"To be a writer, Amitava Kumar says, is to be an observer. The twenty-six essays in Lunch with a Bigot are Kumar's observations of the world put into words. A mix of memoir, reportage, and criticism, the essays include encounters with writers Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy, discussions on the craft of writing, and a portrait of the struggles of a Bollywood actor. The title essay is Kumar's account of his visit o a member of an ultra-right Hindu organization who put him on a hit list. In these and other essays, Kumar tells a broader story of imagination, changes, and a shift to a more globalized existence, all the while demonstrating how he practices being a writer in the world." -- Page [4] cover.

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