The Shock of the Old

Indians pride themselves on having one of the world's most open democracies, but an unwritten agreement honored by its media ensures that exposing the love lives of the country's leaders remains taboo. So when the purported sexual peccadilloes of the nation's firstand most importantPrime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, inspire a new novel, you'd expect Indians to be astonished and appalled. Unless, of course, its author is Khushwant Singh. One of India's oldest and most respected writers, Singh also ranks among its smuttiest, and his compatriots are long used to being astonished and appalled by what he produces. In fact, many look forward...