"Any fool can write a novel but it takes real genius to sell it."
J. G. Ballard
When I first stayed in Sudder St in Calcutta in 1972, using a rickshaw was the only way to get around. With my strong Australian egalitarian streak it seemed offensive to employ a man in this way. I soon realised that the rickshaw wallahs would be unemployed if no one hired them and that inevitably they got a lot more money from me than the locals. That's how I rationalised it anyway.
We couldn't afford to stay at the Fairlawn Hotel in Sudder Street in those days but we managed to have a drink in the front garden. I did get to stay at the Fairlawn in later years, under the firm guidance of Mrs Violet Smith. People who have stayed at the Fairlawn Hotel might see some resemblance to the establishment run by Mrs Kransky at 15 Lahori Lane. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
From The Statesman, Calcutta, Oct 1902
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