New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- I was in Ahmedabad last weekend, where, during a visit to Sabarmati Ashram, I picked up a copy of R.K. Narayan's 1955 novel, Waiting for the Mahatma, from the bookshop on the premises. The afternoon sun was beating down, but a cool breeze wafted in from the river. I sat on the steps on the banks of the Sabarmati under a shady tree and settled down to read for a bit. All around, a melee of visitors streamed in and out. Families, couples and groups of friends orchestrated their movements carefully to catch the best angle for selfies and posed photographs. People directed each other with earnest seriousness as they shot Reels. Some insisted on several retakes, others tried out multiple variations of the same theme. The u...