Back at the Chateau Windsor there was a rat-like scratching at the door of my room. Vinod, the youngest servant, came in with a soda water. He placed it next to the bag of toffees. Then he watched me read. I was used to being observed reading. Sometimes the room would fill like a railway station at rush hour and I would be expected to cure widespread boredom.
In "Beyond The Devil's Teeth," the author, Tahir Shah, recounts a moment in his room at the Chateau Windsor where he is interrupted by Vinod, the youngest servant. Vinod enters with a soda water and places it beside some toffees, all while observing Shah's reading. This moment reflects an unusual dynamic, where the act of reading becomes a spectacle for others, akin to a busy railway station filled with onlookers.
Shah’s...