M.V. Kamath, with four decades of rich and varied experiences, has traveled the world with an eye for people and a nose for news. He has met an amazingly wide range of characters from all walks of life — from royalty to Nobel laureates, from film and theatre personalities to statesmen and politicians. His meetings have resulted in this collection of anecdotes — some sad, some outright funny, and some simply staid. His writing in no way borders on gossip, but rather delves into the humanity of each subject. Journalism opened up vast avenues for M.V. Kamath. He lived a life of pleasant surprises, wondering what the next day held for him. The short pieces in this book are a minute collection of material that would probably fill up 10 such books. However, this collection powerfully conveys his experiences of pain and joy that run through all his encounters. He views both these universal experiences as ephemeral. This fleeting aspect of life binds each anecdote to the other, thus elevating story-telling to a fine art, that doesn’t sound forced or acquired, and comes straight from the heart.