Story teller spins a yarn about India: Review of Ravi Velloor’s book, India Rising

by P N Balji

I am a sucker for books written by journalists. Partly because the language is racy and to the point; mainly because the journalists-authors are storytellers spinning stuff they won’t or can’t narrate in their newspaper articles.

From these vantage points, Ravi Velloor’s book, India Rising, doesn’t disappoint. He packs many stories neatly into 350 pages that range from wife swapping to India’s ability and new-found desire to play a strategic role in the world.

The book is also a guide to present-day journalists on how to cultivate sources, both in government and outside, and use the views collected to spin a coherent yarn of a subject or country they are reporting on.