Hooked!

G.J.V. Prasad February 15, 1999 00:00 IST Hooked! -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

At less than a rupee a page this book is a steal. So don't let anyone else get hold of your copy, which, of course, you must buy. It's almost unbelievable that this is C.Y. Gopinath's debut book. I've read him faithfully since his first letter to the editor in the JS - for which he later turned investigative reporter. He aided his investigative skills with brilliant disguises and here he dons the disguise of a travel writer. A disguise that works so well you can't imagine he ever was anything else.

Gopinath is a born raconteur and in these witty tales maps out a world appropriated by the gaze of a deeply appreciative but irresponsible and independent Indian. The fish of the title is mostly an armchair traveller, but is indispensable - serving not only to break the monotony of a first-person narrative, but also as a reminder of the most important ingredient and step in the recipe that all readers of travel writing need to know - take everything with a pinch of salt.

Starting off with flights to and from the Middle East, and speculations about...