Tales of two story-tellers!

The MetroPlus Bangalore supplement of the Hindu today carries an interview with Chetan Bhagat, the author of Five-point someone and another with a Pandavani singer called Teejan Bai. The Padmashree award winning, Bhilai steel plant employee who cannot read or write and the IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad educated Chetan make a nice contrast; but, both are story tellers by profession. While Teejan Bai apparently identifies her lot with Draupadi and likes Bhima, and retells stories from Mahabharata, Chetan Bhagat says:

Yes, to me what is around us is more important than what happened a hundred years ago. After all, when the reader picks up a book, he asks "why should I care? What does it all mean for me?" If there is no good answer, the book won't work.

Take a look at the profile and the interview. Though, by themselves they are not great pieces, the differences between the personalities, lifestyles and views make a nice contrast.