SOLI SORABJEE has new ways to forget he’s 79. Reading war poems into the night, he finds himself in a “fantasy land, where I’m the General ordering the army, taking out bunker after German bunker”.
Age: 79
Profession: Jurist, former Attorney General
Secret obsessions: Racehorses; war movies (has seen Patton six times); audio poems; literary evenings with close friends; rice (can’t have a meal without it) Photo: Anay Mann
Coming from the former Attorney General of India, such fantasies seem a bit misplaced. Then he reveals the prodigal instincts of his youth, the mornings spent on lush racecourses of Mumbai, Pune, Colombo, training a troop of horses. “I’d be at the racecourse at 5am with a stop watch.” Tamer hobbies like law and clarinet followed.
War junkie, jazz aficionado, poetry lover, a foodie who savours Goan curry and rice, many things keep Sorabjee alive. Though still involved with legal matters, he’d rather tell you about his finer ventures – an anthology called ‘Soli’s Literary Gems’, (expect Keats, Shelley, TS Eliot), and a Jazz CD, ‘Soli’s Favourites’ (the same he gifted Bill Clinton) are releasing soon. Given Sorabjee’s proclivity for “the gab,” you wonder if these fine pursuits just hit him. Anything’s possible at 79. Often, Sorabjee likes to “escape from this world of law and politicking” to his Bangalore apartment full of music and poetry. He doesn’t hesitate to invite you along. Muffled behind the blazer, the law journals and polished jazz collection, a debonair racer clearly gambles on.
