You enter intending to browse for an hour. Then you encounter hundreds of stalls, thousands of titles and more recommendations than any reading list can reasonably hold. Every second display promises a bestseller, an unforgettable romance, a shocking secret or an idea that will change how you see the world.

So, how do you decide what deserves your attention?

My suggestion is to begin not with a list of popular books, but with the questions and conflicts that fascinate you.

If you enjoy thrillers, technology, complicated relationships, moral dilemmas and stories rooted in contemporary India, the Gomti Book Festival 2026 can become more than a place to buy your favourite books. It can help you discover the intellectual and fictional territory you want to explore next.

Here is what I would look for.

Why Thrillers Continue to Attract Readers

Thrillers have always been built around danger, uncertainty and the fear that something important may be taken away.

That “something” was once commonly a person’s life, a nation’s security or a fortune hidden somewhere. Those stakes remain, but the modern thriller has acquired new vulnerabilities.

Today, a character may stand to lose:

• A career built over several decades
• A relationship damaged by one private message
• A reputation destroyed by manipulated information
• Access to financial accounts or confidential data
• Control over an identity created online
• The ability to distinguish a human decision from an algorithmic one

This is one reason thrillers remain so popular. The genre has changed with the nature of our fears.

A good thriller lets us enter a dangerous situation while remaining safely outside it. A more thoughtful thriller does something else: it makes us wonder what we would have done in the character’s place.

Would we reveal the truth if doing so could destroy someone we loved? Would we exploit information that had reached us accidentally? Would we forgive a betrayal committed under pressure? Would we obey a system whose decision appeared efficient but morally wrong?

The chase may keep us turning the pages. The dilemma is what stays with us afterwards.

Technology Is Now a Source of Human Conflict

Technology in fiction does not have to mean pages of code, futuristic machines or elaborate explanations of how a system works.

Its more interesting role is to alter the choices available to people.

A dating app can introduce two strangers who would never otherwise have met. It can also allow someone to construct a persuasive false identity. A messaging platform can bring people closer while preserving a searchable history of their weakest moments. Artificial intelligence can help us make better decisions, but it can also make manipulation faster, cheaper and more difficult to detect.

Technology does not invent desire, jealousy, ambition, resentment or the appetite for power. It changes their reach.

That makes it a compelling source of modern conflict. A lie can travel further. A secret can be copied. A reputation can be attacked by people the victim has never met. An intimate mistake can acquire corporate or even national consequences.

While walking through the stalls at Gomti Book Festival 2026, therefore, do not look only for books filed under “technology.” Look for books that examine what technology does to people, institutions and power.

They may be found among thrillers, history, international affairs, business, psychology, romance or popular science. The categories may be separate on the shelves, but the questions increasingly overlap.

Look for Stories About Love, Trust, Surveillance and Blackmail

Romance and technology are sometimes treated as unrelated literary territories. In contemporary life, they are deeply entangled.

People meet online, communicate through devices, share photographs, reveal vulnerabilities and leave behind digital records of relationships. Trust is no longer based only on what people tell one another. It is also shaped by what they conceal, delete, forward, record or discover.

This creates fertile territory for fiction.

A love story asks whether two people can trust each other. A thriller asks what happens when they cannot. A technology-driven thriller can ask who else is watching while they try.

Blackmail sits at the intersection of these concerns. It does not always depend on stealing a great secret. Sometimes it begins with a truth that someone cannot afford to have revealed. The blackmailer’s real weapon is not information alone, but an understanding of what the victim fears losing.

At the festival, look for novels in which danger grows out of human relationships rather than arriving from outside them. The most unsettling antagonist may not be a professional criminal. It may be a colleague, partner, friend or stranger who has understood someone’s vulnerability better than they have understood it themselves.

Four Nonfiction Books for Readers Who Like Their Reality Thrilling

Some of the most gripping books about technology and power are not novels. They are works of history, geopolitics and investigative journalism that reveal how closely the modern world resembles a thriller.

These are four titles I would recommend looking for at the festival.

Chip War by Chris Miller

Chris Miller explains how semiconductors became essential not only to smartphones and computers but also to economic strength, military capability and geopolitical power. 

The book traces the development of the chip industry and the extraordinary concentration of expertise and manufacturing across a small number of companies and countries. It shows why competition over advanced semiconductors has become central to the relationship between the United States and China; and why Taiwan occupies such a consequential position.

Chokepoints by Edward Fishman

In Chokepoints, Edward Fishman examines how USA used weaponised finance, trade and technology to take on Iran, Russia and China. 

By restricting access to banking networks, critical technologies and global markets, Fishman explores how the United States developed and deployed surgical forms of economic pressure against the three countries.

The book is particularly relevant to readers interested in invisible power. A battle may be shaped not only by armies, but by payment systems, export controls, computer chips and the ability to deny an adversary access to something on which it has become dependent. 

Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI examines how information networks have helped human societies cooperate, create institutions and exercise power.

Harari challenges the comforting assumption that more information automatically produces more truth or wisdom. Information can help people understand reality, but it can also create myths, strengthen bureaucracies, enable surveillance and support systems of control.

For someone thinking about artificial intelligence, this is an important shift in perspective. The question is not simply whether AI will become more intelligent. It is how AI will participate in the networks through which societies make decisions; and whether humans will continue to understand or control those decisions. 

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends by Nicole Perlroth

Nicole Perlroth investigates the secretive international market for “zero-day” vulnerabilities; software flaws unknown to their developers and therefore capable of being exploited before a defence is available.

The book takes readers into a world of hackers, intelligence agencies, defence contractors and cyberweapons dealers. It also exposes a difficult moral question: when a government discovers or purchases a software vulnerability, should it disclose the flaw so that ordinary users can be protected, or preserve it as a weapon?

Written with the momentum of a thriller, the book demonstrates that the infrastructure of modern life may contain weaknesses known to people whose interests do not align with ours. 

From Reading These Conflicts to Writing Love Swipe Blackmail

The questions that interest me as a reader inevitably enter the stories I write.

Love Swipe Blackmail begins in an intimate and recognisable world: relationships, attraction, dating apps and the temptation to cross a line while believing that the consequences can be controlled.

But technology makes private choices traceable. It connects strangers, preserves evidence and gives deception new possibilities. The novel explores love, loyalty, betrayal and friendship through three couples and two mysterious women; but its larger concern is what happens when human desire meets a digital trail.

How Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail Expands the World

In Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail, the consequences move beyond intimate relationships.

Cyber breaches threaten careers and reputations. Fake companies, social engineering, honey traps and institutional interests create a larger field of deception. The vulnerabilities remain human, but the scale becomes corporate and national.

The central question also evolves. What if an attack is not intended primarily to steal money or data? What if its real objective is to damage trust, ruin a career, manipulate an organisation or provoke a particular response?

Where My Forthcoming AI-Centred Thriller Goes Next

The forthcoming third novel takes this progression further into the world of artificial intelligence and geopolitical competition.

AI introduces a different kind of uncertainty. A person may be deceived by another person; but they may also be influenced by a system that can imitate, predict, persuade and act at enormous speed.

The novel will continue to explore the territory connecting technology with human behaviour. But it will also ask larger questions about India, China, intelligence, autonomous decision-making and the struggle to control systems capable of learning.

Let the Festival Expand Your Reading Identity

At Gomti Book Festival 2026, you do not need to choose between fiction and nonfiction, romance and geopolitics, or technology and human stories.

Follow the connections between them.

A book about semiconductors can explain geopolitical power. An investigation into cyberweapons can inspire the tension of a thriller. A history of information networks can change how we understand AI. A novel about blackmail can reveal how technology enters the most private parts of our lives.

The best discovery at a book festival is not always one celebrated title. Sometimes it is the realisation that several apparently different shelves belong to the same conversation.

That conversation, between technology, trust, relationships, power and human choice, is the one I will be looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of books should thriller readers explore at Gomti Book Festival 2026?

In addition to crime and suspense novels, look at cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, geopolitics, espionage, psychology and narrative nonfiction. These subjects often contain the real conflicts from which contemporary thrillers emerge.

Are technology books suitable for readers without a technical background?

Yes. Books such as Chip War, Chokepoints, Nexus and This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends concentrate on history, power, people and consequences. They do not require specialist technical knowledge.

Where should readers begin with Nitish Bhushan’s novels?

Begin with Love Swipe Blackmail, which introduces the characters and the intersection of relationships, technology and blackmail. Continue with Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail, which expands the story into cyber deception, reputational risk and larger institutional stakes.

A dating app can introduce two strangers. It can also create the perfect setting for deception. A cyberattack can steal data, but it can be even more destructive when it targets a person’s career or reputation. Artificial intelligence can help nations make faster decisions; but what happens when intelligent systems begin influencing the people supposedly controlling them?

These questions connect my novels, from Love Swipe Blackmail and Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail to the AI-centred geopolitical thriller I am now developing.

Readers attending the Gomti Book Festival 2026 in Lucknow will be able to find my two published novels at the Anecdote Publishing House stall. The stall number and other location details will be added here once they are declared by the organisers.

Who Is Nitish Bhushan?

I am an Indian thriller writer with two and a half decades of experience in the information technology industry. That professional background has allowed me to observe technology not simply as a collection of systems and machines, but as something that changes how people work, communicate, compete and trust one another.

I write thrillers that blend technology, relationships and moral dilemmas.

My stories are located in recognisable contemporary settings: offices, homes, dating platforms, corporate networks, media organisations and institutions responsible for protecting sensitive information. The characters are not superheroes or invincible secret agents. They are professionals, friends, partners and family members who make understandable choices; and then discover that those choices have consequences they did not anticipate.

Technology changes the game. Human choices make it dangerous.

That is the territory connecting the books I have written and the stories I intend to write next.

What Does Nitish Bhushan Write About?

Technology in my novels is rarely the real villain.

A dating app cannot betray a relationship on its own. A computer network does not decide to destroy someone’s reputation. Even an artificial intelligence system reflects the intentions, information and authority given to it by people.

The real conflict begins when technology encounters ambition, desire, resentment, insecurity or a hunger for power.

My novels explore questions such as:

• How much can we truly know about someone we meet online?
• Can love survive a betrayal even when the betrayal remains incomplete?
• Why would someone attack a reputation instead of stealing money?
• Is an insider dangerous because of access, or because of an unresolved grievance?
• Can an institution contain a cyberattack without understanding the human conflict behind it?
• What happens when AI learns enough about our vulnerabilities to influence our decisions?

The thriller provides the pace, suspense and uncertainty. The human dilemma gives the story its emotional weight.

Love Swipe Blackmail: When One Swipe Threatens More Than a Relationship

Love Swipe Blackmail begins with a choice that appears private and manageable.

Ravi and Vandana are successful professionals who love each other and appear to be moving steadily towards marriage. Yet Ravi remains conflicted by desires he has not fully confronted. Encouraged by his friends, he downloads a dating app and connects with someone.

Then another person discovers what he has done.

What begins as a secret threatens to become blackmail. But Ravi and Vandana are not the only people with concealed histories, divided loyalties and difficult decisions to make. The novel brings together three couples and two mysterious women in a story about love, friendship, betrayal and the consequences of believing that a digital action can remain separate from real life.

The technology in the novel is familiar. Millions of people use dating apps and communicate with strangers online. That familiarity is precisely what makes the danger believable.

The story does not suggest that technology invented temptation. It asks what happens when technology amplifies access, preserves evidence and allows another person to weaponise a private weakness.

Readers who enjoy relationship-driven suspense, morally complicated characters and unexpected reversals will find Love Swipe Blackmail an accessible entry into this fictional world.

Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail: When the Attack Targets Reputation

Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail expands the world introduced in the first novel.

The stakes move beyond an individual relationship. Careers are threatened by eerily similar cyber breaches. Fake companies, social engineering, honey traps, media influence, insiders and intelligence operatives become part of a much larger game.

Yet the central vulnerability remains human.

Many cyber stories focus on malware, stolen data or financial loss. Shadow Play explores a different possibility: what if the objective of an attack is not to steal anything?

What if the real aim is to ruin a career, damage a reputation, fracture a partnership or force an institution into making a particular decision?

This is the idea of the “no-loss” attack. Nothing obvious may disappear from the victim’s systems, yet the victim can still lose authority, credibility, relationships and control over the narrative.

The novel treats cybercrime as a form of human behaviour rather than only a technical event. Systems provide access, but grievances, loyalties and ambitions determine how that access is used. Sometimes the most dangerous person is not the anonymous hacker outside an organisation. It is someone inside—or someone who understands the people inside.

Readers will encounter returning characters from Love Swipe Blackmail, including Ravi, Vandana, Raaj and Simi, alongside a broader web of characters whose personal and professional motives are not always what they appear to be.

Although Shadow Play can be enjoyed as a thriller in its own right, reading Love Swipe Blackmail first will give readers the complete progression of the relationships and conflicts.

Why Technology-Thriller Readers May Enjoy These Books

My novels are written for readers who like fast-moving stories but also want the conflict to feel connected to the world around them.

You may enjoy them if you are interested in:

• Technology used as a tool of persuasion, surveillance or manipulation
• Cyber incidents driven by human motives
• Relationships tested by secrets and divided loyalties
• Corporate environments in which reputation can be as valuable as data
• Contemporary Indian characters and settings
• Moral dilemmas without simple, comfortable answers
• Plots in which an apparently small decision produces much larger consequences

You do not need a technical background to read either novel. The technology supports the conflict; it does not overwhelm the story with jargon.

At their core, both books are about people making choices under pressure.

Will the Books Be Available at Gomti Book Festival 2026?

Yes. Love Swipe Blackmail and Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail will be available at the Anecdote Publishing House stall during Gomti Book Festival 2026.

The festival is scheduled to take place in Lucknow from 12 to 20 September 2026. Readers can visit the Anecdote Publishing House stall to find both books and begin the series from the first instalment.

Anecdote Publishing House stall number: To be announced by the organisers.

Author interaction or appearance: No appearance is being announced at present. If an interaction, signing or other appearance is confirmed, the date, time and venue will be added near the top of this page.

What Comes After Shadow Play?

The third part of the series moves from personal and corporate vulnerabilities into the world of artificial intelligence and geopolitical conflict.

The forthcoming thriller is being developed against the background of technological competition between India and China. It will explore AI systems, cyber intelligence, information warfare and the growing difficulty of determining whether an apparently human decision has been shaped by an intelligent system.

Its scale will be larger, but it will continue the same thematic progression.

Love Swipe Blackmail asks what technology can do to intimate trust.

Shadow Play asks what technology can do to careers, reputations and institutions.

The third novel will ask what happens when AI understands human vulnerabilities well enough to exploit them at national and geopolitical scale.

It will also examine a question that is becoming increasingly urgent: if an intelligent system manipulates a human being into making a decision, who is responsible for the consequences?

The machine? Its creator? The institution deploying it? Or the person who believed the decision was entirely their own?

Begin the Journey at Gomti Book Festival 2026

For me, these novels form one expanding conversation about technology and human choice.

The story begins with a swipe, grows into a web of cyber deception and will move next into AI-driven geopolitical conflict. But through every stage, the central concern remains the same: technology becomes most powerful, and most dangerous, when it understands what people want, what they hide and what they fear losing.

If that is the kind of thriller you enjoy, look for Love Swipe Blackmail and Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail at the Anecdote Publishing House stall at Gomti Book Festival 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find Nitish Bhushan’s books at Gomti Book Festival 2026?

Both novels will be available at the Anecdote Publishing House stall. The stall number will be added once the organisers announce the final allotment.

Will Nitish Bhushan appear at Gomti Book Festival 2026?

No author appearance is being announced at present. If a signing, interaction or appearance is confirmed, its date, time and location will be published on this page.

Which Nitish Bhushan book should I read first?

Begin with Love Swipe Blackmail. Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail expands the characters, relationships and conflicts introduced in the first novel.

Are these books suitable for readers without a technology background?

Yes. The novels use dating apps, social engineering, cybersecurity and digital deception as sources of conflict, but the stories remain centred on people, relationships and moral choices.

What is Nitish Bhushan writing next?

The third part is an AI-centred geopolitical thriller involving India–China technological competition, cyber intelligence and the use of artificial intelligence to understand and exploit human vulnerabilities.

That is both the joy and the challenge of visiting a large book festival. You enter wanting to see everything. Before long, the rows begin to merge, the bags become heavier, and you realise that you have spent most of your time looking at books you could have bought anywhere.

The Gomti Book Festival 2026 deserves a better plan; not a rigid itinerary, but a reader’s strategy.

Whether this is your first book festival or you attend book fairs regularly, this guide will help you decide what to look for, how to discover unfamiliar books and how to make the most of your time without trying to visit every stall.

Gomti Book Festival 2026 at a Glance

The previous edition brought together more than 200 bookstalls and showcased works from over 2,000 publishers. Visitors could explore books in Hindi, English, Urdu and other Indian languages, alongside literary conversations, children’s activities and cultural performances.

The fifth edition is expected to build upon that experience.

What Should Readers Expect?

A book festival is not simply a large bookstore assembled in an open ground. It is a meeting place for readers, publishers, writers, booksellers and ideas.

You can expect established publishing houses, independent publishers, specialist sellers and organisations representing different languages and subjects. The books may range from fiction, poetry and children’s literature to history, politics, philosophy, technology, self-help, competitive examinations and academic studies.

There will, of course, be books and authors you already recognise. But the real value of a festival lies in what you do not recognise.

Online bookstores are efficient when you know what you want. They show you bestsellers, ratings and recommendations influenced by your previous searches. A book festival offers a different kind of discovery. An unfamiliar cover, a conversation with a bookseller or a few lines read while standing at a stall can take you towards a book no algorithm would have recommended.

Books may also be available at festival discounts, although prices and offers can vary between stalls. There may be author conversations, book launches, children’s sessions and cultural programmes throughout the festival.

Expect crowds, queues and plenty of walking, especially during evenings and weekends. Comfortable shoes are considerably more useful at a book fair than ambitious footwear. 

Food and drinking-water stalls are available, but carry your own refillable water bottle if possible. It will help you stay hydrated without repeatedly interrupting your exploration, and reduce the need for disposable plastic bottles.

Don’t Try to Visit Every Stall

The most common mistake at a large book festival is trying to see everything.

When every row promises another discovery, skipping a stall can feel like missing something important. But attempting to inspect every shelf usually leads to hurried browsing and decision fatigue. By the end, you may remember very little about what you saw.

Instead, divide your visit into three parts.

Plan one-third

Use this time for books, authors and publishers you already want to find. If the organisers publish a stall map or participant directory, mark your priorities before arriving.

Explore one-third

Enter sections you would not normally visit. Look at independent publishers, regional-language books, translations, debut authors and unfamiliar subjects.

Leave one-third to chance

Allow yourself to follow an interesting cover, an enthusiastic bookseller, an unexpected conversation or a session you had not planned to attend.

The formula is simple:

Plan one-third. Explore one-third. Leave one-third to chance.

A successful visit is not one in which you see every stall. It is one in which you find something worth remembering.

Before You Visit: Make Three Short Lists

Do not prepare one long shopping list. Make three short ones:

1. Books I definitely want
2. Subjects I want to explore
3. Authors or publishers I want to discover

The distinction matters.

You may know the title of a novel you want to buy. But you may also want to explore the history of Lucknow, contemporary Hindi fiction, artificial intelligence, Indian politics or psychological thrillers without knowing which particular book to choose.

A subject list gives you direction without removing the possibility of discovery.

Set a budget, but do not allocate all of it in advance. Keep some money aside for books you did not know existed before entering the festival.

If This Is Your First Book Festival

First-time visitors are often tempted to start buying from the first few stalls. Resist the urge.

Take an orientation round before making most of your purchases. Understand the layout, identify the sections that interest you and note the stalls you want to revisit. Buy immediately only when you are certain about a book or concerned that a limited copy may sell out.

For everything else, photograph the cover and stall number. Review your shortlist later and return for the books that still interest you.

A few practical suggestions:

• Check the stall map and event schedule before arriving.
• Wear comfortable shoes and light clothing.
• Carry a refillable water bottle and a strong reusable bag.
• Keep photographs of your existing bookshelf or reading list to avoid accidental duplicates.
• Attend at least one author conversation or literary session.
• Ask booksellers for recommendations instead of looking only at displays.
• Compare editions, translations and prices before purchasing.
• Keep part of your budget for an unexpected discovery.
• Avoid carrying too many books early in the visit.

If you have only two hours, select one or two sections and one session. If you have half a day, combine planned shopping with exploratory browsing. Serious readers may benefit from two visits: one for discovery and another for focused buying.

If You Regularly Visit Book Festivals

Experienced visitors face a different problem: repetition.

You may return to the same publishers, search for the same genres and buy authors you already know. There is nothing wrong with that, but it can turn a festival into an offline version of your usual online shopping.

Give yourself a discovery challenge:

• Visit at least five independent or unfamiliar publishers.
• Explore one genre you rarely read.
• Look for books in Hindi, Urdu or another Indian language.
• Ask a bookseller for one overlooked recommendation.
• Examine backlist titles rather than only new releases.
• Attend a session outside your normal interests.
• Speak to at least one debut or lesser-known author.
• Look for books connected with Lucknow, Awadh or Uttar Pradesh.

If you leave with only the books you intended to buy, you may have shopped successfully; but you may not have fully experienced the festival.

How to Discover a Good Book by an Unfamiliar Author

At a festival, you will encounter writers whose names you have never seen on a bestseller list. How do you decide whether to take a chance?

Try the five-minute test:

1. Read the back-cover description.
2. Read the first two pages.
3. Open the book at random and examine a paragraph.
4. Ask the bookseller who the book is meant for.
5. Ask yourself whether the premise still makes you curious.

Online ratings can be useful, but they should not become the only basis for choosing a book. A new or independently published title may have fewer reviews without being less interesting.

Don’t ask only, “Is this author famous?”

Ask, “Does this book make me want to know what happens next?”

Book festivals become rewarding when readers are willing to make at least one informed gamble.

Ask Better Questions at the Stalls

Instead of asking every publisher, “What are your bestsellers?”, try questions that lead to more interesting answers:

• Which of your books do readers tend to overlook?
• Which new author are you most excited about?
• If I enjoyed a particular writer, what would you recommend?
• Which of your titles is difficult to find in regular bookstores?
• Do you publish books set in Lucknow or Uttar Pradesh?
• Which book generated the most unexpected response from readers?

Publishers and booksellers often know their lists intimately. A brief conversation can reveal more than a crowded display table.

A Book Festival Is Also a Festival of Conversations

Books bring you to the festival, but conversations can make the visit memorable.

Attend a session even if you do not recognise every speaker. Ask an author about the idea that started the book. Ask a publisher what makes a manuscript stand out. Talk to other readers about what they have found.

Authors, especially new and independent writers, are generally pleased when readers engage seriously with their work. You do not need to have read the book already. Genuine curiosity is enough.

If you discover an author or publisher you like, follow their work after the festival. One thoughtful conversation can begin a reading relationship lasting many years.

If You Enjoy Thrillers About Technology, Trust and Human Vulnerability

I write stories about what happens when technology enters the most private corners of human life.

My novels, Love Swipe Blackmail and Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail, explore desire, deception, digital vulnerability and the consequences of misplaced trust. They are thrillers, but the questions beneath them are increasingly real: How much of ourselves do we surrender online? Who can use that information against us? And what happens when technology understands our weaknesses better than the people around us?

If these themes interest you, look out for my books during the Gomti Book Festival 2026. Details about their availability and opportunities to meet me will be added here once confirmed.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Gomti Book Festival 2026?

The festival is scheduled from 12 to 20 September 2026.

Where will the festival be held?

It will be held at Lucknow University Ground in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Who is organising the festival?

The Gomti Book Festival is organised by the National Book Trust, India.

What are the festival timings?

The daily timings should be confirmed through the official programme. Visitors should check the latest announcement before planning their journey.

Is the festival suitable for first-time visitors?

Yes. First-time visitors should review the layout, make a short priority list and avoid trying to see every stall in one continuous round.

How much time should I keep for my visit?

Allow at least two hours for a focused visit. Half a day is preferable if you want to browse several sections and attend a literary session. Serious readers may consider visiting twice.

Should I carry water and food?

Food and drinking water are available at the festival. However, carrying your own refillable water bottle is advisable, particularly because exploring the grounds can involve considerable walking.

How should I choose which stalls to visit?

Begin with publishers and subjects you already care about, but reserve time for independent publishers, regional-language books and unfamiliar authors. Plan one-third of your visit, explore for one-third and leave the remaining third to chance.

Will books be available at discounted prices?

Many publishers and booksellers offer festival prices, but discounts may differ. Compare the edition, condition and final price rather than assuming every festival offer is automatically the best available deal.

Go With a Plan and Leave With a Surprise

You will not see every stall at the Gomti Book Festival. You will not examine every book or attend every conversation. Nor do you need to.

Go with a few intentions, enough time and some room for surprise. Find the books you came looking for; but allow one unfamiliar cover, one passionate bookseller or one unexpected conversation to change your reading list.

That is how you get the best out of a book festival.

Core idea: Manipulators rarely target the least intelligent person in the room. They target the person who believes they can spot manipulation.

The smartest people are often easier to manipulate.

That sounds counterintuitive.

We tend to imagine manipulation working on people who are uninformed, inexperienced, or naïve.

But in many situations, the opposite is true.

Manipulators rarely target the least intelligent person in the room.

They target the person who believes they can spot manipulation.

Because intelligence often creates confidence.

And confidence can quietly become a blind spot.

A senior executive may think:

“I’ve negotiated contracts worth crores. Nobody is fooling me.”

A cybersecurity professional may think:

“I know how phishing works. I can spot a scam from a mile away.”

Someone navigating relationships may think:

“I understand people. I know when someone is being genuine.”

The problem is that manipulation is rarely presented as manipulation.

If it were, nobody would fall for it.

Instead, it arrives disguised as something we already want to believe.

A business opportunity.

A flattering introduction.

An emotionally vulnerable conversation.

A shared interest.

A chance encounter.

A familiar story.

A trusted recommendation.

Manipulation succeeds not because it defeats our intelligence.

It succeeds because it bypasses it.

The most effective manipulators understand that human beings do not make decisions using logic alone. We use trust, emotion, pattern recognition, hope, loneliness, ambition, and occasionally, ego.

And the more certain we are that we can see through people, the less likely we are to examine our own assumptions.

That is why some of the most successful professionals, the most experienced leaders, and the most technically capable experts sometimes make surprisingly human mistakes.

Not because they are foolish.

Because they are human.

Intelligence can help us analyse information.

It does not automatically protect us from believing what we want to be true.

Perhaps the question isn’t:

“Could someone manipulate me?”

The better question is:

“What assumptions am I making that I haven’t bothered to verify?”

That’s usually where the real vulnerability begins.

How many books are sold and read in the world’s biggest markets?

Ready for some more maths? Yes, maths. Not math. I remain committed to grammatical completeness.

Let’s begin with the three giants of the global book ecosystem – United States, China & India. Now here’s where things get interesting.

Roughly how many books are SOLD annually?

China ~100–130 crore books (1–1.3 billion)

US ~70–80 crore books (700–800 million)
India ~40–80 crore books (400–800 million)

At first glance, though behind China and the US, India appears to have a big number. But wait. What KIND of books are these? Because not all book markets are built the same way.

In the US:

• A very large chunk is trade publishing.
• Fiction, thrillers, romance, memoirs, self-help, fantasy.
• Leisure reading is deeply commercialised.

In China:

• Educational + state-supported publishing is massive
• Digital reading ecosystems are huge
• Online literature platforms have exploded readership

And India? India is a fascinating paradox. We are one of the largest book-consuming nations in the world. But most of that volume comes from:

• Textbooks
• Competitive exam preparation
• Academic publishing
• School/college ecosystems

Which means India is a giant reading market, but not yet an equally giant leisure-reading market.

Why is India a giant reading marketing?

Let’s come to books READ annually. This is harder to measure because:

• People borrow books
• Read digitally
• Use libraries
• Re-read books
• Listen to audiobooks
• And surveys are often self-reported

But estimates suggest:

• Americans read ~17 books/reader/year
• Indians read ~16 books/reader/year
• Brits read ~15 books/reader/year

Please take a pause to understand that the above is the ‘Average Number of Books Read Per Reader Annually’, not the ‘Average Number of Books Read Per Citizen Annually’. I could not find the estimated figure for China, so mentioned the British number.

Also, the number of books sold ≠ the number of books read, as one book can be read by multiple readers. And, a book(s) can also be re-read by a reader.

Even if these estimates are directionally correct, India may be reading tens of billions of books annually. That’s astonishing. But here’s the twist:

A very large percentage of those books are read because they are necessary.

Not because they are discovered.

And that changes the economics of storytelling completely.

A textbook has institutional distribution.

A novel has to fight for attention.

Which brings me to my favourite statistic from publishing:

The average book may sell only ~55 copies a year globally.

Not because books are bad.

But because discoverability is brutally hard.

So the next time you see an author posting repeatedly about their book, remember:

They are not just marketing a product.

They are trying to survive inside one of the noisiest discovery ecosystems in the world.

And every genuine reader matters more than most people realise.

Sources are listed below in comments.

Sources:

1. US book sales (Circana / Statista)
2. China book market
3. India publishing data
4. Average books read per country

Are you ready to do some exciting maths with me?

Yes, I still call it maths. ‘Math’ feels like a someone removed a function from it. 😊

Let’s break it down:

Roughly 220 crore (2.2 billion) books are sold globally every year.

An estimated 22–40 lakh (2.2–4 million) new titles are published annually. The publishing industry calls this as frontlist.

It is also estimated that 3–5 crore (30–50 million) titles are actively in circulation. The publishing industry calls this as backlist.

Now comes the interesting part. If you divide all the books sold annually globally by the sum of annual frontlist and backlist, you get answer to the question we began with.

Total books sold ÷ (frontlist + backlist) ~ 41 to 68 copies per book per year.

Let’s call it ~55 copies per title.

Let that sink in. Not 5,000, not 500, ~55 copies per year per book (on average).

What about lifetime sales then? This is harder to pin down as there’s no single authoritative number, but most industry estimates fall between:

<500 copies (very common)

~1,000 copies (a reasonable midpoint)

Up to ~5,000 copies (for relatively successful titles)

Books don’t fail because they are bad. Most books just don’t get discovered enough.

So what can you do?

If you know an author:

(1.) Buy their book

(2.) Read it

(3.) And only if you like it, recommend it to the right people

Because in a world where the average book sells ~55 copies a year… every reader actually matters.

Source: Publishing Stats.

The PM announced the 7 austerity measures and gili gili chhoo – just like that a billion and a half expressions started pouring over on whatever media people could lay their hands on.

This one is mine.

Never waste a good crisis, especially if you are an existing or an aspiring social media influencer / finfluencer. Each creator is geo-economist, a geopolitical strategist whose thumbnail is yelling BIG CRISIS.

The way some creators are bundling crude oil dependency, inflation risks, rupee pressure, car-pooling, public transport, travel avoidance, WFH 2.0, buying desi and gold imports in a 30-second reel would put Indian mothers who pack 14 outfits in one suitcase, to shame.

Some are even asking their followers to not travel from one room to another.

Then there are those who are dropping ultra-nationalist cinematic reels of walking instead of driving shot by drone (battery powered, so no problem), with emotional background music adding to the gravity, and “sacrifice” aesthetics.

Never mind if one of the influencers is explaining fuel conservation while recording from her idling SUV.

The community of TV anchors is one of absolute diversity. Some are framing national discipline, others are ringing economic alarm bells, and others still, are leaning on high-decibel nationalism. Some angles they are trying to explore, are: Are long drives anti-national? What should be done to parents who are not collaborating for school pick-ups and drops? Why do women buy gold? Small detail – only last week an anchor’s wife placed a jewellery order which she won’t cancel this week.

They are oscillating between being media sages giving out Vedic advice of slow living, minimalism, intentional travel, and mindful consumption on one hand, to BREAKING NEWS on the other – Citizen spotted using car for grocery purchase. The creative team is busy putting up huge red graphics, the anchor is coining a BIG NATIONAL QUESTION or two. And the five guests on the show are ready to slit each other’s throat with no one answering the real question.

Incidentally, the anchors and the guests travelled individually in their fuel guzzling SUVs to the studios. Traveling together could have invited serial killings in the car.

Corporates are not to be left behind. HR issued a few circulars – To support national fuel conservation, employees are encouraged to think before using office chairs with wheels. Lift usage above the 3rd floor requires managerial approval. As part of the national interest, all meetings longer than 12 minutes will now be emails.

Imagine driving your wife to the mall or dinner and the parking attendant asking you, ‘Sir, is this trip essential for the nation?’

Brands are cashing in. They are 48 hours away from launching: Patriotism Cashback Week.

One startup launched “AI-enabled patriotism tracking”.

By evening, our society WhatsApp group had:

(1.) Banned second trips to the grocery store,
(2.) Proposed biometric tracking for vehicle usage,
(3.) Suspended learners’ driving,
(4.) Accused Flat 302, Tower B of “anti-national idling”. It was actually their kid secretly video calling his girlfriend in Paris since his father did not allow unnecessary foreign travel.

Petrol prices haven’t increased yet. But emotionally, the Indian middle class has already entered recession.

Clearly, India cannot experience a simple advisory quietly. Everything must become a debate, or a moral movement, or a LinkedIn lesson, or a startup opportunity, or a Meta Reel / carousel, or a thread tweet, or a WhatsApp PhD thesis.

Me? I am considering:

(1.) Banning pressure cooker usage after 8 pm.
(2.) Launching a LinkedIn series titled “5 Ways to Detect Scooter Misuse in Your Neighbourhood”
(3.) And walking the 100 metres to my office while filming it cinematically for national morale.

The first idea has already been rejected at home on security grounds. My security!

You? Decide for yourself!

PS: Since no name has been given to this measure / drive, I am calling it Atm-niyantrit Bharat. Why? Because it sounds like the sibling of Aatmnirbhar Bharat.

The emotion of “mamata” encompasses the feelings of unconditional love, sacrifice, care, and a deep nurturing affection. It is the essence of motherhood – the maternal instinct. It evokes an immediate, emotional response; the idea that someone will stand up when it matters most.

But what happens when that instinct is tested by power?

Two incidents in West Bengal, separated by over three decades, offer a way to examine that question.

1993: The Dipali Basak Moment

The then 38-year-old Union Minister for HRD, Youth Affairs & Sports, and Women & Child Development in the PV Narasimha Rao government, Mamata Banerjee livid and horrified with how things turned out with Dipali, decided to take the matter right to the then CM Jyoti Basu.

Dipali, a deaf & mute girl from Phulia (Nadia), West Bengal, was allegedly raped by a CPM worker.

On the 6^th of January 1993, Mamata met Dipali and her mother Felani, and took an appointment from Jyoti Basu. The next day when she went to meet with Jyoti Basu, he refused to meet her & Dipali. Mamata then staged a sit-in dharna. After about three hours of protest the police dragged her out, she was pulled by her hair, and her saree was torn.

Dipali, pregnant at that time was injured and rushed to Ramakrishna Seva Pratishthan, a charitable hospital run by the Ramakrishna Mission, whereas Mamata was taken to the Lalbazaar lock-up from where she was released later pressed by the gathering Youth Congress supporters.

On her way home in a police escort, she stopped at the Gandhi statute Mayo College Road. It is said that it is here that she made a vow to enter Writers Building next only as a CM and after dislodging CPM from power.

The protest at Writers’ Building during the Dipali Basak case became one of the defining moments of this image. She was seen not as a distant politician, but as someone willing to challenge power structures in real time.

The Making of a Political Identity

Moments like 1993 do more than create headlines; they build reputations. Over time, Mamata Banerjee’s political persona came to be associated with accessibility, emotional immediacy, and a willingness to confront authority.

This identity played a significant role in her eventual rise to power. When she became Chief Minister of West Bengal on 20^th May 2011, it was seen not just as a political victory, but as the arrival of a leader shaped by grassroots संघर्ष (struggle).

She created history by exiting CPM ending its 34-year rule in the state – the longest tenure for an elected communist government anywhere in the world.

Mamata Banerjee built her political identity not through institutional power, but through visible, emotionally charged public engagement. Long before she became Chief Minister of West Bengal, she was known for street-level politics – leading protests herself, sitting on dharnas, confronting authorities directly, and physically appearing beside victims, workers, and protestors.

Her persona also became associated with emotional immediacy because she communicated more through instinct and visible emotion than bureaucratic language. Her speeches often sounded personal rather than administrative. Combined with her simple public presentation, cotton sarees, slippers, modest lifestyle optics, and the widely used identity of “Didi,” she came to represent familiarity and accessibility rather than hierarchy. Supporters felt she reacted first as a human being and then as a politician. This perception deepened further during movements like Singur and Nandigram, where she positioned herself as the emotional face of public grievance ready to take on authority.

The emotional construct of “mamata” was all visible & established amongst people’s conscience. She was the hero people feted. She was the hero they wanted to give their power to, through vote.

But power changes the nature of leadership. And with it, the expectations.

2024: The RG Kar Medical College Case

In August 2024, a young postgraduate trainee doctor, whom we know only as Abhaya, was found raped and murdered inside RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The details were deeply unsettling – The crime occurred within a hospital campus, and the victim was part of the healthcare system itself. The setting challenged assumptions about safety in institutional spaces. The reaction was swift.

Doctors across India protested. Medical services were disrupted. Public discourse turned sharply toward questions of safety, accountability, and administrative response.

The investigation was eventually transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. But the core issue extended beyond the crime. It was about how the system responded in the immediate aftermath. Concerns were raised about initial handling of the case, communication from authorities & the perceived tone of the state’s response.

At the centre of this response was Mamata Banerjee, not as a protester, but as the Chief Minister.

From Instinct to Institution

The contrast between 1993 and 2024 is not simply political. It is structural. In 1993 Mamata Banerjee was structurally an outsider to state power. Even though she was a Union Minister, in West Bengal she functioned as an opposition leader confronting the ruling establishment. Her political role was to question the system, amplify the victim’s voice, and morally challenge authority. Her strength came from moral clarity and immediacy.

By 2024, the structure had completely reversed. She was no longer confronting the state – she was the state. Her role was to manage, respond, and ensure accountability. The police, the administration, the health system, and the political accountability mechanisms all operated under her government.

That changes the nature of leadership fundamentally. A protest leader derives legitimacy from moral clarity and emotional immediacy. A governing leader is judged through institutional response, administrative competence, and public trust in systems.

That is why the contrast in later years became so symbolically significant. The same leader who rose by appearing emotionally available during moments of injustice, eventually became the institution expected to manage crisis, process, and accountability. Therefore, much of the public conversation around cases like the RG Kar incident is shaped not only by governance questions, but by the memory of the earlier Mamata – the leader whose politics once seemed driven by instinctive empathy and immediacy.

The Shift that People Noticed

The memory of 1993 is simple and enduring – a leader who refused to leave a victim unheard.

The perception in 2024, however, is more complicated – a system that moved slower, more measured, less empathetic, less sympathetic, and, to a vast majority, responsible for what had happened.

People understand that governance demands caution, verification, and process. But people’s perception often judges leadership not by the internal complexity of governance, but by how the response feels emotionally and morally. When response feels delayed or impersonal, it creates a gap. And that gap is where symbols begin to weaken.

People’s anger wasn’t just about the crime. It was about the response. Allegations of delayed or mishandled initial investigation surfaced. Public trust seemed fragile. The state appeared defensive, not empathetic.

And at the centre of it all was the same leader who once sat in protest – now the Chief Minister.

Did Mamata Lose Because She Lost Her “mamata”?

This is not a question of political success or failure. It is a question of alignment. The rise of Mamata Banerjee was closely tied to the idea of “mamata” – the instinct to act, to stand beside, and to confront injustice without hesitation.

The challenge of leadership is to retain that instinct even when power demands restraint. If the public begins to feel that the instinct has faded, that response has become more administrative than empathetic, then the symbol starts to erode.

It is a gradual shift. And when that happens, political outcomes often follow perception. Leaders are not expected to react the same way in opposition and in power. But they are expected to feel the same way.

That emotional continuity, visible through action, is what sustains public trust over time.

“Mamata” means motherhood. It implies instinctive protection, a refusal to tolerate harm, an emotional immediacy.

In 1993, that instinct was visible – raw & uncompromising. In 2024, it felt distant. Filtered through systems, politics, and control. It is the distance between who you were when you fought power and who you became when you held it.

The Distance Between Two Moments

Two incidents. One state. Thirty years apart. The Dipali Basak case revealed a leader willing to challenge power in defence of a victim. The Abhaya / RG Kar case has tested whether that instinct survives within power.

The answer is not binary as to whether the leader retained her moral instinct, or completely lost it. But it leaves behind an important reflection that leadership perhaps, is not just about rising to power. It is about carrying forward the very instinct that made that rise possible.

Because in the end, “mamata” is not defined by a name or a position. It is defined by whether, in moments of crisis, the response still feels human.

In 1993, Mamata Banerjee challenged power.

In 2011, people vested in her, their power.

In 2024, she was the power being challenged.

In 2026, people divested her of that power.

And she may have lost power because she first lost the emotional trust that created it. In the end, “mamata” is not just a name, it is a responsibility.

About Dipali and Abhaya

Dipali gave birth to a girl child. She died in March 2009 due to snakebite. As per Felani Basak (Dipali Basak’s mother), Mamata never visited them again. Dipali’s elder brother Nikhil said that Mamata never enquired about Dipali after the Writers Building incident. Felani died in March 2025 at the age of 91. 

Ratna Debnath, Abhaya’s mother won from the Panihati Assembly constituency in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

I am an ordinary people. My heart goes out to Dipali & Abhaya and all others named and unnamed who suffered. God bless them all.

Sources & References:

Dipali Basak Case / 1993 Protest

• Throwback 1993: Mamata Banerjee Made A Vow, Then Kept It For 18 Years

• Head held high but back-door arrival

• Forgotten mother’s justice wish

• Felani, whom Mamata took to Writers’ seeking justice, dies aged 91

• Turning point: Being thrown out of Writers’

An investigation was carried out. A senior professional stepped aside “pending enquiry”. The leadership role was quietly reassigned, and absence was explained as “internal reasons”.

There were no copyrights or IP stolen. There was no customer or internal data leak. Neither a financial loss was announced, nor was there any public breach notification.

Then there were whispers and rumours. This was followed by reputational ambiguity. An investigation was carried out. There was insult, and the career of the victim paused without a formal accusation. Finally, came the resignation – sure as night and day!

Nothing has to be lost for everything to feel compromised.

Loss is not just ‘financial’. It can be reputational. Reputational damage is invisible violence. It is hard to detect and even harder to contest – because at stake, is more than just the career. Not all cyberattacks are designed to extract value (ransom).

In some cases, “consequences” are the objective.  The focus is not on taking something away, it is leaving something behind; a doubt that did not previously exist.

In others, there may be no missing money, no corrupted systems, and no clear victim metric. But if someone’s access gets reviewed, their responsibilities have been quietly reduced, and the tone of conversations with them undergoes a change, it is clear that suspicion has entered the system.

In such contexts, an attack need not leave behind evidence. It only needs to leave behind enough breadcrumbs to enable inference. There is no accusation, only a suggestion, and suggestions are often sufficient to reshape outcomes.

In that sense, ruining credibility is more effective than stealing data.

What makes these cyberattacks effective

The power of such attacks lies in the attacker’s knowledge of what institutions are forced to do next. It could be a timed leak, or a selective disclosure, or a contextless artefact. Anything that creates plausibility for an accusation. No system might have been fully compromised. No fabrication might have been done. If enough doubt is sowed, if enough suspicion arises, and an inference can be drawn, an internal investigation is most likely to follow.

These attacks exploit procedural response by creating “partial” or “false” truths. They operate in grey zones, not red flags.

Reputational defence mechanisms can become reputational weapons

Organisations are risk-averse, procedurally-bound and reputation-sensitive. That is why when faced with the risk of loss of reputation, the board demands stability and the leadership prioritises containment. This can trigger all or any of these defensive responses within the organisation – internal silence, distancing from the event, or precautionary actions.

Silence is a risk containment strategy, not avoidance. It buys time to see if the issue escalates, or fizzles out. Organisations see distancing from the event as system protection, not judgement. It is done to prevent a contagion from the event. Simple precautionary actions like reviewing access, or reassign duties are an answer to ‘What did you do when you first noticed something?’.  Once taken, precaution resembles guilt externally, even though internally it is framed as neutral.

Reputational attacks work because organisations respond rationally to uncertainty. And because uncertainty cannot be tolerated, even in the absence of guilt, career damage occurs.

The inquiry may conclude but the pause rarely does

In many such cases, the investigation eventually ends. Files are closed, access logs reviewed, intent found to be ambiguous rather than malicious. But the pause that follows rarely lifts in the same way. Careers do not resume at the point they were interrupted; they restart, if at all, under a different light. A lot of times, the person changes jobs, which could also be a difficult switch, since the industry “gets to know”.

Modern organisations are designed to prevent risk, not to reverse suspicion. And the mechanisms that protect institutions often leave individuals carrying residual doubt – whether something was actually found against them. Such a damage is administrative rather than criminal, procedural rather than punitive. It requires no conviction, only a sequence of reasonable actions taken in response to uncertainty. In that sense, some contemporary attacks do not depend on theft or exposure at all.

They succeed when systems behave predictably, when caution outruns context, and when reputational harm becomes an outcome without a single illegal act ever needing to be proven.

Nitish Bhushan writes about technology, trust, and how behavioural vulnerabilities quietly reshape relationships and institutions.

Several of the themes explored here; insider vulnerability, reputational collapse, and quiet escalation, are examined through fiction in his novel Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail.

This article was first published in The Print on the 13^th of Feb 2026

It begins inconspicuously, like a normal last-minute adjustment to an earlier calendar invite. Along with it comes a document shared with a note that says, ‘Sharing a doc so we’re aligned.’ Small negotiations that keep the business moving. So far nothing unusual.

The recipient responds because it feels reasonable to respond. A delay would look unhelpful because the sender appears legitimate, familiar, and the matter seems urgent. Nothing has gone wrong. There is no breach. No system failure. No red flag blinking on a dashboard. There is only work – happening at speed, under pressure, with the quiet assumption that cooperation is safer than caution.

The incident begins socially, not technically

Cyber incidents usually begin long before a system is touched. Smart hackers rely on coordination, cooperation, compliance, or, sheer courtesy, rather than begin with malicious code or sophisticated exploits. They make a request in good faith. A response follows because that is how work is expected to function. Risk enters the moment cooperation becomes automatic, not at the point of intrusion. When speed is rewarded, when responsiveness signals competence, and when questioning a request feels like friction rather than diligence, the conditions for failure are set.

By the time a system is accessed or data is exposed, the decisive step has often already occurred quietly, socially, and without resistance.

What drives compliance is more often organisational psychology than technical ignorance

Let us understand why this happens. There is an invisible social mechanics in play here that typically encourages people to not respond in a ‘no’. Especially if the request is from a customer, or someone in a position of authority.

Asking questions signals lack of alignment or slowness, or insecurity. Hesitation is often interpreted as inefficiency while compliance is read as professionalism. Declining a request disrupts momentum. It introduces friction, and requires justification.

The fear of appearing incompetent, and the perceived social cost of saying ‘no’ makes it way lot easier to say ‘yes’. Because the context creates legitimacy, social acceptance creates room for technical compromise.

Nobody behaves irrationally. Nobody thinks they are being careless. Every step feels explainable in isolation.

The structure itself enables its destruction

Organisations audit systems, not conversations. They discipline errors, not environments. They log actions, not pressures thus individualising failure, erasing context, and preserving the fiction that choice was free and unconstrained.

Most enterprise systems are designed to record what was done, who did it, when it was done, from where, and using which credentials. They are not designed to record why it felt necessary, what fear preceded it, what threat, ambiguity, or power imbalance was present, and what consequences the person was trying to avoid.

So the record shows: Employee X accessed File Y at 11:42 pm. It does not show: Employee X had just been told their role was ‘under review’, was informally asked for data by a superior, and was afraid that refusal would be noted.

When something goes wrong, investigations move outwards from the log, not inwards from the human. An action is identified, a policy violation is cited, and a responsibility is assigned. The pressure gradient that made the action feel inevitable remains invisible.

This is why good employees, who complied earlier, appear reckless later. Mistakes look malicious in hindsight, thereby hardening ‘insider threat’ narratives.

This allows institutions to say that, ‘The system worked. The human failed.’ Even when the system quietly created the conditions for that failure.

What we misunderstand about risk

There is no checklist here, no definitive to-do list of what organisations must do next. But there is no denying that in fearing technical sophistication, we overlook social predictability.

Organisations tend to believe danger as something external and advanced: zero-day exploits, sophisticated malware, elite foreign hackers. This fear is comfortable because it externalises the threat, justifies expensive tools, and suggests that only specialists could have prevented it. So when incidents occur, organisations ask, ‘Which vulnerability was exploited? Which system failed? Which tool did we lack?’ The assumption is: damage requires brilliance.

But damage often comes from social predictability which we routinely overlook. Human behaviour is remarkably consistent under pressure. People comply with authority, rush under deadlines, avoid conflict, and fear reputational harm more than abstract policy.

Attackers don’t need genius. They need insight into incentives, fear points, organisational culture, and informal power structures. Once those are mapped, outcomes become almost deterministic. The attacker isn’t guessing. They’re triggering a known response.

The question, then, is not whether people behaved wrongly, but whether modern organisations have made it unreasonable to behave otherwise.

If risk increasingly emerges from predictable human responses, we may need to ask a harder question than how systems were breached: what kinds of behaviour do our institutions reward, and which do they quietly punish?

Nitish Bhushan writes about technology, trust, and how behavioural vulnerabilities quietly reshape relationships and institutions.

Several of the themes explored here; insider vulnerability, reputational collapse, and quiet escalation, are examined through fiction in his novel Shadow Play: Love & Blackmail.

*This article was first published in The Print on the 31st of Jan 2026