This week I’m writing from Leopold Cafe, in the heart of Colaba district, downtown Mumbai. This cafe, established 1871, is best known as centrepiece hangout in classic novel, Shantaram, based on the true story by Gregory David Roberts. Shantaram was frequently recommended while traveling through India last year, and grace linked me with a copy in Berlin. It rapidly became one of my favourite books of all time. Exciting, descriptive, immersive, raw, and real. Captures the Mumbai experience entirely. I’ve discovered that reading great books while writing one’s own (Plan Sea), increases...