Literati recalls times with grand old man of Indian writing

 He is a man of all seasons, one who still enjoys an occasional peg, a plate of piping hot kebabs and stimulating social dos. At 95, writer-columnist Khushwant Singh still means many things to many people.

He has touched the lives of many with his wit, honesty, intelligence and flair for the gab and words.

For former minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor, Khushwant Singh is ‘the man from the Illustrated Weekly in the late 1960s’ while for Rajya Sabha member Mani Shankar Aiyar, Khushwant Singh was the reason to smile.

‘It is not Khushwant Singh but what I discovered through him (homour) that matters the most to me,’ Aiyer told IANS at the glittering launch of Khushwant Singh’s biography, ‘Absolute Khushwant’ in the capital Monday. The book has been published by Penguin-India.

Going down the memory lane, Aiyar said: ‘He encouraged a young female writer, Suneet Vir Singh, to co-author ‘Homage to Guru Gobind Singh’. I decided that the girl, Suneet Vir Singh who co-authored the volume with Khushwant Singh, was the right girl to get married to.’

That book was published by Jaico Publishing House in 1966. And Mani Shankar Aiyar married Suneet Vir Singh Jan 4, 1973.

Full report here India talkies