'The first time I was asked the name of my second book I hesitated...'

So begins one of Nargis Natarajan's recent blog titled, 'My Second Book.' I sure would want to ask, 'Nargis, what the hell did you do the second time around? Grab the poor sod's throat and shake him till he fainted? Or fell at your feet and promised never to ask the name of anything in his life again?' I doubt. Nargis is a lady of the first order. She must have offered him one of her most charming smiles and whispered in his ears, 'These days, ladies don't kiss and tell either, punk.'

There is something uncomfortable about that question - 'What's the title of your book?' Well, I know exactly what Nargis must have felt on hearing it because a few days back a-not-to-be-named someone asked me the title of my second book. I inhaled deeply and counted till ten slowly as advised by my yoga instructor. Not to say, immediately I felt a warm camaraderie with Nargis. I hear, it is in times of great crisis that differences melt and human beings come together as one. It must have been such a moment.

I froze as soon as I heard that question. Then I looked at that evil in human form. I tilted my head upwards gently, raised my eyes towards the ceiling in a 45 degree angle and gently stroked my goatee. I pondered deeply and without a break. It tried to remember why that question bothered my so much. I just knew I didn't like it. There was something very wrong and absolutely preposterous about it.

Why would he want to know the title of my book? Or anyone's book? Why the title in particular? I am sure these are the kind of people who read 'The Little Prince' by the French Aviator Antoine de Saint Exupery. Since it is common knowledge that Frenchmen make great lovers, they must have derived 'the little prince' referred to 'small but majestic male sexual organ' and the book was about it's adventures! Is it any wonder that the book sells more than Playboy and Harrold Robbins combined. I mean, today it's freaking the third largest selling book in the world!

Come on now, how can you possibly judge a book by it's title? Over and over again one is told not to do so. Yet people keep falling over each other to ask the author, 'Hello, excuse me, what is the title of your book?' If I had hissed, 'Piss Off!,' they would have concluded that was my next book. I mean, really. What is all this hoopla about the title?

Who reads a book by its title? Do you? I don't. I never asked what a book is called before reading it. Or after reading it. Not in pre-school. Not in high school. Not even in college. I always read the books that looked colorful. Or the books that my teachers pushed into my face. And that ended when I grew up. Then I became a more discerning reader. I picked up only those books that were thick enough to hurt my right arm if held long enough. I have even read books by the pictures on the covers. James Hardly Chase, for example. I believe in the adage, a picture can speak a thousand words. But never have I asked for the title of the book. Never.

I don't want to be prejudiced when reading. I don't want to enter with a preconceived idea as to what I will find and what I won't between the covers. I want the writer to surprise me. If he or she can. And that's the challenge, isn't it? Surprise the discerning reader and keep him engaged till it feels like the cost of the book is justified but not the time spent to read it. But then, the fact that I need to refer a dictionary at least thrice to read one straight sentence is not the writer's fault, is it?

Anyway, coming back to book titles, let me tell you this. Nargis, (inspite of her demure demeanor!), has managed to slip a good one here – 'The Virgin Adulteress.' Mouth watering, I agree. Quite a Shobha De twist there. Fires one fantasies faster than it does one's intellect, yeah? Immediately brought to my mind Vladimir Nobokov's pathbreaking, scandalous and classic novel 'Lolita' where the protagonist is obsessed with a 12-year-old girl. But believe me when I say this, it is quite doubtful if like Ms.De or Mr.Nobokov himself, the lady on Sulekha will give you and me steamy scenes to titillate our 9 to 5, stuck-in-the-cabin, deprived imagination.

If we have seen a part of Nargis from her posts here, if what we see is the conscience and truth of the writer in her, if we have glimpsed at life through her eyes even for a moment, then I can say with great faith that 'The Virgin Adulteress' talks to the noble and humane in us. It appeals to the sentiments that bind us together as a family, a society and as a race. If Nargis has taken the pains to tell us a story, it has to be one that resonates with the goodness within you and I. This is my firm belief. I stand corrected till proved wrong.

Ah, now I know what's wrong when people walk up and ask me the the title of my second book. I haven't got my first book out yet! But hell if I'm not going to change that situation right away. I am going to start with the title. Let me toss up a few names. So here goes three ideas:

Goddess of Small Things
The tantra of micro minis, bikinis, small waist lines & new age thongs

Old Man and She

The unspeakable obsession of a 67-year old taxi driver

Lady Chatterjee's Lover

An original Indian tale of emotions gone out of control when they should not have cause someone was looking.

If you have any thought or provoking or thought-provoking titles, please leave them for consideration in the comments section. I promise to share royalty and credits. But please make sure nothing you have to offer sounds like, 'The Virgin Adulteress.' Nargis has copyrighted that. Yeah, and a big NO to Virgin Temptress, Virgin Stewardess, or Virgin Waitress. Be creative.