On the wings of desire

Nobody, it seems, can beat the Tehelka chaps especially when it comes to sex, lies and videotapes. Though not necessarily in that order. Just a year after Aniruddha Bahal turned writer with Bunker 13 which won awards for its, um, unconventional sexual passages, his senior former colleague Tarun Tejpal has decided to write about desire. HarperCollins is all set to release The Alchemy of Desire on March 15. The book is a love story in which a young aspiring writer gets drawn to a woman after reading her diaries, all the while neglecting his wife. V.S. Naipaul calls the novel ?original?. And why not? Remember how Tejpal exposed the lies with his videotapes?

Priyanka Gandhi

It?s a dog?s life

This at least is one write-up that isn?t going to fetch Priyanka Gandhi any brownie points. The oh-so-poised junior Gandhi has written the foreword to a dog-care book by major general R.M. Kharb titled ? yawn! ? Dog Care Made Easy. Priyanka made no bones about her love for canines at the book launch in New Delhi last week, talking wistfully about the Retrievers the Gandhi household has had over the past 25 years. So, with this new bit Gandhi trivia out in the open, should we get ready to see sundry Congresswallahs finally letting their dogs out?

Murad Ali

Shoot at sight

In spite of having Muzaffar Ali as father, when Murad Ali picked up the camera, it was a still one. Last week, the Capital witnessed Ali?s first photo exhibition titled ?Sammay? at the India International Centre and loved it. Dad Muzaffar was there to cheer him on, as was stepmom Meera.