Despite the heavy downpour on Friday, the ballroom at The Leela Palace saw Delhi’s glitterati, literary enthusiasts, and prominent faces gather for an evening filled with laughter and candid conversation.
The occasion was the reading of Suhel Seth’s latest book, WTF India: Are We Losing the Plot?
Publisher Chiki Sarkar took the stage first to introduce the book. She shared, “It felt completely natural for us to ask him to write a book. We had been talking about him writing for a while, going back and forth about what topic he should cover. I told him, ‘No, not just anything – this one. This is the topic that draws so much interest, and it’s so raw, so nice, and so sharp.’ I think it is one of the most original books we’ve published.”
When Suhel Seth took the mic, he held the room attentive with his signature wit, taking playful jabs at daily Indian life, urban infrastructure, and civic habits.
“We are the only country that loves a sticker,” Seth remarked, poking fun at VIP culture. “It is not our intellect, but the sticker on our windshield that ensures our perceived authority.”
He didn’t hold back on Indian bureaucracy and popular trends either. “Today, everyone is interested in reels, not reality,” he quipped. “Years ago, I publicly disagreed when people turned jugaad into a celebrated art form. Jugaad is a stain on Indian innovation! Jugaad is nothing but a compromise.”
Moving past the humour, Seth touched upon issues surrounding society, governance, and accountability.
He said, “I would much rather have a country that is angry and looking for solutions, rather than a country that is indifferent and passive about whatever happens,” he noted, emphasising that real progress requires citizens to demand better standards.
“You can send a rocket to the moon, but you can’t fix a storm-water drain? What we need across the board is accountability, accountability, and accountability.”
