Exclusive: Shobhaa De's advice for Rahul Gandhi

Watch novelist Shobhaa De's typically original advice for Congress neta Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka and his bro-in-law Robert Vadra...
Video: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

Shobhaa De's latest novel Sethji is about a successful, powerful, crooked politician. And like many such Indian politicians the story of his life has many sordid ups and downs.

De first hit on the idea of featuring a politician as the lead in a novel more than a decade ago. "He has been sitting in my head for 13 years and he refused to go away.

Earlier this year, De finally submitted the manuscript of Sethji to her publishers, Penguin India.

The timing, she feels, could not have been better.

"It's almost prophetic," she told Rediff.com in an exclusive interview, which we will post in full later this week.

"It's scary because I had goose bumps when so many things happened post-Sethji having being written and sent off to the publishers... Now when I read the book, it really does send a chill down my spine."

At Rediff.com's request, she offers some typical Shobhaa De advice for India's politicians.

First up: Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka and his bro-in-law Bobby Vadra.