Allahabad was starting point for Slumdog

New Delhi: Not many know that the story of Slumdog Millionaire, the movie about a Mumbai slum kid winning a million-dollar quiz show that has become a global rage, germinated in the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh.

The man who first conjured up the story, diplomat Vikas Swarup, was born and brought up in Allahabad.

An avid quizzer since his college days, Swarup toyed with the idea of writing a novel based on the hugely popular quiz show presented by Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan during his holiday breaks from his day job as a diplomat.

He, however, only managed to spare time to write the novel Q and A in London over five years ago when he was posted there as counsellor at the Indian high commission. Swarup's success has triggered waves of jubilation in South Block and has put the spotlight on the so-called IFS (Indian Foreign Service) school of writing - that refers to diplomats venturing into the realm of fiction writing.

Navtej Sarna, India's ambassador to Israel, created a splash a few months ago when he published his book The Exile, based on the life of Maharaja Duleep Singh.

Soft power

Former foreign secretary Lalit Mansingh sees Slumdog's success as part of the India success story. "If he had written this book 15 years ago, not many would have noticed it. The movie is such a hit," he said.

"But it's all part of the India success story and a growing recognition of India's strengths in diverse fields, including literature. It's part of our soft power," he said.

Swarup, who served as director in then external affairs minister K. Natwar Singh's office before he went to South Africa, is "astonished" by the success of the movie version of his novel.