Professor Lal

The lyrical poet, creator of Writers Workshop India and transcreator of the entire Mahabharata  appears in the novel as one of the characters.

Be it the labyrinth of Indian philosophy or the connected global village of the networked world, in the study of his Lake Gardens residence or connected by conference call to a smoke infested Amsterdam coffee shop, Profsky is never at a loss for words of wisdom.

Let me add besides that it was with the Professor's kind permission and ever present blessings that his fictional form walked into the pages of the novel.

Lines in the novel :

Dharma: Is it ritual or spiritual?
Artha: Money or meaning?
Kama: Love or lust?
Moksha: Escape or liberation?

You want advice as an author? Try to live long. When you do something long enough people sit up and take notice


This will give me a lot of mileage? My chariot wheel is already sinking, my friend, and the inevitable archer is aiming at me. Mileage can do me little good at this stage.

(5. Nov. 2010)
This book is dedicated to Professor Lal - the lotus that remained unperturbed in the midst of mounds of slush pile.


Just a few weeks before the final publication, he passed away, leaving this world for another - his own final definitive trans-creation across the banks and shoals of time and space.


It was in late 2008 that I spoke to him about the possibility of his playing a role in my new novel. As ever he let the spirit of Literature free, asking me to go ahead and write whatever I wanted to - with that twinkle in his eye planting seeds of doubt in my mind about the enormity of the task.


Getting into the Professor's mind, trying to gauge his probable reactions to events, meant wading deep in the immensity of his erudition, his scholarship and his wisdom. Every sentence uttered or penned by his fictitious avatar in the novel took ages of crafting, design and refining - to do justice to his wizardry with words and pen.


Many of the lessons learnt through his kindness and wisdom are included in the pages.
It was my dream to present him with the first copy, to revel in his amusement at reading about himself in fictional form. I took a tad too long to finish the work ... a dream that never materialised as the sublime soul went into eternal sleep.


At this moment, I remember a piece of wisdom shared by him - in his one of a kind memoirs Lessons. Llife is nothing but a sum total of connections that we make. Connections with people that define what we are. And this is one connection that will never cease because it has redefined me.The torch of self expression lighted by him will show the way forever.for me and others touched by him in different pivotal moments of our lives.