The Delightful Mr. Daphtary, by Fali S Nariman and Vinoo Bhagat, is the latest book in stores. The book shares several insights in the life of Mr C K Daphtary, a very distinguished Advocate and the first Solicitor General of India.

The book is just the right thing for a wanna be, practicing or retired lawyer to have in one hand with a beer in another, whilst lazying away the court vacation days. In present times, due to over-exposure to light-emitting gadgets, one’s attention span is greatly reduced. Probably keeping that in mind, the book is well spread out in not just 13 chapters, but also in further sub-divisions, with different recollections/contributions starting on fresh pages.

The book is replete with anecdotes from the life of Shri Daphtary, some re-told from different perspectives (sources). It also reveals that he was a silent caricaturist – ample evidence of that is found in the book in the shape of his letters to his granddaughter, illustrated with his drawings. Additionally, there is also his drawing of a court scene, titled ‘Awesome Conundrum’. I make particular mention of this as it is one that has been circulating of late in social media. It is the one that goes:

“Your Honor, if the woman is always right and a man is always wrong;

Then, if a man tells a woman that she’s right, is the man right or wrong?”