The Courtesans of Karim Street – by Debotri Dhar

The Courtesans of Karim Street – by Debotri Dhar

Debotri Dhar is a cultural theorist, traveller, storyteller. She has lived multiple lives in India, the USA, the UK, and other named and unnamed countries in-between. She is passionate about higher education and interdisciplinary research and enjoys giving public talks and teaching in the university. Her new book The Courtesans of Karim Street is a love story set in India and the United States, that straddles the historical past and contemporary present. Here, Varsha Verma finds more about this book.

Debotri Dhar

I believe the best stories are those that draw creatively from our own worlds, the spaces we inherit and inhabit. I have attempted to do that, in order to create authentic characters and a fastpaced, audacious (but hopefully still believable!) plot, with mystery, history, romance, ideas, interpretations.... The geographical settings in the two countries, from Princeton and Newark on the US east coast, to Delhi (New Delhi as well as the old city), are those I am personally very familiar with. Travel in all its complex dimensions has been a recurring thread in my life, so I was able to draw from that. The university classroom scenes are inspired by my own experiences as an academic in America, just as the references to music draw from my training in Hindustani classical music. The research had mostly to do with the courtesan culture of our yesteryears, the stories of the courtesans’ lives, loves and longings against a shifting political, cultural and material landscape. I wanted to take these themes, transforming them to weave a very contemporary love story, tells Debotri

Response so far…

“Well, the book has just been released in India. I flew down from the US for the launch… The response has been quite heartwarming. Several readers from across the country have written to me to say they have enjoyed the lyricism of the prose, the conversations between cultures, the friendships, the love. We have had launches in two cities in India so far, Delhi and Kolkata, where the audience was so lively and engaging. I also did a book reading and talk at JNU, at an event organised by the English department and the Forum for Mutual Learning at JNU. It was a joy interacting with the students, especially the Ph D students. A wonderful review in the Sunday Guardian described my novel as having succeeded in addressing the historical silencing of courtesans in public discourse and presenting an alternative reading of the present and future through an array of Indian and American characters. I am really looking forward to more readers reading the novel, bringing to it their own interpretations, and deciding for themselves if I’ve told a good story,” she shares.

Journey as an author…

“I ’m an ear ly career academic, so academic research and teaching take up a lot of time. When the day job ends, the night job of writing fiction begins. When I wrote my first novel, I was an undergraduate preparing for final exams! In the years that followed, I was only able to write short stories as I completed a Masters degree from Oxford University and a Ph D from Rutgers University. Some of them were published in literary journals in the US, UK and elsewhere. One, I remember, won a literary award…I was so thrilled! These were later published as a collection. It was only when I was close to completing my Ph D in 2013 and had a lectureship that I wrote this novel on the courtesans. A friend owned a beautiful home on the outskirts of Princeton, and I wrote some portions of it there, the parts that are based in Pennington, US. It’s been a very interesting journey for me as an author, an academic and an individual.

Future plans include academic books, non-fiction as well as fiction. I’ve currently joined the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, so may be that setting will inspire a new novel. I just want to keep writing…,” she shares. So, as a writer, what does she aim to achieve? “To tell a good story and connect with my audience. Academic writing and fiction are two different forms of writing, different audiences. Since I already write for a specialised audience as far as academics is concerned, I want to make that my fiction is more fast-paced and readable, with romance, humor, adventure, eccentric characters and attractive, entertaining storylines,” replies Debotri.

Most difficult part of being an author…

“I would say the hardest part of writing a novel is definitely the marketing aspect! Perhaps it seems harder to me, in comparison to those writers who are gifted with a keener sense of selling. Earlier writers could afford to be reclusive, but these days the writer is a commodity to be consumed in the market. I am an idealist, I live in a world of ideas, even while recognising the role and importance of the market. One has to learn new skills everyday…,” she shares.

What reading means to her?

“There is such cacophony in the world sometimes… relaxing with a book will always remain a great option. Besides, what other form of entertainment allows us to retreat into beautiful worlds of ideas and expressions? Yesterday, a young reader confessed that she had hesitated to pick up The Courtesans of Karim Street. Turns out she was worried a novel written by an academic would be boring! But then she found it such an engrossing read that she stayed up the entire night and finished it in one go!” shares Debotri.

What next?

“I’m doing a non-fiction book on gender. As far as fiction is concerned, a work of social satire is already underway. It’s a humorous story of a young woman, set against a backdrop of contemporary local and global politics,” concluded Debotri.

Add-ons in children books make them more attractive!

–shares Ved Chawla of Dreamland Publications in conversation with Varsha Verma. 

This month, All About Book Publishing (ABP) invited a veteran in publishing to their office in New Delhi. Meet Ved Chawla of Dreamland Publishing, who shares his opinion on the Indian children publishing segment. Excerpts.

Challenges before Indian publishers…

Ved Chawla

“The Indian publishers today face a lot of challenges, dearth of talented authors being one of them. Besides, the Indian market is so price-sensitive, it is difficult for publishers to deliver quality content at these prices. Indian customers are not much concerned with content and production quality, they decide to buy books on the basis of price. Though they are willing to pay more for the imported books, they are hesitant to pay the same price for Indian books,” shares Ved Chawla of Dreamland Publications. Talking about the textbooks, Ved opined that parents and teachers should first read the content of the book and then decide if it is suitable for their children. “They should not rely much on guide books, help books and internet,” he added.

On education publishing…

“The giant publishers are doing a good job but the mushroom publishers are bringing out low-quality books with low quality content and illustrations. This kind of publishing should be stopped. Talented teachers should check all the books thoroughly and recommend quality books for their school,” opined Ved. “The textbooks should be of such high standard that children should not feel the need for helpbooks, guidebooks or even private tuitions. Content should be easy to understand. Sometimes, authors use such words, for which a child has to refer a dictionary to understand its meaning. So, it is important to use the scripts in accordance to the age group of the child. If textbooks do not serve this purpose, it is a big question mark on the capability of the publisher,” he added.

Tips for improving content…

“Whenever a child picks up a book, he should feel that he has become a part of that fantasy world. Thus, in any children book, illustrations play an important role. Bright colours with attractive designing give a new dimension to the quality script. Dull and black colours are not good for children and they are not even attractive to them,” told Ved.

On exports…

So how can Indian publishers improve their exports? “On the basis of their production quality and using good quality paper stock, they can improve their exports. Besides, content should be meaningful and appropriate, services should be prompt and they should work on time-bound schedule,” replied Ved.

Coming to children books, Ved shared that books that give a toy like feeling are in great demand for exports. “Books which have add-ons like electronic add-ons like CDs, drawing/ stationery items are in vogue. In Europe and America, books are even sold with small toys, which becomes an additional feature of attraction to kids,” he added.

On imports…

Talking about the children books imported in India, he told that only branded books like Disney, Archies, Batman, etc are imported in India. “Otherwise, equally good quality books are produced in India that there is no need for importing them,” he told.

CPG: eyeing on acquiring Indian titles on culture and computer science

China Publishing Group is a large-scale national publishing institution in China and they are planning to participate at the upcoming New Delhi World Book Fair 2016 in a big way. Here, Li Yan, vice president, China Publishing Group Corporation, shares more about CPG, in conversation with Varsha Verma.The Chinese publishing industry is significantly large and China publishes around 4,40,000 titles every year, growing at a rate of 3 percent in 2014, told Li Yan, vice president, China Publishing Group Corporation.

Li Yan

“In 2013, the industry was growing at 4 percent while the growth rate in 2012 was 8 percent.” Talking about digital publishing, Li told that the growth in digital publishing has been 20 percent per annum. China Publishing Group (CPG) is a large-scale national publishing institution, founded in view of intensifying the reform and accelerating the development in publishing industry. Granted by the Central Government of China, the Group was established on April 9, 2002. The Group consists of ten large publishing houses and three publications wholesalers, namely, the People’s Literature Publishing House, the Commercial Press, Zhonghua Book Company, Encyclopaedia of China Publishing House, China Fine Arts Publishing Group, People’s Music Publishing House, SDX Joint Publishing Company, CTPC Publishing House, Orient Publishing Centre, Xinhua Bookstore Head Office, China National Publishing Industry Trading Corporation and China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Corporation. Besides books, CPG also deals in 55 periodicals related to social science and news.

“In fact, we are the largest publisher of trade and professional books, including encyclopaedias, dictionaries, academia especially social science. We export printed copies as well as sell rights to foreign countries. China Publishing Group has been rated as one amongst the top fifty publishers of the world. CPG dominates more than 7 percent of the domestic retailing market for thirteen years now,” told Li.

Talking more about the exports, he told, “We are largest book exporter and importer in China. We annually export books worth $14 million while copyright export amounts to more than 600 titles.” On asking about the Indian publishing industry, Li replied, “CPG has many cooperations with Indian publishing. Last year, Encyclopaedia of India-China Culture Contacts was released in India. Its Chinese counterpart was published by CPG. We are also closely working on Indo-China Classic Works Project in which Indian works are translated in Chinese and vice-versa.”

He also talked about their title – Sino India Maritime Strategies imported and published by China Democracy & Legal System Publishing House (under CPG). Since CPG is working on Indo-China Works Project, CPG is now focusing on participating at upcoming New Delhi World Book Fair 2016 (January 9-17, 2016). “The president of CPG will probably be there at the show and there would be at least ten publishers from the group,” told Li.

So what kind of Indian books would CPG be interested in? “Culture is the foremost focus for rights exchange and so is the computer science,” he said. As a message to Indian publishers, he said, “Both India and China are neighbours and have rich culture and heritage.” Infact, Li has majored in history and has learnt a lot about Indian history and country. He personally feels that India has lot of mystery around it and he would really like to know more about it.

“Chinese are the most humourous people in the world”

says Liu Zhenyun, a well-known Chinese author, who is known for his humourous streak in the saddest of situations in his books.Liu Zhenyun is a famous Chinese writer, whose works include novels such as Yellow Flower Under the Sun in Hometown, Going Around in Hometown, Hometown: Noodles and Flowers (four volumes), Cell Phone, My Name is Liu Yuejin, One Sentence worth Ten Thousand, I Did Not Kill My Husband, etc. He has also penned famous short stories such as Company of New Soldiers, Chicken Feathers Everywhere, Reminiscing 1942 etc. One Sentence worth Ten Thousand was awarded with Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2011. Throughout the years, Liu’s works have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Hungarian, Serbian, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other languages.

Liu Zhenyun

Indian readers can read English version of his novels I Did Not Kill My Husband, Cellphone, and others, published by Skyhorse. “The response for the English version of my novel has been very good. The New York Times had reviewed the novel and said that Chinese also have a sense of humour and they are not serious or mysterious,” told Liu.

On asking about whether he is happy with his translated works or do translations lose the original flavor, Liu replied, “All translations are done by sinologists who are high-quality translators. They always try to maintain the original flavor.” Liu started writing when he was in college and his first book was published in 1992. “I have something to tell to the world. But, all my novels are a mix of fact and fiction as only a fiction novel cannot be of top quality,” he shared. Liu has written a novel set in the famine in 1942. “But, it has a sense of humour too as life is even sadder than the description in the novel,” he added.

His books are so interesting that they have been adapted to films as well. Two of his books - One Sentence worth Ten Thousand and I Did Not Kill My Husband – will be soon adapted into films.

FLTRP: a complete educational service provider in China

Tell us something about the role of FLTRP in popularizing foreign language education in China?

Zhang Siying with Varsha Verma

Zhang: Aiming for higher goals, we have been actively exploring innovative transformation and expanding our business scope. Educational training and service, online courses have become our new strengths.

New Concept English, first published by us in 1996, is still selling very well today. It is the bestseller in the English language learning market. In 2001, FLTRP and Macmillan Education jointly complied and published New Standard English, based on the currently new curriculum issued by the Ministry of Education. So far, more than 500 million copies have been sold.

In the past decade, FLTRP has provided training to about one million college and school teachers. The annual FLTRP National English Debating Competition was first held in 1997, and there after attracting students from hundreds of universities every year. FLTRP initiated the annual National English Public Speaking Contest in 2002, the National English Writing Contest in 2013 and the National English Reading Contest in 2015.

What have been the changes in the industry since the inception of FLTRP?

Zhang: Over the past 36 years, we think the biggest change in the industry has been the transform from print copies to the digital ones. And embracing the digital age, FLTRP also made endeavors in developing new products like online learning materials, the E-pen, Apps, etc to provide better, easy to learn and more advanced services to our users.

Describe FLTRP as a complete educational service provider.

Zhang: FLTRP started as a language education publisher, and has expanded into more subject areas. The formats of our products have extended from print to digital and mobile. And the age groups of our learners now cover pre-school kids to adults.

FLTRP has now built itself into a language publisher to an educational solutions provider. We provide training courses, online education services, assessment services to target users, as well as organize types of competitions including English debating, speaking and writing competitions.

What kind of books are published and in what languages?

Zhang: Our publications range from academic and educational works, to humanities and social sciences, natural sciences, and to the mass reading and children’s books. We now publish in 47 languages.

Which are the most popular languages and why?

Zhang: The most popular language of all is, of course, English, since it is the most frequently used language in the world, and has highest number as far as speaking is concerned. Other major European and Asian languages, like French, Japanese, German, Korean, Spanish, and Russian, are also quite popular in China.

How many books have been published so far?

Zhang: We now have a backlist of more than 9,000 titles, and we publish more than 1,000 new titles each year.

What are the average print runs of these books?

Zhang: Print runs may vary with different titles. For textbooks used in the school system, the print runs can be over 10 thousand, while for less popular titles like the teacher’s handbooks, the first print runs would be around 1,000.

Also, are these available as ebooks as well?

Zhang: This also depends on the types of books. For textbooks, we usually provide E-pen applicable print copies to facilitate users with more ready-to-use audio materials, and we also provide online resources and platforms to assist teaching and learning. For readers, we often provide ebooks.

What is the process of selection for authors? And how do you ensure that you publish authentic information?

Zhang: Our process is in fact quite simple: we first establish our publishing plan according to the demands of our readers and the local market, and then we find the suitable potential authors for the projects. We ask all potential authors to write sample units, and make evaluations according to the quality of the samples before making final decisions on the right authors to employ.

To ensure that we publish authentic information, we always cooperate with leading foreign publishers and first-class authors. We also train our editors, and send them to various language-teaching related conferences to get the cutting-edge information.

What are your views on the increasing competition of digital publishing to printed ones? Do you think it is a threat to the print? Why/Why not?

Zhang: We cannot deny that the competition between digital and traditional publishing is getting fierce. But we think that instead of being a threat to the print, digital publishing can be a very useful supplementary tool to the print if applied in the right way. Digitized materials are more convenient, and can make learning more vivid and interesting, and make teaching management more efficient.

Since you also publish dictionaries and other reference books, how has digital publishing affected the sales of these books?

Zhang: When the digital age first came to affect the publishing circle, the sales of dictionaries and reference books did suffer from a rapid decrease. But the negative effects only lie in the format of publishing, not the contents. What we need to do is to adapt the formats to a more convenient form, so that readers are given the freedom of shifting from print to digital.

What about your distribution system for offline and online sales?

Zhang: We have our traditional offline distribution system, and are working with major online stores in China. We are also building our own online flagship store.

Beijing International Book Fair: a resounding success!

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Held from August 26-30, 2015, Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) was a meeting ground for publishers from China and 82 different countries and regions around the world. The show was abuzz with activities on all five days. Here, Varsha Verma, associate editor, All About Book Publishing (ABP) brings a report.The 22nd Beijing International Book Fair was successfully held from August 26-30, 2015 at the China International Exhibition Centre (New Venue).

The statistics…

Spread over an exhibition area of 66,000 sq m, with 2,400 stands, featuring 2,302 publishing houses from not only the mainland China, but also from 82 different countriesand regions.Approximately 3,00,000 titles were on display.Over 1,000 cultural events and seminars were held,which attracted more than 2,60,000 visitors to the fair.The rights deals signed at the fair numbered to 4,721, an 8.6 percent increase from last year.

Guest of honour country…

The United Arab Emirates was the country of honour this year, with an exhibition area of 1,000 sq m. The UAE invited its cultural institutions, publishers, and writers to attend the Fair, and held activities to enhance communication amongst publishing industry and writers. These included UAE culture, art and heritage photo gallery, film screening, henna hand art, Arabic calligraphy, crafts, etc.

9th Special Book Awards of China

The 9th Special Book Awards of China was held at the Great Hall of People, Beijing. Established in 2005, it is a national-level award for foreign books that make great contributions introducing China and promoting Chinese culture and publications – it is awarded to foreign nationals, and Chinese nationals of foreign descent, working as authors, translators and publishers. Twenty people were awarded this year - Colin Patrick Mackerras, John Makeham, Carducci Lisa, François Cheng, Bellassen Joël, Schmidt-Glintzer Helwig, WL Idema, Sykhoun Bounvilay, Chimedtseye Menerel, Adam Marszalek, Perelomov Leonard sergeyevich, Mária Ferancová, Angel Fernandez Fermoselle, Robert E Baensch, Alitto Guy Salvatore, Ahmed Mohamed Elsaid Soliman, Kaung Min, Salaczne Zombori Klára ágnes, Samer Khair Ahmad Khrino and Eric Abrahamsen.

Major highlights…

This year BIBF, for the first time, facilitated the Hall of International Children’s Publications (over 14,000 sq m) for children’s publishers from home and abroad. Besides, the Rights Trade Zone, the 1,500 sq m BIBF Picture Book Exhibition and the Illustration Exhibition were set in this hall. The new hall attracted over 40,000 children and parents during public days.

This year, BIBF continued to organise brand activities such as 2015 Beijing International Publishing Forum, BIBF Advanced Seminar on International Rights Trade, CLT-ELT Seminar, BIBF 10+10 Roundtable Meetings, and IDPF@ BIBF International Digital Publishing Forum. Moreover, BIBF launched the first International Children’s Publishing Forum, Rights Managers’ Salon and the International Translation Grant Presentation. These activities contributed to enhancing communications between publishers from home and abroad.

BIBF literature activities…

The show brought together a galaxy of writers, translators and artists from various countries and offered a reading retreat for literature fans. Over 50 renowned authors from China, Britain, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, etc participated in a series of activities like 2015 BIBF Literature Night, Introduction to New Books and Close to Reading. The activities were held in Writers Zone and offsite venues like One Way Space, Kubrick and Courtyard Institute and TrainspottingCulture Salon.

Print on Demand

At the show, there were a few companies showcasing their POD facilities. One such exhibitor was Xerox. According to Arie Levi, general manager, Xerox Impika Inkjet Solutions, Asia Pacific, Xerox started their operations in China in late 2014. “Many big publishers, with encouragement of Chinese government, have now begun to save cost (waste) and the market is now on a stage of looking at saving cost on printed material. We are in the process of getting an order for Xerox Impika soon,” he said.

Illustrations: a visual support to a book

Children books become all the more interesting when they have attractive illustrations. Infact, illustrations breathe life into children’s books. Here, Manisha Chaudhry, editorial head, Pratham Books, shares her views on the role of illustrations in children books and the quality of illustrators in India, in conversation with Varsha Verma.

What is the role of illustrations in children books, what their major attributes are and how the work of Indian illustrators is evolving, shares Manisha Chaudhry, editorial head, Pratham Books.

ABP: What is the role of illustrations in children books?

Manisha: Illustrations breathe life into children's books. When a child first encounters a book, (whether she can read or not!) she begins by 'reading' the pictures. It is by looking at the pictures again and again and perhaps talking about them and asking questions or imagining things around them that she becomes ready to read in the formal sense of the word. At that stage, the illustrations support her own individualistic way of reading the book. Sometimes the illustrations provide direct visual support to the story and help her connect to characters and situations. For some children, they provide a take off point to add to the story using their own imagination. Children like books where the story and illustrations perfectly complement each other.

ABP: Is the story more important or the illustrations, considering the fact that when a child picks up the book, it is probably the illustrations that attract him?

Manisha: That is a bit like asking whether water is more important or food! Both are needed for a memorable reading experience for the child. It depends on the age and print readiness of the child and cannot remain constant. Since we use the word 'children' for anybody between the ages of 3-14 years, we cannot make such generalisations. Even in developmental stages of childhood, the ability of a child to read visuals and language capabilities grow simultaneously.

When children experiment with language, they also narrate experiences, real or imagined, which is probably their first taste of a story. Even if a child is first attracted towards a book because of the illustrations, she looks at them to make up her own personal story.

As publishers of children's books, we all work on both aspects so that the book gives joy to the child and trigger a positive interest in the act of reading.

ABP: How do you rate the quality of Indian illustrators vis-a-vis foreign ones?

Manisha: Indian illustration is a very broad and varied category. Quality also depends on the publishing house. There has to be a willingness to allocate a good illustration and book design budget and invest in good production. India has very fine illustrators who do excellent and imaginative work if they get the required support from publishing houses.

Usually, when people refer to 'foreign' illustrators, they mean illustrators working in western countries. Many western countries have had a longer track record of children's publishing and very supportive policies towards the creation of children's books. In the Scandinavian countries, France, Poland, Switzerland and so many others, there has been such tremendous support for children's books with illustrations and consequently there is a market which has led to such a variety of books. I'm sure there must be some books of indifferent quality also, but we get to see the best and boldest in terms of illustration and design.

I think we need to look beyond measuring ourselves against others. We have a wealth of traditions of visual representation in India as also young designers coming out of design schools. If book illustration and design received greater attention from publishers, I am sure a lot more exciting work will get done. There are many excellent Indian illustrators who are transforming the landscape and will do even more interesting work in the future as the children's books segment continues to grow.

ABP: What are the various attributes that should be kept in mind while including illustrations in a children book?

Manisha: Illustrations are essentially a creative interpretation of a story or a situation by the artist. They have to stand on their own within the overall framework of the book. Depending on the type of book being illustrated, such as a picture book, text book, comic book, the attributes may change. They have to serve the purpose of the book. The obvious things to eschew would be any form of stereotyping whether relating to race, class or gender, although that can depend on the context of the story. Any disturbingly graphic depictions of violence are usually kept out.

Clarity and a visual balance with the text is another very important attribute specially in beginners' books, picture books, etc. If there is the possibility of communication between the illustrator and editor and author and if there is a specific audience in mind, it becomes easier to decide the attributes. Whether detailed or with bold lines, black and white or coloured, the idea is to create an ideal package to draw a child into the world of books.

ABP: Since you have worked with a lot of illustrators, brief us about any particular illustrations which have touched your heart?

Manisha: It is very difficult to pick favourites. There are so many illustrators who have touched my heart. Some of them directly and others whose work I admire.

I love Bindia Thapar's illustrations. She illustrated a book called City of Stories for us and I feel happy as soon as I spot that book. Her cityscapes, her characteristic style makes the book shine in a different light altogether.

I also love Priya Kuriyan's work. She has illustrated many books for us and I will always look upon the Rituchakra series with great fondness. Maya Ramaswamy's work in titles such Nono, the Snow Leopard, King Cobra, The Adventures of Philautus the Frog is outstanding.

Ruchi Shah's work is really interesting too. Nina Sabnani, Shilpa Ranade, Tapas Guha all bring a great sense of individual style to the books they illustrate. I also admire Atanu Roy, Shuddhasatwa Basu, Taposhi Ghosal, Anita Balachandran.. I could go on with so many other names....

ABP: Any message for our readers.

Manisha: Publishers have to play their part if we want to see more and better children's books in all Indian languages. They have to support illustrators and recognise that even the simplest picture books and early readers have a far reaching impact on a new generation of readers.

“Future augurs well for a company that believes content is king”

says Raghu Ram Aiyar, executive sr. vice president, Amity University Press in conversation with Varsha Verma.

The K-12 publishing segment is growing at a rate of 16 percent per annum. With the rise of e-textbooks, the content has become the king and the publishers are considering taking more interactive approach to data provision. But, with stiff competition and discount wars, the industry is reeling under pressure. Here, Raghu Ram Aiyar, executive sr. vice president, Amity University Press, discusses the trends and future prospects of the K-12 publishing industry.

Varsha: You are a veteran in the academic publishing industry; describe your journey so far?

Aiyar: I began my career in the year 1990 as the senior vice president at Macmillan. During those days, Kolkata used to be the south-east headquarters of the company’s worldwide operations. It was baptism by fire, as it were. The company was going through a rough patch as it was marred by labour problems and was toying with the idea of closing down its operations. But, the company moved on this time around concentrating on publishing books catering to the Indian market. Those were the days when the decision makers and influencing factors spent quality time with publishers reviewing the content of the titles religiously and with deep keenness.

Unfortunately, this trend seems to be on the wane in the present day. The trade has taken over in helping the institutions in deciding the prescriptions. Maybe this is because choosing the right book is important but not a prioritised area. Publishers hardly get any time at the school level.

From Macmillan to Amity University Press (AUP) in 2003: The visionary chancellor Atul Chauhan had laid the foundation and then the company sprang into action with my joining them. It was a start from the scratch, yet again. Mornings and nights were spent by us in formalising a publishing programme that has caught the imagination of a discerning school audience, today. Amity University Press (AUP) has carved a niche for itself and has become a name to reckon with in the publishing industry. I take extreme pride in the fact that our books are considered benchmark by schools that do not even use our books. AUP has grown from strength to strength from 2003 to 2016. The future augurs well for a company that does not believe in compromising on quality and believes that content is king.

Varsha: What have been the major trends in the publishing industry and where does it stand now?

Aiyar: The publishing industry has been undergoing a major evolution and with digital media gaining popularity, it has become relatively easier for more and more non-publishing media companies to join the business of creating and distributing content. With the rise of e-textbooks the content has become the king and the publishers are considering taking more interactive approach to data provision. They are trying to go down the enriched content route and provide the end users videos and interactive graphical content. The publishers are viewing Massive Open Online Courses (MCOC) as a lucrative business opportunity to market textbooks and e-textbooks.

Varsha: The Indian publishing industry is still disorganised. What are your views on K-12 segment, which has become a little organised?

Aiyar: The discount war is forcing many institutions to prescribe books not on the basis of merit but on the basis of the discounts being offered by the publishers. However, institutions belonging to old school of thought, who don’t want to compromise on quality still opt for publishers with a proven track record. The rising competition is forcing publishers to add value to content and make it available online if they want to sustain their legacy and do good business.

I strongly feel there is a need for a forum where academic publishers can sit across the table with institutional heads and develop online version of their texts and also load them with interactive features that are going to be beneficial to students.

Varsha: What are the limitations and challenges that publishers face today?

Aiyar: I feel the publishing industry has witnessed a major metamorphosis since its inception. The publishing industry today is at a crossroad as the conventional publishing industry is facing an eminent threat from e-books. E-books today are ready to phase out or edge out the printed ones. The trend seems to be picking up because publishers don’t need to invest in paper or arrange for transportation of the consignments. Moreover, more and more middle class Indians are choosing kindle edition over the physical book because low cost editions are available at the click of the mouse.

The publishing industry is yet to acquire an official industry status; it still continues to be an unorganised sector. The other factors which pose challenge to the industry are rampant piracy and discount war. The pirated copies sold at busy traffic intersections lead to corporate infringement and all the publishers need to join hands to curb the problem from assuming mammoth proportion.

One eminent threat that I can foresee in the future comes from the government. If the government decides to hike the cost of paper by a large percentage, the cost of the books will go up, whereas the government has been building pressure on the publishers to cut down on the prices of the books. Isn’t it ironical?

Varsha: How is digital affecting the K-12 industry and how is it expected to transform the publishing industry in the next 10 years?

Aiyar: I think e-books can never replace physical books, they will continue to be around for a longer time in India as compared to other countries. Internet is yet to penetrate fully in the country and many remote areas still continue to be out of bounds. Moreover, a large section of the society still finds kindle and e-books unaffordable and inaccessible. However, in the coming years it would become imperative for the publishers that every new book is simultaneously released as an e-book.

In future publishers should be ready to dole out extra money on scanning, proofing, preparing the PDF and turning the physical book into an e-book. They have to be prepared to change the format of the book to meet the requirement of different e-retailers. Another important thing that they need to keep in mind is that marketing through e-vendors does not eliminate the distribution cost completely.

Though, e-retailers are not charging a fortune right now, but will not think twice before milking publishers like distributors in future.