Wicked Wicked Girl

May 23rd was the day that we-book lovers in Bangalore- would get to meet one of the best novelists of our time.
I reached Landmark in Forum at around 615 pm. After waiting for 45 minutes, the author that everyone in the bookstore had been waiting for arrived at exactly 7pm- the time he was supposed to arrive. The excitement rippling through the air was so electric that you could run the Reva with it! Of course, that sort of excitement was expected, for after all we were seeing the man who wrote books that you couldn't keep down. Books like 'Kane and Abel', 'Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less' etc. Yes, we were meeting with Lord Jeffrey Archer.
Archer mesmerised us with stories about how he began writing to how he has fallen in love with R K Narayan's works.. He then spent a half hour answering our questions. I got to hear all sorts of questions, some weren't even questions but merely remarks or statements. Some were received with applause by the audience, while some others were booed!
After that, at 8pm or so, we stood in a 'queue' to get our books autographed by him. People cursed, people pushed, people swore, and people fainted. Finally I got up on the stage where this great man was sitting and signing books without a pause, and I handed over my pirated copy of his latest novel "A Prisoner of Birth"! He took a look at it, looked at me and said, with a twinkle in his eyes, " This isn't an original... You naughty girl... You're no longer loved!!!" All I could do was laugh at him and thank him profusely for having signed my book nonetheless :)
Anyway, after that I waited a patiently for quite awhile, with my cousin till Archer finished signing over a thousand books. Then I once again went up on stage (as he started doing personalised autographs now), with my pirated book, opened it and ask him to address it to my mother as it was her birthday! He looked at my book, and then took a look at me, and remembered me, as I was the "naughty girl" with the 'fake book'! And then he called me a "wicked girl.. Wicked wicked girl!" and mockingly scolded me for bringing a pirated book for him to sign!, all with an evil grin on his face, shaking his head in mock exasperation!
(Earlier during his half an hour talk, he had mentioned that he knows he is the most read author in the country as usually when he's stuck in traffic jams while commuting, little boys come to sell Archer books to commuters!)
While I was getting my pirated book autographed and he was calling me a wicked girl, someone waiting there said "she's got this form the little boys on the road side!"... I grinned and told Mr. Archer that yes, I had bought it from the road side! He laughed and then finished personalising my book. I had the guts to ask him to pose for a photograph with me, and I held the pirated copy up for everyone to see! I shook Mr. Archer's hand and I thanked him, and told him that his books are simply amazing.
Mr. Archer is one of those few people, who, despite their fame, still remain down to earth and comply with every fan's request, no matter how 'fake' they might be!! He is a true gentleman, and apart from being a fantastic author, he is also an excellent orator :)

You know, being called a "wicked girl" by Lord Jeffrey Archer isn't something I'd feel bad about! I guess I was the only person in the crowd with a copy of his book that wasn't an original! Big deal if he remembered me as the girl who had a pirated book for him to sign!
The bottom line is - he remembered me, right? ;)