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Friday, May 05, 2006
Author's Point
A group of people are sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar. They stand at the edge of a hill, look out at a nice view and try to feel awed so as to enjoy the moment. The tourist guide says:
Out of such misreadings are urban legends born.
(Anecdote via friend and colleague Sidharth Monga; I'd been there and seen the points, and I had a monstrous headache, so I stayed in the bus.)
This is Author's Point.Then the tourist guide moves on. The tourists look at one another, slightly bewildered. That's because this isn't actually Author's Point, but Arthur's Point.
Author means lekhak. [This for the benefit of Hindi-speakers who might not know it.] Once upon a time there was an author who lived in Mahabaleshwar. He would come here and take inspiration from this view. He would write here. He wrote all his books here. That is why it is called Author's Point.
Out of such misreadings are urban legends born.
(Anecdote via friend and colleague Sidharth Monga; I'd been there and seen the points, and I had a monstrous headache, so I stayed in the bus.)
