"I have been working sporadically on my autobiography (memoirs sounds rather pompous) which is being published by Penguin. For starters, the prospect of composing 90,000 words scared the hell out of me. Like most hacks, my limit is 800 to 900 words for a single piece. Anything longer, say 1,500 words, requires a Himalayan effort. My other fear was memory. I first became editor in 1974 and many incidents, events, quarrels, anecdotes belonging to my Debonair days were a hazy memory. I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to recollect anything at all. I do not keep a cuttings file, I don’t write a diary everyday, I am hopeless at keeping records or filing letters. For instance, I could not lay my hands on a single copy of The Independent (1989), the daily I launched for The Times of India group. Neither could I find a copy of The Indian Post (1988) which I edited for Vijaypat Singhania."
