Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, New York, New York, 1967 May 15: autograph manuscript signed.

Describing a recent scam perpetrated in Delhi by one J.C. Tagore, who booked a concert hall and sold tickets (multiple times) for a supposed Elvis Presley-Louis Armstrong double bill; relating the tale of one of the many "nuisance calls" she has been receiving lately (asking "would I come to their goddam fool literary society, or do I know what is Nirad Chaudhuri's latest book"), this one from the Australian High Comissioner's office, claiming that the Commissioner wanted to read her first book, "To Whom She Will" [a.k.a. "Amrita"] but claimed he couldn't find it anywhere-- upon further questioning, they admitted that, yes, the hardback was readily available, but the Commissioner was only interested in acquiring a paperback copy; explaining that, when Jhab got home, she told him about this and he got so angy that he called them back and shouted at them until they explained that he'd actually reached the Austrian Embassy; telling "the incredible story of how I walked alone through a raging mob"-- reluctantly attending an event at the Israeli-India Friendship Society on Israeli National Day (Jhab refused to come), only to find the venue "blockaded by a mob of Arab & Indian students"; explaining how it was impossible for the car to get through, so she "left the car & driver near the police lorry & went on foot to the gate," being pinched "viciously" by the crowd; describing the sad scene inside: "There were fairy lights all over the garden & a buffet table for the hundreds of guests that had been expected, but only a few had got through, & they were huddled in a courtyard, feeling besieged & bewildered & not knowing what to do next, except get out & go home"; saying the incident reminded her of a time at the Bombay airport when she and Ivory raced for a plane, except this incident "saddened & depressed" her.