"Some people like trainspotting; I am interested in Islam." William Dalrymple really said that? Or did we walk into soundbyte lag, the Babu's preferred term for what happens when an interviewer under deadline pressure condenses three paragraphs into one pithy line. The author of White Mughals plans to do the Indian Mutiny next. (The Babu applauded White Mughals, but thinks that perhaps Dalrymple might try calling the 1857 brouhaha the 'Revolt' or the 'Revolution'. Not The First Great War for Independence. Even the Babu's patriotism refuses to take him that far.)

Speaking of great wars, the Clash of the Food Guides has held Delhi riveted for the last fortnight. The Hindustan Times and the Times of India briefly interrupted an ongoing spat over who had more readership in order to praise their new food guides--released within a week of each other, written by rival food critics Maryam Reshi and Sabina Sahgal Saikia--to the skies. This Friday, the Times of India carried a chest-thumping article. But HT, which got its food guide out before the TOI did, had also sneaked ahead in the it's-our-paper-and-we-can-praise-our-own-people stakes--here's the inside dope from The Hoot. (NB: If you're ever trying to get to The Hoot, remember to type in www.thehoot.org. Very similar website www.hoot.org takes you places you probably don't want to go.)