Every author has his reasons for writing a book. Some seek glory, some do it for money, and some do it to put across a point of view. Nadan Nilekani has oodles of fame and money. He wrote his book to provoke his readers to think. "I wrote my book to explain the contradictions of India to foreigners," he said at the Crossword Book Store, where he signed copies of his book, Imagining India, last weekend.
He has some clear and strong views and is happy to express them. One of his favourite topics is urbanisation and its consequences. "When the British left India, cities were not considered favourably, but today, everybody is moving to urban areas," he remarked.
Public health is another subject close to his heart. "As a country, we should avoid going from diarrhoea to diabetes," he says.
Nandan Nilekani has great faith in the youth of India. "Once, we treated them as a burden, but people are human capital. The youth, with their aspirations, will drive the nation forward," he said, with touching confidence.
The co-chairman of Infosys struck an instant rapport with the audience, who were at ease discussing everything from pension plans to problems of the nation with him, eager to hear his observations.
"There's a huge disconnect between the leaders and the people of the nation. During the struggle for independence, the leaders were ahead of the people, but today, leaders have to catch-up with the people.
Politicians try to divide us on vertical lines North Indian vs South Indian; Hindu vs Muslim. They forget that we the people have loftier aspirations," he said.
Would he consider entering politics? Like Narayana Murthy had done sometime last month, he too graciously brushed aside the question.
The animated Q&A session, which followed his book reading, and the long queue of people waiting to get their books autographed by him are proof that Nandan Nilekani had left a strong mark as a writer.
