My friend Shamya Dasgupta’s book Bhiwani Junction: The Untold Story of Boxing in India can now be pre-ordered on Flipkart – highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject (or in the many human-interest stories around Vijender Singh and other contenders at the London Summer Olympics). I’ve been envious of Shamya’s lucid, to-the-point writing style ever since I first encountered it in post-grad a lifetime and a half ago, and though this is chiefly a reportage-driven project done on a short deadline, it has a personal touch and quite a bit of whimsy too. (I think I’m allowed to reveal that the opening sentences of the book’s Introduction contain a reference to the Rashomon Effect as well as to those past masters of pugilism, Naseeruddin Shah, Voltaire and Swami Vivekananda.)
So kindly spread the word. And buy.
P.S. Shamya is also hot. You can verify this by befriending him on Facebook or otherwise Googling his journalistic work.