Ben Okri

I read Ben Okri's The Famished Road years ago, soon after it won the Booker Prize in 1991. I even had the wonderful occasion to hear him speak and read from his novel. He had been invited to New Delhi by the British Council Division, New Delhi, and the Confederation for Indian Industry (CII) many years ago. When Okri read from his novel, I could feel the same magic that I felt when I read his book. I still remember that he spoke of 'transaction the commerce of words'. I loved the phrase and remember it even now though there are some of my ossified colleagues who find it abominable to mix literature with commerce in one phrase. :)