#VerveBookClub with Sidin Vadukut for The Sceptical Patriot
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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