Spellbound by ‘Shashi Tharoor’

Shashi Tharoor is a force to reckon with. He stands tall – physically, mentally, intellectually, and with humility, waiting patiently for his turn to take the stage. The stage, the audience, and I were eager and enthusiastic to listen to his words of wisdom and knowledge as big as the ocean. Once he got on the stage, I could feel how quickly he owned it and the audience. In a clear voice, humble and poised manner, he requested the audience to stand up to pay our condolences for the tragic incident of the Air-India 171 air crash on 12th June 2025 in Ahmedabad, India. We prayed for the departed souls, their families, and all those handling the herculean task of cleaning the debris from the site. As the hall went silent, the atmosphere became somber.

Earlier in the day, I learned that the evening conversation was altered due to the Ahmedabad plane crash. As Mr Tharoor took his seat, we waited for a memorable and insightful conversation to unfold. It is not often that a literature festival would change the topic of discussion at the eleventh hour. It was remarkable that the organizers and guest speakers at the Jaipur Literature Festival, London, 2025, adapted to the current events. It was the need of the hour, with grief and sadness taking over us. I would have never dreamed of anyone but "Shashi Tharoor" empathizing and guiding us through this grief toward optimism.

As soon as he opened the session, he admitted that when he touched down at London airport, having flown in another Air India plane from Delhi starting at the same time as the Ahmedabad- London flight, he was beyond heartbroken to learn about the disaster. He spoke, from heart, at length about the pain & suffering the families might be going through. I was awestruck by how calm, composed, and humble with this gentleman on stage. When he said, “Our deepest sorrows remain in our silence”, it left a mark on me. We all went silent when he asked – “How do you seek refuge from the things you can’t deal with?”, such logical, timely, and hard-hitting questions.

Sharbani Basu, the anchor, did an excellent job of navigating conversion towards light-hearted banter on the power of words. Who else but Shashi Tharoor himself could explain the waterfall of feelings, thoughts, and ideas better through words? He hit the ball out of the stadium every time he spoke. His present-mindedness, adaptability, and appropriate tone of voice felt like water flowing through a river. He is the master of painting a colorful picture through words. When he ended his talk, the message to drive home was – “How literature festivals like the JLF, help us articulate the inarticulate? ”. I couldn't see him post-session as it was too crowded backstage. On my way back, I pondered and questioned, did I see and hear him, or was it a dream?

The next day, we started the day with a harp and flute performance that was soothing. We then as enthusiastic as ever, queued to bag a seat as close to the stage as possible to see ‘Shashi Tharoor’ up close. Frankly, I was mentally prepared that I might not get half the things that he would say.  But I was keen to test my knowledge with his question paper.  There are some exams and question papers worth taking for the sheer joy of it. The subject – ‘Our Living Constitution’, his latest book, was heavy as I hardly remember any of Civic lessons in school. My recent exposure to our Constitution and its contents is merely through Republic Day commentary and present-day media. Any reliance on the latter is doubtful. I discharge my civic duties and exercise my rights as a world citizen. However, I rarely think about our Constitution. So, to sit and listen to a panel discussion on the Indian Constitution and the book was a feat for the month.

The panel discussed the length and breadth of the Constitution and its journey in the last seven and half decades. He explained why he wrote the book to help the common people of India and the world, with no legal or political background, understand the longest, largest, and most diverse document. It was mesmerizing to listen to him. He explained his thoughts on this book and the current happenings very clearly. He was mindful to let other panelists share their views. While talking, he was beaming with pride to represent his country and its Constitution. I was proud to share that identity with him. He answered as many audience questions as time permitted, ensuring everyone felt involved.

After such an enthralling session, he headed to sign his books at the signing desk downstairs. I was excited to join the long queue to get my books signed. All the while, I was thinking about what and how I would talk to him. However, as soon as my turn came, I was speechless. Like the lights went off in my brain for a few seconds. I was finally in front of none other than ‘The Shashi Tharoor’. He smiled and started signing. I mustered the courage to request any writing advice. I explained in a low tone (and under tremendous pressure) that I write blogs as a hobby. He smiled and just said ‘good’. I waited patiently for an answer. But as it goes, he wrote the advice in the book – “Keep reading to write better. Best Wishes”. I was overwhelmed to see that.

The next book he signed was - ‘The more you preach, the less you learn’ -co-authored with Joseph Zacharias. I shared that it was a gift for my mom. He took my breath away when he enquired about my mom and asked her name and mine. He then signed the book with our names. This is the first that Mom, my, and Shashi Tharoor's names are in a single sentence written by him. And I pray that it is not the last. I thanked him from the bottom of my heart. This meeting was beyond my wildest dreams. I have yet to come to terms with how I met, one of India's most literate, intelligent, creative, outspoken, and humble wordsmiths. It is a memorable event worth cherishing for a lifetime.

Anyone new to English and Shashi Tharoor, I request you to either check on Wikipedia, see a few videos, or read his books. I, by no means, can or even dare to define who he is. Even with my limited capabilities, if I attempt to write a few lines on who he is, I might be defenestrated by him. Defenestrate, his favorite word, means to throw someone out of the window.