Reputed journalist duo and clandestine couple, Seema Goswami and Vir Sanghvi, were candid at the 68th session of An Author’s Afternoon when they talked about Indian politics pickled with wit and humour. The tete-a-tete began on an informal romantic note on how Kolkata and Taj Bengal played a key role as their relationship came of age.

Seema Goswami, who currently pens a popular Sunday column “Brunch”, began her career in 1987 with the Ananda Bazar Group.

This peak summer literary session focused on her latest book “Race Course Road” – a political thriller which evokes a miscellany of emotions ranging from love to hatred. The plot of her novel revolves around a murder at the Race Course Road which is the official residence of the Prime Minister. What unfolds is a conflict between protagonists Karan Pratap Singh and Asha Devi. The story takes on a darker shade when the reader learns that the murder was actually a well-planned conspiracy. The readers would have to wait for the sequel to see how it all ends.

Overall, Race Course Road explores the dark and hidden side of politics. The readers can easily relate with public figures like Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Arnab Goswami, Rajiv Gandhi and so on. Seema’s familiarity with Race Course Road, especially during Prime Ministry of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, helped her gather material for the novel.

Seema voiced her views against the recent trend of jingoism in journalism and felt that the “wars within the studios” is degrading the standard of reportage. She did not mince words to describe top politicians like V P Singh, Chandra Sekhar, Narsimha Rao, Narendra Modi and Sonia Gandhi.

Conversationalist and raconteur par excellence, Vir Sanghvi, spiced up the session with great verve.