Most people know him as the 'India Uncut guy', India Uncut being the name of his hugely-popular blog, which averages 20,000 hits daily. For those more clued-into the scheme of things though, Amit Varma is also the author of the novel My Friend Sancho, which has already sold 15,000 copies in the five months since its publication. In town for a reading session of his debut novel, the first original title published by Hachette India, the Indian arm of the formidable UK-based publishing group, Varma spoke on how he thoroughly enjoyed writing his maiden novel.

"When I would sit down to write this novel, it would be with the goal of finishing atleast 2000 words every day for two months. At the end of it, the self-consciousness I felt as a writer went away and I felt so much more confident and disciplined as a writer," says Varma, who has worked in advertising, television and journalism and written for The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Although born in Chandigarh, Varma spent eight years in Pune, from 1986 to 1994. "I have a strong Pune connection, since I studied at the Fergusson College. Also, my wife belongs to Pune and I keep visiting the city frequently," says the former managing editor of Cricinfo India. Expressing concern over the fact that newspapers across the world are witnessing a very difficult period currently, Varma says the key to survival in such testing times is through constant thought evolution. "Breaking news isn't happening anymore. Newspapers need to figure out what their strengths are and focus more closely on in-depth analysis, the Op-Ed Page and Features articles. Plus, a strong web presence is a must for broadsheet publications," adds Varma, who was awarded the Bastiat Prize for Journalism for 2007, which aims to honour writers 'whose work cleverly and wittily promotes the institutions of the free society'.

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