Approximate Lovers and missed chances-Team Viva

There should be some time without any question-answer session,” exclaimed a man at the Taj Mahal Hotel on the occasion of the release of Navtej Sarna’s book-We Weren’t Lovers Like That. Sarna is the spokesperson for the Indian foreign office in Delhi.

Apart from the few minutes of book-reading rendered by the author himself, it was celebration time. Almost everybody who is anybody in the city was present at the book-release ceremony. Even former prime minister Narasimha Rao and union minister of state for external affairs Vinod Khanna were part of the distinguished gathering. Khanna, however, left before most people in the hall could even say hello to him. Especially sour were shutterbugs who walked in late.

While Sarna read excerpts from the book, there was a complete silence in the hall, save for a little disturbance in the microphone. The audience were enthralled by the baritone voice of the author. An audience commented, ”What a voice! He could make a very nice reader on television channels.” 

With the bookish part over, loud music and drinks became the order of the evening. Even before the celebration part could slip into the night hours, the guests seemed high-spirited and enjoying thoroughly both with the author and with other acquaintances.

This was one of those times when city top shots can freak out without inhibitions, and they made the best of it. Like the book, the evening was not a poignant tale of missed opportunities and approximate lovers.