B G Verghese on his book First Draft...

Veteran journalist B G Verghese released his latest book First Draft: Witness to Making of Modern India at the lawns of the India International Centre in New Delhi on Wednesday, Sep 29. A man of great integrity, he has presented neither a rosy nor a cynical picture of India. "The book presents an honest picture as I saw it evolving, it's not written from my current point of view, in fact it reflects my contemporary feeling then," he asserts.

Regarded as the man who invented developmental journalism by writing dedicatedly about developmental projects in the country, his optimism reflects in his words, "Amidst all the muddles and confusions there might be, I'm optimistic that things are changing and India is moving forward," he says.

Verghese, who has worked with leading newspapers of the country, has reported about great historic moments of modern India. On being asked about his experience of putting it all together in a book he said, "I have culled out the information from my personal records. The book is not a collection of articles but a narrative where I have reproduced what I wrote at that time - 50's, 60s, and 70s.  So it's a contemporary record of events as I saw it evolve - it's an unfolding."

Full report here Hindustan Times