Page 65 - Tehelka Issue 15 August 2018

theStack LUCK KEY TO MAKE

OR BREAK INTERVIEW
Humans on tHe Run: of exiles and asylum These interviews, in turn, have the power to make
By Kumar M Tiku; OUP India or break personal and professional relationships,
reveals Karan Thapar in his new book
In fleeing sometimes there is freedom, sometimes safety, sometimes
sheer survival. Twenty-five individuals in flight, long disconnected Karan Thapar goT his first job as a journalist
from the certitudes of a settled, anchored existence. purely by luck. Or so he claims. Looking back at
They map their journeys when moving to the next close to three decades of grilling his interviewees,
village, town, city, country or continent, in the hope including Prime Ministers, politicians and celebri-
of beating certain death, denigration and abuse. ties, Thapar swears by the power of luck that can
These stories rather lives from India, Pakistan, Sri make or break an interview. These interviews, in
Lanka, Afghanistan, Tibet, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, turn, have the power to make or break personal
Eritrea and South Sudan speak of the many effects of and professional relationships.
international intrigues and the raging fires of ethnic, Thapar’s latest book ‘Devil’s Advocate: The
communal and religion-based violence on ordinary Untold Story’ is a peep into his life as a TV pro-
lives. Humans on the Run is a collection of memories fessional, popular for his persistence with the
of several microscopic journeys embarked upon by high and mighty after the camera begins to roll.
humans, in time and space, compelled by political and sectarian His most interesting encounters with the same
strife. It is about homeless lives and textured human experiences in people, however, are behind the stage and the
forced migration, when war and violence consign individuals and screens.
families to a lifetime of uncertainty. “Sometime in the late
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- summer of 1976, Sanjay
Gandhi asked if I wanted to
How women Rise go flying with him”, writes
By Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith; Penguin Thapar. After first attempt-
ing to teach Karan Thapar
Do you hesitate about putting forward ideas? Are you reluctant to to fly (not very success-
claim credit for your achievements? Do you find it difficult to get the fully) Sanjay Gandhi took
support you need from your boss or the recognition the controls and performed
you deserve from your colleagues? If your answer a series of aerobatics, not
to any of these is “Yes”, then “How Women Rise” will particularly dangerous but
help get you back on track. Inspiring and practical by nonetheless thrilling.
turns, it identifies 12 common habits that can prove Once they were further
an obstacle to future success and tells you how to away from Delhi, he became
overcome them. In the process, it points the way to a even more daring. Sudden-
career that will satisfy your ambitions and help you ly, he decided to scare the
make the difference you want to make in the world. farmers working in the fields below by aiming the
How women rise is a great read for any woman who aircraft straight at them. As he dived down, they
wants to identify self-defeating behaviours that are scattered and ran, fearing for their lives. At the
holding her back, gain insight into why she engages last moment, Sanjay pulled up dramatically and
in those behaviours and develop skills to confidently achieve her waved at the bewildered farmers, clearly chuffed
goals. with the whole performance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- The manoeuvre required nerves of steel and
tremendous self-confidence, both of which Sanjay
tHe fRiend possessed in plenty. In Devil’s Advocate, Karan
By Teresa Driscoll; Westland dives deep into his life to come up with many
such moments. Included here are stories of warm
On a train with her husband, miles from home and their four-year- and lasting friendships, such as with Benazir
old son, Ben, Sophie receives a phone call. Two boys are in hospi- Bhutto, whom he met while he was an under-
tal after a tragic accident. One of them is Ben. She graduate. He also talks about his long association
thought she could trust Emma, her new friend, to look with Aung San Suu Kyi and Rajiv Gandhi. However,
after her little boy. After all, Emma is a kindred spirit, not all friendships lasted-for example, with L.K.
someone Sophie was sure she could bare her soul to, Advani, with whom he shared a close bond until
despite the village rumours. But Sophie can’t shake an unfortunate disagreement over an interview
the feeling that she has made an unforgivable mis- caused a falling-out. The tension generated dur-
take and now her whole family is in danger. Because ing an interview has spilled over off-screen multi-
how well does she know Emma, really? Should she ple times, and Karan discusses these incidents in
have trusted her at all? Time is running out. Powerless detail. For instance, when Amitabh Bachchan lost
to help her child, Sophie is about to discover the truth. his cool during a post-interview lunch or when
And her life will never be the same. Kapil Dev cried like a baby.

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