August
13
‘Indian Writing’ has become
quite big. Indian writers are read and appreciated today, here as well as
globally. And with it there is a boom in Indian publishing. From the Vedas,
written thousands of years ago, considered to be the first ever literature of
India, to the best sellers authored by the Chetan Bhagats and Amish Tripathis
of today, the journey of Indian literature has been quite interesting and
exciting. Indian authors are writing in all sorts of genres: fiction, crime
thrillers, fantasy, romance, fiction based on mythology, science fiction,
children’s books, young adult books, recipe books…just about anything and
everything in English.
With globalisation and the
impact of technology, the trends in literature and publishing too are changing
like never before. While hardcore book lovers still swear by the printed
version, online reading is getting popular with each passing day and posing a
threat to the printed word. Many of the best sellers are from debutant writers.
Self publishing is also in vogue where writers publish and market their product
and are getting recognition. Children’s books too have come of age. While this
publishing boom augurs well for writers, have the reading habits of Indians
changed? These are some of the topics that the August issue of One India One
People has covered in its theme: The World of Books. Happy reading!
In a constantly changing and
relentlessly growing literary scenario, Indian writers in English have carved a
niche for themselves and are now determining their own way forward, says Debina Chattopadhyay, a seasoned writing
and editing professional with extensive experience in print and digital media.
Her article ‘Indian English writers in great demand’ traces the popularity
of Indian writers writing in English. 
‘Will ebooks kill the
printed word?’ is a question that is often debated today
thanks to the popularity of online reading. Books in digital formats are
putting a speedy end to delivery hiccups, storage issues, insurance and all the
associated publishing bugbears. Rama
Kumaraswamy Thoopal talks about the impact of technology on book publishing
and by default literature. Rama is the
Creative Head (Copy) at Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd where she
handles digital marketing for brands. She also writes for children in her spare
time.
In ‘Children’s literature comes of
age,’ Vinitha Ramchandani
says that the break for children’s fiction in India happened with the release
of Harry Potter. Indian publishers are today looking for intelligent, original
Indian writing, and many heartening things are happening in the space of
children’s publishing. Vinitha is a
children’s fiction writer with over 15 books for children to her credit,
available in bookstores across the country. An editor with a book publishing
firm in Mumbai, she loves listening to stories and conducts creative writing
workshops for children in her free time. 
Print publishing is still
considered the holy grail, but self publishing is catching on fast and
providing an equal amount of satisfaction to writers across subjects and
genres, writes Preeti Singh in ‘Writers
turn publishers’. Preeti is
passionate about books and everything to do with them! 
A writer’s struggle does not
end with the completion of his book. In fact, that’s only the beginning as he
scouts for a publisher. Joygopal Podder recounts
the phase of rejections he faced as a writer and shares a few lessons he learnt
along the way before being recognised as a published author in his article, ‘Waiting to be discovered’.
Joygopal
has received mention, for two consecutive years, in the Limca Book of Records
as the fastest crime fiction author of India. ‘Desperate Lives’, his fourteenth book, releases at the end of this
year. He is Director, Fundraising of the INGO ActionAid India. Visit his
website to know more about his works - http://marathonauthormasterofcrime.in/
Literature for the learning
disabled in India is still at a nascent stage, and hence a genre with great
potential. All it needs is the firm support of empathetic policies which can
unlock the magical world of books for one and all, writes Mahua Guha in the article ‘The wind beneath a learner’s wings’.
Mahua is a writer for a children’s
magazine and a travel enthusiast, always seeking new destinations and challenges.
‘Should there be literature
in cinema?’ asks Sanjit Narwekar and wonders if the
function of cinema is merely to narrate a story on screen or to explore the
essence of the story and take it to greater heights, using the grammar and
potential of the medium. The writer is a
national award-winning film historian, scriptwriter and documentary filmmaker.
Parents and teachers often
claim that ‘Getting children hooked on books’ is difficult. The lack of
the reading habit is blithely blamed on the Internet, social media and
television. But it is up to parents, teachers and other elders to ensure that
children have access to books and good literature, says Lina Mathias, senior assistant editor, Economic and Political Weekly.
In ‘Know India Better’, Akul
Tripathi takes us past the deserts and palaces of Rajasthan to ‘The Unheralded Rajasthan’, which is
waiting to be explored by the tourist. He was delighted to find that there is a
lot of Rajasthan, rich with lakes, rivers and forests that can bewilder those
who only follow TV travel show packages. Akul
is a media professional and freelance writer.
This issue, we are pleased to bring you ‘Face to Face’ with two distinguished people: Best selling author Preeti Shenoy and advertising professional Bodhisatwa
Dasgupta.
 |
| Preeti Shenoy |
Preeti Shenoy, is the author of
four best-sellers, artist (portraits,
mixed media, paper quilling), poet, yoga-buff, ex-basketball player, blogger,
dog-owner, nature lover, TEDx speaker and a mother., who began her writing
career with her first book called ‘34
Bubblegums and Candies’. The book was about 34 real-life incidents from her
life and those of her friends. Later, her book ‘Life is what you make it’ was among the top selling books of 2011
and the novel ‘Tea for two and a piece of
cake’ featured in the top five best-selling fictions of 2012. Her latest
book ‘The Secret Wish List’, which
released a few months ago is already making waves. In her books, Preeti weaves
magic with her words and pictures. Her books are magnetic, engrossing and
unputdownable. Preeti Shenoy talks about
her inspiration and her journey with Veena Adige.
Veena
is the Associate Editor of Bhavan’s Journal, the fortnightly magazine of
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. She has authored four books including The Legacy of Baba Amte. She has written
many short and long stories and freelances for several magazines and newspapers
including Woman’s Era, DNA and others. |
| Bodhisatwa Dasgupta |
In the second interview, Ashna Contractor talks to Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, whose one-year-old initiative, The Dolch
Project, aims to invite people and bring them together for the purpose of
writing short stories for children with learning disabilities. Dasgupta is a copywriter at Grey Worldwide
by profession and a writer by nature. With this initiative, Dasgupta is
addressing an issue that often goes unnoticed and neglected in our country. His
objective is to provide good literature for children with learning disabilities
so that they are not alienated.
Ashna
Contractor is a fourth year
undergraduate student studying Political and Social Thought and Psychology at
the University of Virginia. She loves to travel, go trekking and eat different
foods. She has a keen interest in international relations and socio-political
issues in India. She is currently doing an internship with One India One People.
In our General section, we
look at the issue of food security with a different view. In her article ‘From
food insecurity to food sovereignty’,
Nandini Chavan says there is a need
to go beyond schemes and policies and to focus more on the issue of food
sovereignty.
The
writer is Programme Coordinator- Research & Publication with Vikas Adhyayan
Kendra (VAK), Mumbai. VAK has been working on the issue of food security
since the last few years. VAK also operates as a part of ‘People Alliance for
Bio Regional Food Sovereignty’. The recommendations of this alliance have been
presented to the Parliamentary Forum in Dec 2012.
In ‘Health to the beat of drums-the Panchayat way’, Swapna Majumdar writes how Panchayats can play a
key role in ensuring that the government health services reach the needy, as
proven by some villages of Rajasthan.
In ‘Youth Voice’, Ashna
Contractor asks, ‘Why are we so
obsessed with fairness?’. She writes, “We live in a society that already
has enough social divisions. We really don’t need an additional dimension of
dark versus fair. The fairness benchmark that our society has created for
itself hampers people’s self-confidence making them under appreciate themselves
for who they are.”
In ‘Great Indians’, we look at the fabulous journey of Dr. Veena Mazumdar, The doyen of Women’s
Studies Movement in India (1927-2013) (the profile is authored by Dr. Vibhuti Patel, Professor and Head,
Dept. of Economics, SNDT Women's University, Churchgate); and 
Lalgudi Jayaraman, the musical maestro (1930-2013) (the profile is authored by Latha
Venkatraman, an independent journalist and a student of music); and
the
supreme sacrifice of a daring soldier Major
Sushil Aima KC. (the profile is by Brigadier
Suresh Chandra Sharma (retd).
