Society & Culture
Deepak Dalal, son of celebrity chef and author Tarla Dalal, threw away his chemical engineering career to write 'Indian stories' for children who till then only had Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes to read. His books span the vast diverse landscapes of India, from the breathtaking Lakshadweep to Ranthambore, from the mysterious Andamans to Ladakh to the Sahyadris. In fast-paced mystery stories, his intrepid characters Vikram and Aditya find and tackle evil doers. Dalal's love for wildlife, his passion for writing, risk taking ability (How many abandon chemical engineering to be writers?) comes through. Witty, franky and down to earth, he makes writing bestsellers sound easy. His books can hold the attention of both adults and children, and are clean--an important quality at a time when children are still impressionable. His dream is to write a novel based in Arunachal Pradesh and I think, when you finish hearing this, you may want him to start asap:)