India, Jan. 23 -- I turned into a writer late in my life. I realised that writing and publishing a book were the easier parts of the journey. It was difficult to get readers. I made new friends who were also struggling with the same issues. We all bemoaned the fact that the young were losing interest in reading. I was asked by my literary agent to trim my manuscript by almost 20,000 words. Her candid observation was that attention spans were coming down. Nobody had the patience to read through even a 200-page book. It was a rude awakening.

Reflecting on earlier experiences, I realised that this was not just about books or readers, but about a broader shrinking of patience, attention and long-term vision. I would encounter the same impati...