Awards

• Short-listed for Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2000
• Short-listed for Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award 2000
• Shortlisted for Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2000.
• Shortlisted for Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award 2000.

Overview

Challenged by a Kashmiri greengrocer in South Kensington, journalist Justine Hardy went to work for The Indian Express in New Delhi. This is an idiosyncratic, funny and sad tale about writing as an outsider on the inside of a country where the newspapers are still printed on hot-metal machines and deadlines are missed because of cows at rush hour. India's clash of past and present continues to wrong-foot Justine as she tries to get her story in order.

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9780719561481

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Reviews

`With both humour and pathos this true-life account tells the story of one British journalist's extraordinary experiences after taking a job on a daily newspaper in Delhi.' Daily Mail; `A brilliantly observed, often amusing and sometimes tragic account of a country where the Imperial structure is now a distant memory as it struggles to reinvent itself for the modern world.' Geographical Magazine; `A distinctive voice informed by intelligence, sensitivity and a generous spirit.' Sara Wheeler, Daily Telegraph; `Tremendously funny and evocative'. Nicholas Coleridge; `Justine Hardy has produced something more than the usual besotted travelogue. . . it is full of Dickensian detail and hilarious dialogue.' Guardian; `A funny, fresh and occasionally sad take on a country that no one - not even the lapsed princes and commissioning editors - is really going to understand.' Independent.

'We can't compete with CNN. We do views, you know, viewspaper... Now off you go and find some stories.' This is the instruction of the editor of the Indian Express in Delhi to Hardy, who has arrived fresh from the rigours of working on newspapers in London and in Australia. She is looking for a taste of real Indian life, wanting to 'dig into the sweat and darkness', like Kipling, to see 'things wonderful and fascinating innumerable'. She suggests to the editor, Sourish, that she might fly up to Assam to write about an area where the tea-planters have survived among much civil unrest. (She anticipates having to write at least five pieces per week - at 16 each - to afford to rent a room in the posh Jodhpur Apartments.) But Sourish fears this subject might be a bit intense. Is she interested in the dating habits of Hindi movie stars instead? In this candid, lively memoir, Hardy unravels what it means to be an outsider in a land which is still shedding the remnants of British rule. Humour is one of her sharpest lances, which she uses to prod at both injustice and difficulty. In addition, she has an acute eye for character, summing up in a few choice details the essence of diverse individuals, whether it's the Dalai Lama or her favourite rickshaw driver. Scoop-Wallah is an intriguing expose of modern India, recording Hardy's exploits as she travels from the slums to the polo field in search of a good story. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Justine Hardy was born and educated in England, trained as a Journalist in Australia, and has worked on newspapers and magazines both there and in India. Hernew book, Goat: A Story of Kashmir and Notting Hill, is also to be published by John Murray in 2000. She continues to write for newspapers in America, England and India, and presents on television. She lives in London and India.

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