In this era where there’s so much distrust about any information, whether from the government or the media and when conspiracy theories abound, here’s a refreshing book that shows you things as they are.

This book consists of Anil Singh’s column, The Fault With Reality, which appeared in The Free Press Journal between 2020 and 2022. The tone (and undertone) of the book is political. And how could it have been otherwise in a year in which the politics of the BJP dominated all discussions, even those ostensibly unconnected with politics? 

The author’s sense of humour and questioning mind inform his writing with a freshness of perspective, boldness, and vigour that is hard to come by in these troubling times when journalists are constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering when the axe will fall on them.

 Whether it be his concern for the environment, his critique of the assault on democratic institutions, or his lament of the lack of probity in the political arena, Anil Singh’s writing is uncompromising in its intent to lay bare the ills of present-day Indian society – an intent which is at the core of good journalism anywhere in the world.

The book is not only about politics but also deals with issues such the toxic media, mental health, affluenza, climate change, urban decay, and the general contempt shown by the executive and even the judiciary towards citizens.

However, the unique feature of the book is its non-conformism. Don’t adjust your mind, there’s a fault with reality, says the author who seduces us with his enticing turn of phrase to confront us with lies and half-truths that make up our world of make-believe. He mirrors our mundane and mechanical lives and tells us how, deprived of empty spaces, we have begun to almost relish our cramped lives, he reminds us that our wetlands are not our wastelands, and how little we know about Urdu and Indian love poems.


`The fault with reality’. Author Anil Kumar Singh. Published by Notion Press, December 2023, pages: 204, Rs 285.