And thereby hangs a tale! Jeffrey Archer’s Delhi connect

NEW DELHI: A Delhi traffic signal was the starting point of a love story in Jeffrey Archer’s ‘Caste-Off’. Jamwal and Nisha fall for each other while waiting for the light to turn green.Archer, the English novelist and politician who died Monday at 86, had connections with the Indian capital beyond the pages of his books. He met readers at a Delhi airport book-signing session in 2015 and addressed an audience ranging from children to senior citizens at Siri Fort Auditorium in 2019.The city also made an impression on him beyond its fictional possibilities.Asked what he liked about Delhi in a June 2010 interview with TOI, Archer praised the layout of its centre and its parliamentary precinct. “I was very impressed with that,” he said.His admiration was coupled with amusement at Delhi’s traffic scene.