At the dot of 3pm on the cloudy Tuesday afternoon, Kiran Bedi walks into a packed Strand Book Stall in Manipal Centre. The bookstore, hurriedly converted into a mini auditorium with chairs everywhere and an overhead projector setup, is overflowing with guests. They are even sitting on the stairs, standing by the makeshift dais and are spilling out of the glass door.
“Thank you all for coming. It’s a working day. Yet you came,” Bedi says with a gracious smile and hands folded in a namaste as she walks in, led by the dozen cameramen out to capture her every move. “But where is the book?” she looks around, referring to her new book, Broom & Groom, “I wish they all had a book in their hands.”
Minutes later, the co-author Pavan Choudary, greets the guests and whispers to Bedi: “You look good. Is that a new dress you’re wearing?” to which Bedi replies: “No, it’s a very old one.”
Vidya Virkar from Strand Book Stall describes the book, Broom & Groom, as a clarion call to all Indians to behave. “Why are we so self-serving, short-sighted and insensitive?” she asks. In proper civic style, the book is also small and unassuming, she adds.
With the book officially launched, and the authors and the publisher, Anu Anand, posing for a photo call, the hectic clicking of flashbulbs is almost blinding. Bedi quips: “What, are you going to shoot the book now?” to giggles.
The primary aim of this book is to heighten our concern for others, says Choudary. “Spitting on the streets means you have no concern for others. We are collectively showering the roads every single day. There is no dry day at all,” he says. Bedi says, “Broom & Groom is a book of hope and, at the same time, one of anguish. Look at the news TV channels. While one gives any type of news in the same soft tone, there are others that scream out the news at you, thereby increasing your BP.”
As a result, if you are having dinner, you begin to eat faster, she says. Bedi then makes a slideshow presentation with select caricatures from the book for a peek into what to expect from it.
An Art of Living representative in the audience says uncivility is a menace even among members of elite society. “I’ve seen people driving big cars just throw their filth on the road and drive away.”
Choudary replies: “The onus must be on each of us. The next time you see someone littering raise your voice.” Interaction done, the authors give individual sound bytes to the media. At 4.25pm, Bedi announces she has exactly five minutes left. The answer to the final question and a bunch of autographs done, at 4.30pm she says goodbye and walks out.
Broom & Groom is published by WVPD and is priced at Rs195.
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