Over a Lifetime

Launched on Sunday at Taj Lands End in Mumbai,Amitabh Bachchan,the chief guest at the occasion pardoned himself for not having read the book before arriving,and talked instead about Naval as a person and how that might percolate into her literary venture. “Any writing is a representation of the author,” he said. “Deepti is soft spoken,polite and demure. I’m sure the book will exude those aspects of her personality,” he added.

Written over the last two years,Naval’s latest is a collection of stories that have inspired her over time. From story threads she picked up in conversation with friends to her own personal experiences at work,life and travel,The Mad Tibetan aims to enhance her spurts of inspiration through prose.

“The Mad Tibetan,the story which lends its name to the book title,was inspired by a fascinating character I met while travelling through Ladakh with my camera,” she said. “Most of the stories are inspired by real incidents that I have recreated as accurately as I can,” she added.

The launch event was an exciting,albeit overcrowded affair,which saw the likes of Prasoon Joshi,Vinay Pathak,Varsha Usgaonkar,Parikshit Sahni,Ketan Mehta,Rajit Kapoor and Anu Agarwal among others. Also present was her ex-husband Prakash Jha. While the formalities — the launch,speeches and book reading — ended in half an hour,guests were seen mingling and discussing the book for a long time after.