तुम सभ्य तो हुए नहीं नगर में बसना भी तुम्हें नहीं आया।
एक बात पूछूँ–(उत्तर दोगे?)
तब कैसे सीखा डँसना– विष कहाँ पाया?
दिल्ली, 15 जून, 1954
Snake!– Agyeya
Neither did you become civilised nor could you ever learn to live in a city
may I ask–(will you answer?)
so how did you learn to bite– where did you acquire poison?
Delhi, 15 June, 1954
Translation: Namita Waikar Pune, 6 October, 2016
Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan ‘Agyeya’, popularly known by his pen-name Ajneya.
Boys will be boys – Ruskin Bond Ruskin Bond with Ravi Singh settling down for a Sunday morning story reading session #JLF 2011
Of all the events, the most delightful one was on Sunday morning, 23 Jan 2011 – Boys will be boys – with Ruskin Bond who spoke to Ravi Singh, Editor-in-chief of Penguin India. Reading from his book A handful of nuts, the author evoked laughter among the audience as he read the antics of a lady – whose skin he likened to that of a crocodile – trying to seduce a man much younger than her. In deference to the young school going audience, he had to stop short of reading the entire passage! He shared an anecdote about his visit to a book shop and finding his book lying way below in a pile under all the best-sellers. Mr Bond, looking about the make sure the owner wasn’t watching, took his book out from the bottom of the pile and placed it on top. All his care and caution was brought to naught when the book shop owner picked up his book and told him – unaware that he was speaking to the author – ye book chalta nahin hain! To refute that, he bought the book, the price of which was a meager Rs 3/-
There was not much of a market for books when he began writing which was about 50 years ago, the author said, calling himself “quite ancient.” There were no festivals or book fairs then. The first book fair was in Delhi in 1968-69.
