At Talking Books, held at Great Sate Dive, we bring together readers and writers at a bar in Pune. The event will be led by Nandini Nair, the arts and books editor of the Delhi-based Open Magazine. The event will also enable readers to purchase books. The bookstore café Pagdandi will sell books at the event, so that readers can get a personalised copy from the author. The second edition of Talking Books will host author Rukmini S. in conversation with Nandini Nair.

Rukmini S. is an independent data journalist based in Chennai. Her work focuses on inequality, gender, caste and politics. Her first book, Whole Numbers & Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India, draws on nearly two decades of on-ground reporting experience to piece together a picture of India that looks nothing like the one you might expect. It has become a national bestseller. Rukmini’s work on estimating Covid deaths in India won a 2022 Sigma Award, the global data journalism awards. She has an MSc in Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.