Dressed casually in a light striped shirt and beige trousers, Archer's arrival at the Landmark bookstore in Andheri, northwest Mumbai, was greeted with thundering applause. My heart skipped a beat, and my hand shot out automatically as he came close, even before I could reprimand myself. And it was shaken by The Jeffrey Archer. I was transformed into a besotted teenager. Is that what being face to face with your idol does to you?
By now Archer had jumped on the podium and was busy testing the microphone. 'Kill the music,' he requested the organisers, meaning the soft strains of music filling the store.
In the video above: Jeffrey Archer on how to write
Archer called himself a 'story-teller.' A better word would be entertainer. Entertainer par excellence. He had the crowd eating out of his hands. Glowing faces, shining eyes -- we laughed when he laughed, listening to him in rapt attention. His witty remarks attracted applause. Even his criticism of Mumbai's chaotic traffic drew twitters. He was the Pied Piper whose crowd swayed to his tune. And did the man enjoy it? You bet!
Also see: When Vikram Seth met Aamir Khan
• Buy Jeffrey Archer's A Prisoner of Birth on rediff.com
• Check out other books by Jeffrey Archer on rediff.com
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