Khushwant Singh is perhaps India's most prolific author and immensely popular too, both as a fiction writer and a journalist. I have loved one of his novels, hated one and liked many of his short stories. But I've always admired, and been an avid reader of, his journalistic pieces. So when Malicious Gossip, a compilation of his newspaper columns and articles, came out I had every reason to devour it and pen a few words about it.
Singh has an enviable ability to write incisively. Another distinguishing feature is his diversity in choosing subjects from India-Pakistan relations, politics and political figures to nature, travelogues, literature, music and what not. As he takes up a particular subject, he finds it a suitable style which is why he is witty and acerbic on politics, terse and lucid in journalistic pieces, and humourous and literary in travelogues.
Some instances from the book will suffice to prove my point. Consider these lines from his article 'Pakistani Cocktail' where he becomes the forthright critic of those who try to widen the mistrust and ambience of hostility between Pakistan and India.
"I am in a fix. I am notorious for my bias in favour of Pakistan and am proud of it. But my pro-Pak leanings come from the conviction that friendship with Pakistan must take top priority in India's international dealings because an inimical Pakistan not only retards progress in both our countries but also slows the pace of integration of Indian Muslims into the mainstream of Indianism."
Then consider his take on Rajiv Gandhi whom he first defends against allegations of perpetuating dynastic politics and then critiques in his characteristic outspoken manner. "Perhaps his massive victory at the polls gave him an illusion of invulnerability. He succumbed to the temptation of riding roughshod over dissenters, ignored institutions and traditions of governance, appointed friends unknown to the public to important public positions and unceremoniously fired those whose vibes did not please him. He began to pronounce with authority on subjects with which he had little familiarity."
But his sense of wit and humour is perhaps best displayed in the shortest article titled 'War and Cricket'. Following some political tension, Rajiv Gandhi warned Indians of an 'impending war' with Pakistan and ordered rushing troops to the Indo-Pak border while President Zia-ul-Haq, then Pakistani president, "calmly went off to Kuwait to attend the Islamic Nations Conference. A week later while we were still fuming and fretting over Pakistan's evil designs against us, Zia coolly announced that he would like to watch an Indo-Pak Test match." Singh then describes the cost of this exercise of rushing troops to the border and 'moving them back' and shows how the same amount of money could be spent over alleviating poverty and eradicating ignorance by building "a hundred factories, hospitals, colleges and schools." But his biting observations come at the end:
"Zia is a cool customer; he makes our Prime Minister and his bunch of advisors as bachchas and amateurs at the game of politics."
Bangladeshi readers will find the chapter on Bangladesh particularly interesting. At the beginning of this piece titled 'A Bangladesh Diary', he introduces Bangladesh more insightfully than any Bangladeshi would ever do:
"No sooner you board the Bangladeshi Biman than you know you are heading towards a country poorer even than yours but inhabited by a people richer than any you have met anywhere in the world."
It was after reading his Train to Pakistan that I became a huge fan of his. He is also a master short story teller, observant of society and psychology alike. His Company of Women, however, gave me a shock not because I'm prejudiced against sexual representation but because that book, in addition to being as hollow as the skin of a dried pumpkin, was evidently a cheap attempt at attracting readers looking out for nothing but erotic details. He nonetheless remains one of my favourites due to his incomparable lucid narratives, be they in fiction or non-fiction. And this book, Malicious Gossip only reinforces my belief in his powers. It is a good read for aspiring writers; a must for journalists and columnists; and certainly a commendable one for any reader, especially those interested in history and travelogues.

Rifat Munim is Incharge, Daily Star Books .