishers who intermarried in India were turned into untouchables in terms of jobs and perks by the East India Company and the British Crown.

She mentioned how her interest in classics runs parallel to popular fiction. She can seamlessly switch from Dalrymple to Game of Thrones. I liked how she didn't judge the book by its cover. She also talked about how she found the book 'Bali and the Ocean of Milk' utterly amusing and humourous. She quoted instances from the book which she liked most. We shared a chuckle or two. 

I mentioned how I had picked up Chekhov from the Russian book stall at the Gwalior Vyapar Mela (fair) in my childhood.

I tried to elaborate more on Chekhov's writing style by mentioning how he left the conclusion the reader by leaving the ending in suspense. My memory failed me though when I tried to use one of his stories as an example. 

She told me that she liked historical fiction and I introduced her to The Century Trilogy by Ken Follett.

We both agreed that the book was pretty thick. :)

We talked about many different things. The books we intend to write (Mine is going to be a comedy involving a dentist and his love-life), the people we have met on meetup.com thus far, the things we have learned and the things we wish to do in life. We also had a brief conversation about stereotypes and I wondered how much she fits in the Bengali stereotypes. She did love her books, art cinema and fish. Thank you Bengal, for people like her.

She also mentioned how she wants to brighten up the winters by strictly wearing bright colours only. I welcomed the decision and mentioned how I have been doing my bit by wearing floral patterns.

Until next time then!