#VerveBookClub with Sidin Vadukut for The Sceptical Patriot | Verve Magazine
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January 27, 2015

#VerveBookClub with Sidin Vadukut for The Sceptical Patriot

Compiled by Nittal Chandarana

Verve Twitter Chats with Sidin Vadukut. His fans ask him about his book, The Sceptical Patriot, writing influences, his love for history, the usual…

It takes a special amount of courage to write anything about our country. Especially so, when you’re deriding myths and questioning history. We applaud author Sidin Vadukut for not going the man-lit way and writing a book that involves spending hours and hours of poring over dusty books and a keen sense of observation. Here’s the author speaking with his fans on his novel and what else lies in the offing.

Sidin (@sidin): BRING IT ON RT @vervemagazine: The Sceptical Patriot author @sidin is LIVE now for #VerveBookClub. Bring on your queries!

Q (@nishu_a):  Love your writing! Whose do you like? And, watches or history which do u prefer?
Sidin:
So many. Dalrymple, Bryson, Barry are all there. But of late I’ve started discovering AJP Taylor, Tony Judt
Sidin: I prefer history. But I do love watches and often write about them with a historical range.

Q (@subhajitm): Given a chance to explore historical sites across the globe & and write on them, would u do it full time?
Sidin:
Absolutely. And not across the globe. I would do it just for India. There is SO MUCH TO DO HERE.

Q (@Ghair_Kanoon): OK now seriously, can we expect you to write on the untold stories from Indian history?
Sidin:
I am wary of the term untold. Unheard is often the case. Yes. That is the plan. Next book also.

Q (@AnirudhBhat): What motivated you to move from humour to history?
Sidin:
I’ve always loved history. But actually getting a book deal gave me confidence. Also success of TSP.

Q (@AnirudhBhat): So what aspect of India does your next book focus on? Can we expect a sequel to Sceptical Patriot?
Sidin:
Next book looks at a history of Europeans in India just before British Raj.

Q (@sameermathad): I lost my copy of God Save the Dork. Is it okay if I download a pirated copy? :-/
Sidin: Hah! I think that was so unpopular nobody even pirated it.

Q (@AnirudhBhat): If you got an opportunity to collaborate (Indian or foreign), who would it be?
Sidin:
Right now? Will Storr.

Q (@AnirudhBhat): Why Will Storr?
Sidin: Just finished a book by him. And jaw dropped.

Q (Verve): Any topic do you regret leaving out?
Sidin:
Plenty. The origins of the Taj Mahal for one.

Q (Verve): Of all the facts you have explored in TSP which one do you think has been tweaked the most?
Sidin: I thought a lot of effort had gone into replicating bad evidence of Sanskrit being best for computer coding.

Q (Verve): Twitter peeps! What do you want fact checked by The Sceptical Patriot?
@anirudhpatil:
 Aryan invasion vs. out of india theory.
Sidin: My reading so far seems to suggest that there was an influx of people from Iran.
@anirudhpatil:  But would still like to read analysis / sources.
Sidin: Same here. I don’t care eitherways. I am under no illusion of my genetic purity. So I read widely.
@paynchOm: Not Caucasus?
Sidin: North Iran I think. But my memory is leaky.
@paynchOm: 3rd most influential NRI on twitter can’t afford leaky memories. 😛
@topgun2712: What happened to the Tanjore Marathi research. Was sambar really invented by us? #yesiamoneofthem
Sidin: Coming soon in next book. Not central. But a side factor.
@Ramanan_V: What’s your view of AYUSH?
Sidin: Troublesome. Especially when there is really NO concept of quality control or enforcement in health care.
@NotThatMP: “India is an IT Superpower” #Factcheck
Sidin: Noted. More like an IT supersweatshop no?
@NotThatMP: Yes. And under threat from even cheaper sweat shops…
@Xpozerlock: Did India really win 1965? Fits right in with Sceptical and Patriot. And whats a sceptic if not wildly unpopular? 🙂
Sidin: Excellent. Noted.
@NotThatMP: “India produces world-class engineers” #FactCheck
Sidin: An excellent claim. Because two out of 34 gajillion will be world class.

Q (@Xpozerlock): Btw the book was awesome. You writing a sequel?
Sidin:
Not yet. Need to wrap up another project first.

Verve#VerveBookClub for The Sceptical Patriot is now closed. Thank you so much @sidin for joining us.
Sidin: Many thanks Verve Magazine! Put me on the cover once please…
Verve: We’ll give it a thought! 🙂

 

 

 

 

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