There is much to be said about Delhi, best hotels being high on the list of best services offered in this city. One of the largest cities in the world by population, and the capital city of India, Delhi is one of the true centers of human activity in the world. Continuously inhabited since the sixth century, B.C., if not earlier, this place has a palpable history and an extremely vibrant culture. A long tradition of habitation would also suggest a long tradition of hospitality, and travelers here will find generous combinations of old-world charm and new-world sophistication.
The city is complex and intense, and has a long list of famous people inhabiting the place. One of Delhi’s best-loved citizens is the near-centenarian writer Khushwant Singh. Best known for multiple roles, he is a novelist, historian, political commentator, and social critic. Born in Hadali in Khushab District Sargodha, Punjab, in what is now Pakistan, in 1915, Khushwant Singh had a first career as a lawyer. Then he worked as an ambassador, for UNESCO for a time, and became a journalist in 1951, which led him into his career as a writer. He is known for his incisive wit, and ability to look deeply into the nature of human contradiction and articulate his observations with sharp humor and deep compassion.
One of his formative moments was when he was traveling and met some Sikh soldiers who were bragging that they had just killed a village of Muslims. The sense of outrage at the deep racism that existed in a contemporary time was enough to move him to decide to speak out against injustices and human suffering generally, and terrible prejudice specifically. Khushwant Singh’s best-known novels are Delhi, The Company of Women, and Train to Pakistan. He has also written a highly-acclaimed history of the Sikhs in a two-volume edition. He is known as the Dirty old man of Indian journalist, and his departure from newspapers as a columnist is always followed with a drastic drop in readership. He has received many honors and high political posts in his illustrious and somewhat colorful career. In 2000, he received the “Honest Man of the Year Award” by the Sulabh International Social Service Organization.
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