Shashi Tharoor took to writing only to distract himself in his childhood as there was no television or computer to keep him occupied. Speaking in a candid mood not as the Union minister of state for HRD but as a non-fiction writer, Tharoor revealed all the bitter and sweet memories right from his tenure at United Nations (UN) to his tryst as an Indian politician during the Kolkata Literary Meet at Milan Mela on Friday.
Rightly termed as Thoroughly Tharoor, the session was thoroughly enjoyable as his sense of humour only got better with passing of each moment. “I learned the craft writing by writing. It was a way of distracting myself. I was a fast reader so I read widely and extensively. But I don’t recommend it to anyone as you may deprive yourself from the essence of reading a book if you target yourself to any particular number,” he said while acknowledging that he had once read 365 books in as many days.
Referring to his earlier tweets that went viral, Tharoor said: “Those were some innocent tweets which were misinterpreted by the media. Now I may have to bite my tongue very often as I found humour is much easier outside the political life.”
The session received its loudest cheer when a student asked him how does he cope up with so much female fan following, to which he curtly replied: “I embrace the idea but not them.”
He concluded the session with an advise to the young generation to take up writing seriously. “Follow your own instincts as there is no formula. The young generation has useful contributions to make in every possible platforms,” he added.