The Long Walk Home was released by Neelam Mansingh Chaudhury, recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award which is India’s highest national recognition given to practising artists. I could not have asked for a better panelist than Neelam who is a Punjabi, has revitalized Punjabi theatre - when she started to do plays in Punjabi in the eighties it was considered the language of truck drivers and dhabawalas - and teaches drama at Punjab University.

In white kurta is my editor Shantanu Ray Chaudhury who travelled with me to Chandigarh and was the recipient of abundant Punjabi hospitality at a dinner hosted by my aunt. She lavished Shantanu with chicken and jokes and, thankfully, refrained from pulling his cheeks. Which means I still have an editor!