Text by Ashish Sinha, Photos by Sanjay K Sharma Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani's book launch

All told, this Allen Lane imprint by Penguin India is expected to get an initial print-run of about 40,000 copies, the largest in recent times. "We cannot disclose numbers as a matter of policy. But it may very well be the largest book to have come out in recent times in terms of its demand and its print-run," said a Penguin India executive. 
"I know for sure that all the large bookshops in Delhi and Mumbai have placed big orders. Also, several educational institutions have also placed a large order with Penguin," said an executive of Crossroads, a leading bookshop chain. To put the numbers in perspective, any business book which sells over 3,000 copies is a good bet for the publisher. Non-fiction as a genre sells less than fiction - Harry Potter books sell in hundreds of thousands and even Amitav Ghosh&#39;s Sea of Poppies (also published by Penguin) has sold over 32,000 so far. Some non-fiction books like ex-President APJ Abdul Kalam&#39;s Ignited Minds too sold in sim

All told, this Allen Lane imprint by Penguin India is expected to get an initial print-run of about 40,000 copies, the largest in recent times. "We cannot disclose numbers as a matter of policy. But it may very well be the largest book to have come o

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Nilekani started his career with Patni Computer Systems in 1978. One of his colleagues in the company was NR Narayana Murthy. In 1981, Nilekani and six others, led by Narayana Murthy, set up Infosys. It soon grew to become one of India¿s largest providers of information technology services. 
From 2002 to 2007, Nilekani served as the company¿s CEO. Since then, he has focused on client relationships and transformational initiatives, besides being a brand ambassador for the company. Time has counted him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Thomas Friedman¿s bestseller, The World is Flat, drew heavily from his conversations with Nilekani.

An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Nilekani started his career with Patni Computer Systems in 1978. One of his colleagues in the company was NR Narayana Murthy. In 1981, Nilekani and six others, led by Narayana Murthy, set up I

In his book, readers will get a flavour of the central ideas that helped shape modern India. The book will also offer original perspective on India?s past, present and future. Nilekani will be on a six-city tour starting from Delhi and will also travel to the United States between January and March 2009 to promote his book. 
For Penguin, it is sure to get good profits and establish the Allen lane imprint in India. Imprints are genre-based classifications for books published by large publishers. While Allen Lane imprint represent books based on ?ideas? (like the forthcoming books of Gurcharan Das and Meghnad Desai), Penguin Profile is another such imprint on books dealing with management and business category.

In his book, readers will get a flavour of the central ideas that helped shape modern India. The book will also offer original perspective on India?s past, present and future. Nilekani will be on a six-city tour starting from Delhi and will also trav

Nandan Nilekani&#39;s choice of eatery for lunch, Koshy&#39;s, says a fair bit about him. The place is quintessential Bangalore, the city that is everyone&#39;s favourite, or was really, until glass and concrete came and the trees began to go. It is high on good breeding and low on flaunting newly earned wealth. It also has two sections, one that is not airconditioned, full of casual smartness and exuding a coffee house feel, the other airconditioned, more done up and maybe less exciting, writes Subir Roy. We run into a problem, he likes the non-airconditioned side, but the place buzzes with conversation which will interfere with the recording of our conversation. We settle for the more sedate side and he immediately goes into a reminiscence of his school days when his father used to bring him to the British Council library that was housed on the floor above and then to Koshy&#39;s of course. He asks a waiter to locate ?Prem?, the proprietor (he knows the Koshy siblings well), w

Nandan Nilekani&#39;s choice of eatery for lunch, Koshy&#39;s, says a fair bit about him. The place is quintessential Bangalore, the city that is everyone&#39;s favourite, or was really, until glass and concrete came and the trees began to go. It is 