Public speaking and holidays

This Monday we launched a book called "Social Development in Independent India" and I was asked to make a brief speech. ( You can see pictures and a more formal report from Babita below this) Following me as speakers were Muchkund Dubey and Montek Singh Ahluwahlia. If you don't know who they are, Google them, and then try and think what you would say about social development which would add to what they might be able to tell you.

Try as I might, I couldn't think of a single thing to say, other than welcoming all the guests. I did that in the first few sentences and then found myself telling this very learned audience the story behind the picture on the cover of the book - a beautiful picture taken by Madhur Bhatia at a village school outside Varanasi. Thankfully Dr. Ahluwahlia looked as if he was interested, and the audience was too civilised to boo this twit who was talking about the cover, when the content of the book was what they wanted to hear about.

For the future, if anyone asks me to speak without giving me a tight script, they run the risk of my blurting out whatever comes into my head at the moment.

Tomorrow I am off on 3 weeks leave, to drop my 18 year old son to film school in Vancouver. Its also the first family holiday we are taking since 2006, and so I am really looking forward to it. My next post might include some pictures of whales and glaciers!

Sent from BlackBerry® on Airtel