Chennai Reading Pictures

The Chennai reading went off excellently. At about 6.15pm, I wondered if there might be just 5 people attending at Oxford Book Store: Anirudh and Padma from Shakti - the co-organizers, two random store browsers who'd managed to find themselves in the middle of Cha Bar while the chairs were being arranged, and me. Then suddenly, the deluge, and by 6.30pm, the store was packed and they even had to call in for extra chairs to handle the overflow. There were some good questions asked - including a bunch by a doctor that I personally found quite relevant. She said that she had many patients who she often counselled regarding their sexuality, and that it wasn't always as rosy a picture as I was painting. Secondly, she wondered why I couldn't write more simply and had to be so academic sounding. Padma, Anirudh and I all replied to her. I also wanted to point her to some of the reviews that accuse the book of not being academic enough, but seriously, she struck a chord. I really don't think academic writing needs to be difficult to understand. I have tried to write many parts of the book as simply as possible, but I admit that it has its flaws and the writing does get clunky at times. Hopefully, the next one will be simpler and easier to read. Visiting Chennai once again was wonderful, I like the city more and more each time, and the pleasure is multiplied on reconnecting with friends like Ramki and hangouts like Amethyst, which I faithfully did on this trip as well.