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March 2011
Happenings
On
what's been happening. If there’s news you have heard of and think it
would make for interesting reading, please share it with us.
Literary Fest to focus on India
Source: montrealgazette.com
The
Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival gathers more
than 200 writers and artists from 12 countries for 170 activities in
seven languages, beginning April 27. The year's special focus is
literature from India, acknowledging the Year of India in Canada. Indian
poet Kamala Das will be honoured, and author Amitav Ghosh will be in
attendance.
Assam Valley Literary Award presented
Source: The Assam Tribune
Noted
Hindi poet Dr Kedar Nath Singh today laid stress on translation of
Indian regional language literature into other Indian languages so as to
strengthen the multi-coloured diversity of Indian languages, literature
and culture for the sake of uniting the nation.
He was
presenting the 21st Assam Valley Literary Award to noted litterateur
Harekrishna Deka at the Mackhowa ITA Centre for Performing Arts in
Guwahati.
In his acceptance speech, Deka said that language
cannot be dissociated from the social reality. Language is a
socially-conditioned act. Laying stress on writing in one's own tongue,
he said that the objective of doing that is to serve the cause of the
people, whose heritage forms the source of a writer's creativity. The
highest standards in writing can be achieved through sheer
professionalism but if regional writers were to peruse mere individual
agendas, the community and the language would suffer.Read more »
'Translations of Indian works set to find more readership'
Source: Times of India
While
common Indian readers have been exposed to several works translated
from European languages into their own, the interest in translation of
Indian works is largely limited to departments of Indology and academic
circles in universities abroad.
However, considering the
ever-evolving socio-political-economic motives that govern translations
and India's growing clout as an emerging economic power, this situation
is expected to change in the days to come, according to Sunanda Mahajan,
German language translator and professor of German at the department of
foreign languages, University of Pune.
She was speaking at the
international conference on the status and significance of Indian
languages for east-west understanding, organised by the Aikyabharati
Research Institute.
Anagha Bhatt, professor of Russian and head
of the department of foreign languages, University of Pune, also
co-edits 'Kelyane Bhashantar', a 12-year-old quarterly
journal-cum-"cross-cultural bridge", which translates various genres of
European literature - including novellas, short stories and plays - into
Marathi. She said: "Just as English works translated into Marathi in
the 19th century were instrumental in shaping modern-day Marathi prose,
so would these translations impact Marathi in days to come."
The session was chaired by Sanskrit scholar Pramod Lale. Read more »
First Urdu Diwan of North India to be published soon
Source: The Milli Gazette
Rare
manuscripts in languages like Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit and Dravidian
are to be published soon. In this regard, the first Urdu Diwan of
Northern India "Diwanzada" composed by Shah Hatim in 18 the century
"Chahar Gulsan" in Persian is expected to be published by April.
So
far more than 2 million rare manuscripts have already been published.
Dipti Triphati, Director, National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), said,
"The publication of unpublished manuscripts has been taken up recently.
The goal is to publish 50 manuscripts in the current fiscal."
Till
date, 45,863 manuscripts have been digitised. The mission under the
supervision of the Culture Ministry was launched by Former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003 to survey, identify, collect,
copy, catalogue and publish manuscripts that are lying scattered all
across India.
Publishers Training Programme Concludes
Source: German Book Office
On
Friday, March 4, the first batch of the first Publishers Training
Programme jointly organized by the Frankfurt Book Fair, German Book
Office New Delhi and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, 30
publishing professionals became alumni of the prestigious IIMA, having
successfully completed the programme.
The course was designed by
H. Anil Kumar, Librarian and Head NICMAN, and Akshay Pathak, German Book
Office, who brought in the academic and industry elements respectively.
The course faculty at IIMA had prepared enough course material by way
of case studies and reading material to give the participants sleepless
nights, something they seem to have got into the rhythm of. The cases
were chosen from the publishing industry as well as other industries to
bring out aspects of strategy, marketing, finance and leadership.
The
industry experts complemented the academic sessions by providing actual
insights into the business at hand. The session on strategy had Mr.
Ajay Shukla talk about his own experience with Tata McGraw Hill and the
shaping of a strategy in a complex market like India. Other sessions
included Rajesh Lalwani's session on social media and its growing
importance, a session on digital technologies and future of Publishing
by Brij Singh as well as a very insightful and entertaining session by
Devdutt Pattnaik on weaving mythology into business. Other industry
specific sessions included a brilliant session on Independent Publishing
by Urvashi Butalia and Bipin Shah, which left everyone wanting more as
well as sessions on IPR and Copyright issues by Kevin Fitzgerald and
Nikhil Krishnamurthy.
Hindi translations of Sangam literature released
Source: The Hindu
In
a bid to secure the literature treasure troves of the state, Hindi
translations of eighteen books of Sangam literature - Pathupattu and
Ettuthogai - were released at the Tamil University here on Wednesday.
Pon.Kothandaraman (Portko), former Vice chancellor, University of
Madras, gave the first copy of the translations to Asko Parpola,
Professor Emeritus, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Reiterating
the fact that Sangam literature is secular, Dr. Kothandaraman said that
translations help in reaching out to people of other cultures.
Translations of Sangam books into other foreign languages such as
French, Russian, English, and other Indian languages like Bengali,
Marati, Gujarati, should follow suit.
The occasion also witnessed
publishing of ten volumes of papers, on a website, that were presented
at the world classical Tamil conference held in Coimbatore recently .
Lauding that the classical Tamil Conference was unique in many aspects,
Mr. Kothandaraman said that it is an achievement that papers presented
at the conference have been published within nine months after the
conference. The compilations in Hindi were taken up by a team of ten
Hindi experts headed by P.K.Balasubramanian, Former Hindi professor of
Christian College and Dr.Sundaram, former Hindi professor of Presidency
College. Read more »
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Blogs and Articles
Comments and posts on trends and events in the book industry.
Graphic novels yet to catch a market in India
Source: dnaindia.com
Unlike
their steep rise in the West, the graphic novels in India are yet to
catch the imagination of readers and it will take some more time before
they set the cash registers ringing, say major publishers here.
Many readers sometimes confuse between graphic novels and comics as both of them use graphics and speech bubbles.
"It
is not something that is meant to make you laugh or scare, it is meant
to tell you a story with a difference," says Lipika Bhushan, marketing
head, HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd.
"We try to stretch the
boundaries of traditional comic book fiction. Each story has a strong
social significance. These are stories about us, in our world,
surrounded by situations and circumstances that we can identify with,"
says Suhas Sundar. He and his friend,Shreyas Srinivas, started India's
first serial graphic novel, 'Jump'.
According to Orijit Sen,
graphic novels also deal with serious issues and are aimed at slightly
matured readers than those reading comics. They are a self-contained
story rather than an ongoing serial. Read more »
E-books in India: The Fine Print
Source: edu-leaders.com
The article explores the impact of digital books and publications in Indian higher education
Given
the upside, it would be logical for the higher educational institutions
to adopt e-books for extensive research and student use. Yet, across
the board, the consistent message we heard from publishers and students
was that Indian universities, for the most part, have been slow to
embrace this technology, preferring to stick to known territory.
Students we spoke to had used e-books as supplementary reading material,
if at all, and complained that their institutions were woefully
inadequate in supporting such digital initiatives. Read more »
The Business of Learning
Source: The Telegraph
In
India, textbooks are the only lucrative enterprise for authors and
publishers. Because of the potential profits involved, commercial
textbook publishing is a highly competitive area. To be successful, a
textbook has to appeal not only to the teachers who decide to adopt a
book for their classes, but also to students, whose experience with the
book must be positive if it is to be re-ordered. For
publishers, the crucial question is, how can the many factors that make
for the success of a book be covered by the review process? For one
thing, they should realize that while the price has to be pegged down,
it cannot be done at the expense of the quality of presentation, both in
terms of editorial input and the physical quality of production. This
would go a long way in loosening the budgetary constraints that
publishers have imposed on themselves. In the burgeoning educational
market, especially with the middle classes, quality matters, even if it
means paying a little more for it. Read more »
The tale goes short!
Source: Times of India
Stuck in a doctor's waiting room, the metro or awaiting a delayed flight? How about picking up Fish In Paneer Soup... no, not a meal takeaway, but a book for your mind to snack on. There's more where that comes from, with titles like Mom Says No Girlfriend, Can't Die for Size Zero, Losing My Virginity & Other Dumb Ideas and Chocolate, Guitar, Momos gracing bookshelves.
Communications
professional Deep Ghatak, author of Fish In Paneer Soup, finds that
publishing houses are more receptive to new age writing and move quickly
from acceptance to the proofing stage, although there remain some "that
don't even follow guidelines specified on their own websites " .
Blogger and mom Parul Sharma made the transition to writing a book with
Bringing up Vasu and followed it up with By The Water Cooler.
Ismita
Tandon Dhankher, author of romantic thriller Love on the Rocks, recalls
when the writing bug bit her, "I began sailing with my husband in 2006
and discovered that sailors are colourful company. I was 26 years old
when I just started doing poetry on the deck one evening, and that one
poem changed it all!"
Before landing a publisher, Ismita says she faced at least a dozen rejections in the mail box every month, sometimes more. Read more »
That great Sundanese novel you haven't read
Source: DNA
Others,
better informed about India's linguistic diversity, are shocked to
learn that there are thriving publishing industries in Tamil, Telugu,
Marathi, Gujarati, etc. It
is difficult for most Americans or Europeans to comprehend the
multi-lingual stew of a typical Asian or African country, where minority
communities are often under little or no pressure to learn another
dominant language; where ethnic groups speaking unrelated tongues have
shared the same land for centuries, or where neighboring territories
with vastly different cultures have been thrown together inside strange
borders drawn on maps by European colonists. There's a tendency to paint
the world with broad brushstrokes - "the Af-Pak Zone", "the Arab
World", "Francophone Africa" - and to defend an ignorance about the
diversity within those regions. But when influential leaders start to
think in terms of these lazy generalisations, it can have disastrous
results. I have noticed a worrying tendency among English-educated
Indians, who should know better, to do the same Read more »
Small Print - Literary Magazines
Source: Forbes India
Janice Pariat seeks out literary spaces hidden in small magazines, old and new, print and online.
From the selection process involved, it's clear that small magazines are willing to push literary boundaries.
Ambika Ananth, editor of Muse India,
says she prefers contemporary everyday realities and insightful social
observations to narratives that are "trying the tried and hitting the
hit". At Out of Print, founding editor Indira Chandrasekhar
says their story choices are informed by the issue of living in an era
of intense and accelerated transition that may destroy the diverse, yet
common narratives that link us. Although only two issues old, it has
featured a fine selection of stories including pieces by Mridula Koshy
and Anjum Hassan. Pratilipi, around since 2008, has a long, illustrious
list of more than 350 contributors from 25 languages, including Keki
Daruwala, Rana Dasgupta, Ashis Nandy and Indira Goswami. According to
co-editors Soni and Giriraj Kiradoo, "At the end of the day (or night),
we look for voices that engage us, writers dealing with their language
and content without the mediation of dominant ancestral or contemporary
voices - qualities, therefore, of freshness, vitality and essentiality." Read more »
Latest book haven in town
Source: Deccan Herald
With
more bookstores closing down than opening, it’s a sweet surprise to
find a new independent bookstore springing up in Bangalore.
Each
time I visited Bookstop! (which has become rather often) I saw patrons
either deep in conversation with Jayanti about books or browsing
intently. They have no plans to go online because — like all good
independent bookshops — they want to see the people they are selling
books to. The couple has plans to soon make this even more of a
speciality bookstore by devoting shelves to author-signed copies,
out-of-print editions, books about books, and showcase more titles from
smaller, independent publishers. Read more »
Lost art of Urdu storytelling returns to Delhi
Source: BBC Radio
From
ancient Sanskrit fables to Bollywood screenplays, India is known as one
of the world's greatest storytelling nations and now an ancient
tradition is experiencing a revival, and cleansing old wounds.
Urdu once flowered in Delhi.
When
Central Asian conquerors swept into India 500 years ago, Persian,
Arabic and Turkic idiom tangled with the native tongue. The result was a
language so ornate, so feisty and full of pathos, it inspired north
Indian poetry, music and theatre for centuries to come.
Part of
its beauty lies in the ability to create long phrases which, like linked
carriages, create a train of thought fraught with multiple meanings.
In English, you would say "the moon rose", In Urdu, it becomes, "the sorcerer of this world changed his robes".
But in 1947, Urdu - associated with Muslims - became an enemy language and was slowly purged from public life.
And with it, one of South Asia's great canons was lost. Read more »
Phantom power of language
Source: The Hindu
The author writes about something rarely discussed - the radiance of translation.
The
energy of India's multilinguality is its greatest intangible wealth:
unrealised and untested. We know it takes many subtle shapes in terms of
services, products and concepts but its most powerful form is knowledge
transmitted through translation. The biggest intervention in the social
energy of our languages was the visitor language English, and the
pressure this single language applies today upon our language empire is
enormous. At some cost to our languages, while simultaneously enriching
us with outside influences, it has nudged us into a sense of needing to
keep up with world literature - a trend which has led to a near
gold-rush for translations of Indian literary works. Read more »
The humble Marathi bookstore lives on
Source: livemint.com
Hercule Poirot mysteries in translation, a Barack Obama biography, classics from the 1920s - it has something for every taste
The
oldest outlet of the Majestic Book Depot - as old as the Quit India
Movement - hasn't changed much with the passage of time. Since July
1942, this little bookstore in Girgaum Naka, a bustling traditional
precinct in south Mumbai, has catered to the city's Marathi
bibliophiles. It began life as a hub for tomes and pamphlets on India's
freedom struggle; now the life story of US President Barack Obama and
Harry Potter books are the hot favourites. But it hasn't grown in size
or gone digital.
In the age of big retail chains and virtual
bookstores, Majestic is a little piece of the city's history and a
testimony to the survival of the humble bookstore. Moreover, Majestic's
sales figures, along with those of the few other shops in Mumbai selling
Marathi books, suggest that the Marathi bookstore is indeed not dead.
The store’s manager says they sold 18,000 copies of their current
best-seller, a biography of Obama by Marathi writer Sanjay Avte, in two
months. Read more »
New Book Releases and Events
New book and journal releases, new imprints and other similar events.
Reading Hour Launched
Reading
Hour is a new English bimonthly print magazine featuring short stories,
poetry, essays, book reviews and more. The content is fresh, by a mix
of established and new writers, aimed primarily at Indian readers. The
magazine is published by Differsense Ventures LLP out of Bangalore.
The
first issue was out in January, and the second issue is en route to the
stands. The feedback to the first issue has been greatly enthusiastic
with a number of readers writing in or posting reactions on the
magazine's facebook page. People who wish to get the magazine can
subscribe online at www.readinghour.in - the print version is sent
within India, while a pdf version is available for those outside India.
Distributed by the Outlook Group, the magazine is also available in
stores across more than 10 cities in India.
Indo-Aus fiction anthology
Source: roundtablewriting.com/(via Jaya Bhattacharjee Rose)
Editors
Meenakshi Bharat and Sharon Rundle are approaching authors to
contribute to the next book of short stories. Their aim is to produce a
book of stories to follow "Fear Factor Terror Incognito", a collection
of short fiction from Australia and the Indian subcontinent, published
Macmillan Picador India (2009) and Picador Australia (2010); which has
received critical acclaim and market success.
Authors are
invited to submit a fictional short story for consideration for an
anthology of stories from Australia and the Indian subcontinent. The
concept for this Indo-Aus anthology is a collaborative volume of fiction
short stories from Australia and the Indian subcontinent. The theme is
refugee/asylum seeker, which could include belonging, migration,
homelessness, climate.
Stories should be between 600 and 6000
words in length. The closing date for submission of stories for this
anthology is April 30, 2011. Indian authors may contact Meenakshi Bharat
at meenakshibharat@ gmail.com to send your expression of interest in
submitting a story to our next anthology.
India's Hippocampus Writes a New Chapter for Children's Libraries
Source: knowledge@wharton
Marketed
as an "experience center," Hippocampus houses an extensive collection
of titles and has a changing roster of weekend activities, holiday
workshops and special events to keep young patrons coming back. There
are beanbag chairs for lounging, a leafy backyard for the
extra-energetic to tear around in, and a multimedia room to screen
educational films. "An initiative like this is huge though it seems like
a drop in the ocean," notes Sandhya Rao, editor of Tulika, a bilingual
children's publishing house in India. "More children can become readers
if they have access to books in a sunny environment." The workshops and
changing roster of events are important because "there is constant need
to reinvent the ways of engagement," says Mumbai-based Abhishek Chandan,
head of a new British Council Library initiative. "Exposure [to], and
the inclination to appreciate, creativity, arts [and] literature are
more essential attributes now than ever before in the turbulent world we
live in." Read more »
Danish researcher answers Vitthal's call
Source: DNA
Lord
Vitthal, the popular deity of Maharashtra, has fascinated people all
over the world. But 57-year-old Erich Sand from Denmark stands out among
them. In the quest to understand Vitthal, he has been travelling
extensively for more than 25 years to various places in India and
gathering manuscripts on the deity. And these very efforts will
culminate in the first-volume on 'Vitthal Mahatmya' to be released by
the end of this year.
Sand is a researcher under the department
of Cross Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen.
He first came to Pune to study Sanskrit in 1976-77. During this course
he also studied the abhangs by Marathi sants which is where he first
came across Lord Vitthal. He completed his doctorate in 'Shradh' (a
ritual that is performed for the benefit of dead ancestors) of the
Hindus. In 1982 he walked from Alandi to Pandharpur in the wari to the
Vitthal temple held annually and later started searching for manuscripts
related to Vitthal Mahatmya. Read more »
Elsewhere...
News from around the world...
2011 Best Translated Book Award Finalists
Source: Three Percent
fter
months of reading, discussing, evaluating, and collaborating, the 14
fiction and poetry judges have settled on the 2011 Best Translated Book
Award Finalists.
Highlights from this year's fiction list include Ernst Weiss's Georg Letham: Physician and Murder, translated from the German by Joel Rotenberg; Tove Jansson's The True Deceiver, translated from the Swedish by Thomas Teal; and Marlene Van Niekerk's Agaat, translated from the Afrikaans by Michiel Heyns. And notable poetry finalists include Ales Å teger's The Book of Things, translated from the Slovenian by Brian Henry; and Ayane Kawata's Time of Sky & Castles in the Air, translated from the Japanese by previous BTBA winner, Sawako Nakayasu. Read more »
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