We need to preserve our indigenous knowledge… our traditional wisdom’, this was the common refrain that

was echoed at a Panel Discussion held on the theme of this year’s New Delhi World Book Fair — Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk & Tribal Literature — in the Theme Pavilion on 7 February 2012.

Recollecting the times her father overcame struggles to become the first medical professional of the Santal community, Dr Ivy Hansdak, Asst. Professor, Department of English, Jamia Milia Islamia, talked about her forefathers, the community’s conversion to Christianity and the loss of their traditional culture.

Sharing her thoughts on the topic, Prof. Temsula Ao, Retired Professor of English from North-Eastern Hill University and well known ethnographer and writer said that when Christianity came to north-east in 1842, though it brought education and better lifestyle to the community, but in the process rejected everything that was tribal. As a result, she added, that we lost our traditional heritage and indigenous knowledge. However, she was happy that steps are gradually being taken to realize our legacy and bring it back.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Esther Syiem, Professor of English Literature at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong and a prominent writer was of the opinion that we need to search for our real cultural identity in the milieu of different regions, religions and knowledge.

Shri Narayan, recipient of the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and a popular writer talked in detail about his childhood and the difficulties he went through. He narrated an incident which changed his life. He recalled a novel which portrayed tribals in a derogatory manner and mocked their customs and traditions. He decided to react to this unethical depiction through his writing and be the voice of his community against the mainstream writing. He also talked about

his much acclaimed novel Kochareti, which he said is the expression of his community’s cultural and social identity.

Moderating the session, Prof. G N. Devy, Director and Founder of Bhasha Research & Publication Centre, Vadodara and Adivasi Academy, Tejgarh shared valuable information with the audience. He said that most languages were oral till the printing came on the scene, which divided it all. “This caused severe marginalization to tribal languages”, he added.

To a question from the audience on the importance of scripts for the growth of a language he said, “English has no script of its own. The English survive on a borrowed script. The growth of a language is not dependent on the script but on the speaker.”

The panelists expressed their happiness in National Book Trust, India for organizing a discussion on indigenous voices at an international level. This, they hoped, will further the cause of indigenous languages and their literature.

India’s Indigenous Voices A Music of GrassNature descended in all her

pristine glory; the cascading pour of the waterfall, the

gurgle of the rivulet, the cry of the hornbill, the wind rushing through the bamboo groves, and the sounds of the forest... at the Theme Pavilion through a bamboo symphony, created by Mulappaadum Raavu (The Bamboo That Sings Through the Night), a group from Kerala.

The Bamboo Symphony music is a unique ensemble of traditional music with all the instruments made of bamboo. They include Maram, Edakka, Tom, Nombi, Munge Nombi, Amba, rain maker, violin and flute. Some of these instruments have been developed by the team and named accordingly.

In an interactive workshop, the members of the Bamboo Symphony explained the source and origin of the music and various musical instruments used. Bamboo is our golden grass. Grass is so musical, so romantic. It is from this humble grass that they create this heavenly music. They listen to the rivers and take the musical notes from the flow of the river. As the river flows and the wind dances its way through the bamboo groves, they play along with nature creating the music. The Bamboo Symphony is nature’s symphony. Later they demonstrated the music with the whole audience tapping to the rhythmic beat. Long after the sounds ceased the music of the Bamboo Symphony could still be heard at the Theme Pavilion.

Adivaani, publisher of books in Roman Santali, released its latest two titles at a function held at the Theme Pavilion: An illustrated children’s book, We Come from the Geese (text by

Ruby Hembrom and illustrations by Boski Jain); and Whose Country Is It Anyway? by Gladson Dungdung, a noted human rights activist from Jharkhand. In a discussion following the release Felix Padel, noted Sociologist and Anthropologist, Swami Agnivesh, a religious leader and social activist and Himanshu Kumar, a Gandhian activist, participated. The panelists stressed on how everyone needs answers to the question Gladson asks in his book. “If the Supreme Court verdict states that the indigenous people are the original inhabitants of this country, thus the first citizens of this land, then why are they being treated as sub-humans,” they wondered. Gladson ended the discussion by saying “Enough is enough; the law of the land should prevail. It’s the states responsibility to ensure a dignified life for the indigenous population of this country.”

Speaking on the occasion Shri Joy Raj Tudu, publisher, Adivaani, said that “Adivaani, which means the ‘first voices’, is an indigenous publishing house run by and for adivasis in India. It is a response to the need of telling our own stories, talking about our own struggles, telling others who we really are in the language and manner we know best. It’s about coming out and saying we can speak for ourselves.”

Santali Books Released

Events at Children and Youth pavilion

A b o o k t i t l e d R i g h t t o Education: Imperative for Progress, edited by

Prof. Mool Chand Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Haryana, was released at the Children’s and Youth Pavilion. The students of the university also presented a skit titled Gyan Poornima Ki Aur which raised the issues like sexual harassment and drug addiction and how education, especially value education can help remove stigmas in the society. Ms Rita Menon, Chairperson-cum-Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Organisation was the chief guest on the occasion. Prof. D C Vashist, Programme Director and Dr Nitin Malik, Registrar were also present.

In the Spin a wheel activity, children were asked to pick words from the spinning wheel and make a story out of it. In another activity titled Mix and Match, students were given few mixed

Bamboo Symphony, KeralaBamboo Symphony is a contemporary musical endeavour

originating in efforts made for the conservation of bamboo and grass of the Western Ghats. The idea was to listen to the forst and create a living orchestra. N o t t h e c l a n g o f electronic instruments but pure sound as it would come through t h e b a m b o o n e e d . The team comprising symphony made their own instruments and sourced ideas for the music from indigenous instruments.

Mulappaadum Ravu (The Bamboo that Sings Through the Night), presented the Bamboo Symphony at Lal Chowk on 7 February. Unnikrishna Pakkanar was lead musician and Ullash Kumar, Bishnoy, Balamurali, Anilkumar, Philipose, Skandhan, Ramu, Kumar and Sandheep accompanied.

Folk Dance and Music of Ao Nagas, Nagaland

The Ao Naga tribe is found in the north-eastern part of Nagaland, and also a few districts in Assam. Ao Nagas have a rich tradition of clothing. They observe a week-long festival called Moatsu Mong

after the sowing and the mother Earth beings to show signs of fertility. The festival is marked by vigorous songs and dances, merry-making and fun.

S a t e m m e r e n Longkumer, a Sangeet

Natak Akademi Tagore Awardee was the leader of the performance at the Lal Chowk. Troupe included Alempokba Jamir, Atula, Ladongpokla, Chungpongnungsang, Soyim Imsong, Imlimatsung, Mepukumzuk, Toshiwapang and imlikala.

Purulia Chhau, West BengalPurulia Chhau is a dance performed with masks in Purilia

as a ritualistic offering to the Sun God during the month of Chaitra. The themes are derived from the epics and mythological texts. Colourful masks and headgears, expressive flexions combined with vigorous drum beats are characteristics features of this form.

Adibasi Chhau Dance Party from Purulia performed this dance on 7 February. Kartik Singh Mura was the leader and the troupe included Parsuram Singh Mura, Bhagumewsar Singh Mura, Banshi Mahato, Bhagirath Paramanik, Budhu Mahato, Gopal Mura, Shanti Mahato and Krishna Karandi.

Naqqal, PunjabNaqqal is a folk theatre form of Punjab performed traditionally

by men. The contents are satirical, relating largely to contemporary themes, with sharp comments on social and political events but sometimes also including episodes from the love lore of Sassi-Punnu, Heer-Ranjha etc.

Neelam Mansingh’s T h e a t r e G r o u p

performed Naqqal at Lal Chowk yesterday. His troupe included Bahadar Chand, Amarjeet Singh, Gurmeet Kurar, Mundari Lal, Dessraj, Ram Singh, Satnam Singh, Surjeet Singh, Sohan Lal, Chame, Lucky, Jassi, Sukhi and Nicka.

Dancing to the tunes...

pages of two different stories and were asked to find the correct sequence of the stories. Later during the session, students from Government Primary School, Village Polian Parohitan, Dist. Una, Himachal Pradesh presented a colourful skit on environment. Students of DPS, Noida, Montfort School and Consortium Octet, an NGO participated in these activities.

A programme titled Science Behind Miracles: A Demonstration was organized in association with Vigyan Prasar, Ministry of Science and Technology at the Children’s and Youth Pavilion. Shri Sanjay Kapoor informed the audience that the miracles have several scientific fundamentals behind them, therefore one should not believe in superstitions.

Raahein Development Society (NGO), New Delhi organized a programme in which slum children presented a skit on environment and visually challenged children gave a colorful and inspiring dance performance.

The New Delhi World Book Fa i r 2013 has been jointly organized

by NBT and India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). Commenting on the agreement between ITPO and NBT, Mrs. Rita Menon, chairman and managing director, ITPO said, “The association of ITPO with NBT dates back to 38 years. We were delighted when the Ministry of HRD made the New Delhi World Book Fair an annual affair. It is a commendable effort in the book loving country like ours. We are here to facilitate NBT as co-partners but the brains and expertise has been of NBT,” she told as a matter of fact.

Elaborating on the new initiatives at the NDWBF, she said, “ITPO conducts a lot of events and we have seen that product launches are very attractive for visitors, hence came the concept of Author’s Corner, wherein authors can launch their books and interact with their readers. Besides, street plays, folk arts, dance performances, music – all are well connected with books. Hence, we thought of translating all these events into the book fair to make it a

“Making New Delhi World Book Fair an annual event is commendable for a book lover country” said Mrs. Rita Menon,

chairman and managing director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in a

brief conversation with Show Daily.truly world-class event.”

Commenting on the food & beverage arrangements, she told that ITPO has been working for over an year to perfect these arrangements. They are even working on the concept of have 2-3 tiers system, where economical eatables can be purchased by the labourers working inside the fair grounds. “We do not want to let inexpensive vendors with little quality concerns in the fairgrounds. Since, this is a world-class facility, the quality of the food cannot be compromised,” she added.

On asking about their plans for the next year, Mrs. Rita replied that since Poland might be the guest country next year for the New Delhi World Book Fair 2014, ITPO will embellish their efforts and might plan an exposition in Poland or work on making Poland as a partner country for the upcoming IITF 2013.

And the plans to make Pragati Maidan the world-class fair are on. “The 124 acre project is on and we should start the restructuring process by beginning next year. Since Halls 7-18 are already air-conditioned halls, we will continue to use them during the restructuring process for the events. Also, we are working on improving the conservation, cleanliness and security services,” she concluded.

Sham-e-Shayari @ NDWBF 2013

NBT organized Sham-e-Shayari programme on February 5, 2013 during the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair. As many as 20 eminent Urdu poets participated in the

programme which was well attended and appreciated. Some of the well-known poets included Zubair Razvi, Manzar Gopali, Popular Meeruti, GR Kamal, Shakil Azmi, Surender Shajar, Ahmed Mafooz, Shehepar Rasool, The programme was co-ordinated by NCPUL and Urdu Academy.

Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk and Tribal Literature is the theme of

the New Delhi World Book Fair 2013. The National Book Trust, India, has organized a photo gallery on the theme of the fair in Hall 18. There are around 60 photographs of Indian tribes displayed at the gallery.

All these pictures have been

beautifully captured by Mr. M.C. Shekhar, AFIAP (France), APSM (Malaysia), AWPF (UK). Born in 1971, in Sircilla town of Krimnagar Dt of Andhra Pradesh, India, Mr. Shekhar is a professional photographer and keeps avid interest in

Tribal beauty captured on the lens!The colours, vibrancy and beauty of the tribal culture can be best seen at the

photo gallery on the theme of the fair ‘Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk and Tribal Literature.’ Organised by the National Book Trust, India, the photo exhibition is being held in Hall 18. A glimpse of this photo exhibition

which showcases rich culture of the Indian tribes.

pictorial photography. A regular participant in National and International salons being held all over the globe and won number of medals and merit certificates in recognition of technical and aesthetic skills. For his outstanding work in the field of photography, he was awarded with the prestigious Artist Federation of International de

L’Art of Photogtaphique (AFIAP) France, Associateship of the Photographic Society of Malaysia (APSM) and Associateship of Wales Photographic Federation (AWPF).

This one-man show is the culmination of his extensive work

on various tribes of India like the majestic Araku tribes, colourful Bondas and beautiful Mathura Banjaras. The Araku Valley, situated at 3200 ft above sea level in Eastern Ghats and around 120 km away from Vishakhapatnam city of AP, is a paradise on earth. This natural and beautiful valley is the home to around 19 sects of aboriginal tribes.

While, the Bondas are ancient traditional tribes, living mainly in the hilly regions of Malkangiri Dt of South Western state of Orissa. The women wear colourful strings of beads to cover their torso,

metal rings around their necks and bangles on their arms.

Last but not the least, Mathura Banjaras live in the remote Tandaaas (kasbas/hamlets) in Nizamabad and Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh. They claim to be the highest rank and purest blood among the Indian tribes. They dress up in a very colourful attire with a typical headgear, which is symbolic and unique.

Mr. Shekhar’s understanding of their culture, heritage and lifestyle is being beautifully portrayed in the exhibits.

Sahil Gupta, Director, V&S Publishers released the Comprehensive Computer Learning Series at their stand in Hall 1A, Stall 30-32. He said he envisions publishing a series of computer

books on newly emerging areas and basic softwares. These books introduce the fundamentals of computers and important softwares for laymen. The titles included Comprehensive Computer Learning: A Complete Guide, A Youngsters’ Guide, Microsoft Office 2010, Desktop Publishing (DTP), and Adobe Photoshop.

Aimed at readers who are inquisitive enough to know more but have not done a special course in them, this series with 5 books upfront is sure to help students and general public alike. More books are in the pipeline on applications and software, including Facebook, Google and various popular applications, he announced. The books have been economically priced.

Visitors to the NDWBF 13 are rushing in at the stall of Iran Cultural

Fairs Institute (ICFI), (also the organizer o f Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF)) and are purchasing good number of literature based on Indo-Iranian culture. “It is a pleasure to be among the people of an ancient culture and civilized country India. We are here to show the importance of cultural relations between India and Iran,” said Mr Shahrooz Shariati, cultural advisor of Iranian Cultural Fairs Institute.

Reviving the cultural relations at ICFI

At 11 am, today, there would be a writing workshop with Dominique Sigaud

“My True Night” in Conference Hall (Hall 7, 1st Floor).

N ight i s the e s sent ia l common feature of human beings where they live: abandonment, discrepancy, silence, dreams, nightmares; for everyone, whatever the age, wealth, culture. Yet some nights are deeply marked by a sense of affiliation: ceremony, rituals, war, cyclones…. During this

Writing workshop from Franceworkshop, each individual will write their essential night. A real night, be it from childhood or recent times.

Dominique Sigaud used to be a free-lance reporter in southern countries facing civil wars like Lebanon, Algeria, Sudan, Rwanda. In 1996, she became a writer and published 15 novels, narratives, travel stories, police novels or essay. She’s also performing writing workshop in high school, prison, mental hospital.

Computer books for laymen released

French Film Screening @ 5 pmVenue: Shakuntalam Convention CentreFriday 8th February: Astérix and the Vikings (Astérix et les Vikings)Stefan Fjeldmark, Jesper Møller (2006)Cast: Roger Carel, Lorànt Deutsch, Sara Forestier, Jacques Frantz, Pierre Palmade, Pierre Tchernia, Bernard Alane, Marc Alfos, Jules Azem…Running time: 1H 18mnIndian Distributor: Star EntertainmentA small Gaul village welcomes Goudurix, the chief’s nephew, and Asterix and Obelix are given the responsibility of making a man of him.Around the same time, the Vikings arrive in Gaul, determined to find a “champion of fear”. When Goudurix is kidnapped by the Vikings, all disaster breaks loose. Asterix and Obelix must do whatever it takes to find him. While they head off to look for him, going as far as the Great North, their young protégé, roped into a dastardly plot he wants no part of, encounters beautiful and intrepid Abba and realizes that love can sometimes be like a slap on the face… True culture shock! The Adventures of Asterix and Obelix were born from the imagination of illustrator Albert Uderzo and screenwriter, René Goscinny. Over the years, Asterix and Obelix become legendary figures in the world of comics.

Transparent Words @France stall

The Embassy of France in India in partnership with Goyal Publishers

& Distributors launched the A delegation headed by

Mr Ahmed Al Amri, D irec tor, Shar jah

International Book Fair met Shri M A Sikandar, Director, NBT. In the meet ing , they discussed about the participation of about 50 Indian publishers and Indian literary personalities in the next Sharjah International B o o k Fa i r t o b e h e l d in 2014.

Meeting of the dignitaries

second opus of Mots Tranparents/ Transparent Words in the presence of Ashwani Goyal, MD; Vini Goyal, Editorial Director; and Max Claudet, Counselor for Culture, French Embassy in India. This book, which has a glamorous recollection of many French words commonly used in English was appreciated by the audience comprising of students, teachers, book lovers and French experts.

How to play cricket’ is the only book authored by Sir Don Bradman, the world’s famous cricketer ever, universally acknowledged as

the greatest batsman of all time. But, due to some reasons, this book was not published later on. Orient Publishing/Orient Paperbacks is now releasing his book in English and Hindi, followed by its Marathi and Gujrati editions.

The book provides clear, concise and detailed instructions on all aspects of the game – from selecting a bat and proper footwear to the most suitable methods of gripping the bat, batting stances and playing different strokes. The bowling and fielding instructions are equally detailed. Of special interest to the readers would be the art of running between the wickets. The book includes the original stop-motion photographs which show the strokes an positions of Bradman’s own game.

Don Bradman’s book revived

We are offering POD services to several major book publishers

like Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), the publisher of Harry Potter series of fantasy novels written by the British author JK Rowling; Macmillan; Orient Blackswan Private Limited, Hyderabad; SBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt Ltd, Delhi; Laxmi Publications (P) LTD, etc,” conveys Manoj Kumar Saini of DOT N PIXEL.

New Delhi based DOT N PIXEL, a graphical designing company, has now been focusing on short-run book printing.

Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), Macmillan and Orient Blackswan utilise POD technology

For the purpose, they recently installed the Ricoh Pro C901 printer to serve book publishers with benchmark in productivity and unmatched oil-free quality.

"The Ricoh Pro C901 graphic arts edition is an advanced best-in-class digital colour production system that takes print quality and pr inter re l iabi l i ty to another level in the professional production print environment. E q u i p p e d t o p r o d u c e a n incredible variety of printed materials, the Pro C901 provides impressive levels of versatility, scalability and performance. Its flexible workflow, feeding

and inline finishing suits any print volume, low or high, while paper path technology enhancements significantly improve productivity, front to back registration and colour

accuracy. Rated at a speed of 90 minutes, this offers near-offset quality from Ricoh’s P X P c h e m i c a l t o n e r a n d oil-less fusing technology," informs Manoj.

“Along with price range, top of the quality, colour accuracy and productivity were the main reasons that made us to decide buying this Ricoh digital printer,” adds Manoj. Established in the year 2003, DOT N PIXEL could manage to reach to the annual turnover of around rupees one crore. “But now with installation of the Ricoh Pro C901 printer, we are expecting ‘exponential growth’ in terms of annual turnover in the next one or two years,” he concludes, with great hopes.

NDWBF'13 becomes more VISITORS’ FRIENDLY The visitors during ongoing NDWBF are treated with some nice

facilities this time, like Mobile ATM; Mobile Medical Emergency Facility / Ambulance; Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgoan

health crosswords; Cafeteria inside halls; Information Kiosks and Free shuttle service. Besides there’s also a team of young student volunteers, seen busy assisting and helping visitors with their queries and concerns.

Mobile ATM Cafeteria inside halls

Free shuttle service A team of young student volunteers Participants list

Information KiosksFortis Health Care Mobile Medical Emergency Facility / Ambulance available opposite Hall 7 near fountain lake

Health crosswords

A coffee table book (CTB) is a hardcover illustrative book that is intended

to be placed on a coffee table area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. This might be a generic definition of CTB but there is lot more about these beautifully crafted objects of desires. To understand more about the market dynamics of these books Smita Dwivedi interacts with major CTB publishers at NDWBF 2013.

The Coffee table books became marks of sophistication as they are always known for their quality…super premium. They tend to be oversized with beautifully designed pages consisting mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, as opposed to long prose. Since, these books are aimed at anyone who might pick the book up for a light read, so it has simple words and excellent pictures.

Mapin: Mapin Publishing has produced more than 300 books, which cover the gamut of visual arts of India — art, architecture, culture, design, photography, performance arts — combined with specialization in museum publishing. Not only do they commission their own titles, they also co-publish, package, and provide customized publishing services.

Mapin is well known for its illustrated or coffee table books. On asking Bipin Shah of Mapin about his journey as a publisher, he added, “In the beginning, we were at a loss for sourcing manuscripts. We began to travel extensively to source them. Scholars, artists, performers, collectors, museums, galleries, crafts fairs, were all our resources – either as potential authors or as sources of information. Unpublished writers, and those writing in the Indian languages also came under our purview. There were no pre-trained professionals that we could hire for the kind of quality that we were aiming for. We identified translators and editors who could work with Indian-language scholars. We attracted young designers from the National Institute of Design to design our books. A considerable amount of time was spent in developing manuscripts

Embellished coffee table books –READy to feel the pictures with few words!

and making them publishable.” So, we acknowledge Mapin’s consistent effort to become a name synonym of CTB in India.

Roli Books: Priya Kapoor, Director, Roli Books loves this segment personally and is proud of the books she has researched and edited herself, among them The Nehrus: Personal Histories, a pictorial biography of the Nehru-Gandhi family written by Mushirul Hasan, and Made for Maharajas, authored by Dr Amin Jaffar. “While doing

the CTB on Royal families of India, I got a chance to feel and see the treasure of Royals. The ladies happily shared their jewels and trousseau with me.” Upcoming titles she is excited about include a definitive book on saris, a series on photo essays, Made for Mughals by Susan Stronge, and Zubin Mehta’s autobiography.

Whereas Kapi l Kapoor, Director, Marketing, Roli Books feels that one always need to be sure of the subject they are dealing with. “As it’s not just

about pictures and designs…it has to be something which is timeless,” he shared.

Niyogi Books: Bikash Niyogi feels that their CTB are not exactly coffee table books but ‘illustrated books on various researched subjects’. Commenting more on the same he added, “We always try to keep the pleasure of reading the written word in mind. These books have a universal appeal and reach. The market has scope for growth as well. There has always been a market for these books all over

An Annotated Catalogue of Books on Folk & Tribal LiteratureWith a focus on India’s folk and tribal

literature, this annotated Catalogue brings together over 500 titles in English, Hindi and other Indian languages as well as many works in tribal languages like Bhili-Gujarati, Gondi, Himachali, Kokborok, Lepcha, Santali, Chhattisgarhi among others. As part of the Theme Presentation, ‘Indigenous Voices: Mapping India’s Folk and Tribal Literature’ at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2013, the books listed in this Catalogue have been collected and put together for a special exhibit at the Theme Pavilion.

Together they are part of our rich literary and cultural heritage!

ISBN 978-81-237-6722-2; Rs 100/- Available at Theme Pavillion

“SHOW DAILY” – official newsletter during New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 – February 4-10, 2013, is jointly published by Director, National Book Trust – India & All About Book Publishing and printed at Kaveri Print Process Pvt. Ltd., 114, Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi – 110 092. Paper for Show Daily by Shree Swastic Sales Corporation Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.Editorial Team: NBT – Binny Kurian, Kanchan Wanchoo Sharma; Production: R ShahjahanAABP – Varsha Verma, Smita Dwivedi, Jyaneswar Laishram, Sunita Arora, H Pandey, Sandeep VermaDisclaimer: The views expressed in the signed articles do not necessarily reflect the official views of the NBT and AABP.

the world and even with the current progress in technology and the surge ahead in electronic communication, books such as these always find a fairly easy global market; even western countries which are ahead of us as far as technology is concerned have not stopped producing or selling them – so they certainly have their buyers. Art historians, subject specialists, collectors, photographers, libraries, heritage museums, five-star and heritage hotel chains, academics from every field … our buyers are connoisseurs and keepers of good books and they come from every walk of life.”

Niyogi Books like to mention some of their memorable CTB, like Dilli’s Red Fort by the Yamuna; Wit and Wisdom: Pickings from the Parsee Punch by Professor Mushirul Hasan; and Lata Mangeshkar: In Her Own Voice by Nasreen Munni Kabir.

HarperCollins: VK Karthika publisher and chief editor, HarperCollins love these books, but she feels that a lot of efforts are required for producing a up-to-the-mark CTB. And she added, “Yes, they are special books as they have special segment for special buyers with limited

number of copies…and of course, it’s an expensive art.”

Commenting on the future of these books, she looks little apprehensive, “I don’t see any dramatical change here. Now that everything is becoming digital, I see little uncertainly in it. Its bit complicated to comment on the future of it, right now.”

Wisdom Tree: As per Shobit Arya of Wisdom Tree, this segment was indeed very popular around 5-6 years back, but it’s not the same anymore. “Only spectacular CTB is successful today. So a meticulously produced CTB is going to be timeless.”

Academic Foundation: It’s really wonderful to see CTB for academics as well. As per Sona Kapila, Academic Foundation, “Our CTB are not CTB per se. Our books are very popular in schools and institutions. What could be better than learning history through beautifully published book?”

Popular Prakashan: “The books on art and culture are always in demand. The art galleries and libraries are always good buyers of our books,” said RP Srivastava & Gagan Chaturvedi.

Are book distributors in India doing justice to all that’s published by several

thousand publishers? Has this not been asked a million times by all who produce and sell books? And surely, fingers have been pointed at the distributors and the distribution system in India. The sales team of publishers too have been questioned by their bosses about the non visibility of books in the stores. Authors touring several cities write back to publishers that their books are unavailable in stores. I am sure that all the learned and experienced sales guys do understand that book selling is not as simple as they would want it to be. If only one copy of each book published could reach the several thousand bookshops in the country, all would be selling thousands of books in a day. Several multinational publishers while visiting India have commented (and how they

“Technology and a low-sales market will redefine distribution, which has long been misunderstood and misused”says Sunil S Patki, business head, Vikas Publishing House

wondering if I am advocating for the distributors and the reasons for my doing so, since in my entire publishing career, I have always been on the other side of the table, facing the distributors. To answer you, let me say, “Like several veterans in this industry, I am still learning the complexities of Indian publishing and distribution. My observations are based purely on what I have learnt till date and I am pretty sure that I have a fair idea of the core issues, especially between the publishers and distributors.

Interest ingly, whenever the media wrote on Indian publishing, they always wrote about the general and trade books. They always made reference to publishers of these books and interviewed authors from these publishers. For them Indian publishing was never the school books, the higher education books, the professional and reference books. They haven’t changed and I hope they do change. Even now when they write on e-books, they are referring to general and trade books publishers. They turn a blind eye to the other genre. Though sadly it’s next to impossible to fix the industry size in terms of value, you need not be a financial wizard to accept that general and trade sales in this country is not larger than 5-10 percent of the total industry revenue.

So, is the Indian book distribution system in place? I believe it is, and always was in place. And if the publishers have reasons to question this then they cannot do so in isolation. They are a part and parcel of all the good and not so good that happens in distribution. I believe that a good book will sell irrespective of the kind of marketing efforts

for it and a bad book will not sell despite the most aggressive marketing strategies. It’s so easy for the sales team to take credit when the book sells well and so easy to blame the distributor when it does not. What are the expectations of the publisher from the distributor? Does the distributor get clear guidelines from the publisher? Does the publisher want the distributor to behave as an extension of the publisher’s marketing efforts? I guess there is nothing wrong in working on these lines but then are the efforts to make this arrangement effective, sporadic or very well planned and defined? Just inviting them to a daylong product presentation followed by dinner and cocktail without getting a reasonable commitment, is senseless. Many publishers set the distributor’s target (based on the last year’s performance) without the knowledge or acceptance of this target from the distributor. Do such publisher’s sales guys have any synergy with the buyer and sales guys of the distributor? The publisher expects the distributor to cover the market all by themselves. What about secondary sales? Is the publisher’s team doing enough to call on bookshops to promote the product and develop a mechanism of supply? Like the distributor who is happy to stock and sell bestsellers, the publisher’s team too is found wanting of promoting the back list and new titles. I guess it makes business sense to stock what sells, so why blame the distributor?

Going back several decades many of the present distributors were small time retailers. Later some ventured into publishing while others focused on selling and expanded to become

and we wish it was true) that if every Indian spends 1 USD on books, the business generated can be equivalent to 1 billion USD.

The distributor is also guilty of delayed payments, returns, not reaching out to the retailers, offering high discounts, supplying directly to institutes, and more. Are publishers, party to some of these problems? Did they induce some of these situations? Did they close the supply gates when they achieved their targets? And did they keep them open when they needed more business to achieve the numbers? Did they dump books with an assurance to take them back after the financial year and then never took them back and offered extended credit period for such supplies? Did they inculcate a habit of extra credit period leading to delayed payments from the distributors? The list of such questions is endless. Now, you must be

Mother & daughter screening a book diligently at NDWBF 2013

distributors. There are a few, who are publishers and distributors too. Over a period they developed expertise to stock and sell a certain genre of books. The K-12 publishers deal with a specialised set of distributors. I believe these distributors can (at times) influence the school to use a certain publisher’s books and so the publishers work in close coordination with these distributors. The same is not possible when dealing with distributors who are selling general, trade books, higher education, professional or reference books.

In this competitive business environment, it is imperative for the publishing houses to set higher targets every year. The limitations (I don’t mean inefficiency here) of the existing distributors are compelling publishers to seek other channels to reach the consumers. Obviously on-line booksellers are getting added to the book distribution system. The publishers are making a beeline to tie-up with these new partners, as many as they can. They want their books to be seen in the stores and certainly the results are encouraging for

now. However these partnerships are posing new issues for the publishers with their decade long partners the distributors and bookshops. Will this marriage last long? Can these online partners be disciplined to work within the book industry norms? Will they ever stop offering heavy discounts that they are offering now? The consumer is happy but is the publisher jeopardising its relation with the trusted old partners? We have to wait and watch. Would it not be a good idea to setup your own on-line stores and control the discount? Various articles are surfacing challenging the capabilities of the leading on-line stores. What Amazon did to the world, can the same happen in India? Amazon has spent close to two years in setting up its Indian operations. Is the delay deliberate? Is Amazon watching?

I guess the stage is set for strategic changes in the Indian publishing industry, eventually leading to changes in the distribution systems. Both, the publishers and distributors, are now accepting the sluggish market conditions. The industry is open to accepting the reality of lower sales. Closure of leading

stores like Barnes and Noble did make everyone sit up but then expecting something like this to happen in India also was not considered impossible. Leading modern retail chains are in trouble. Many are shutting outlets or reviewing their businesses more seriously. A leading, decades old distribution house sold its business a couple of years back and I for sure know a few others who would be happy to make an exit. The industry cannot adopt a wait and watch policy and needs to use this time to formulate plans to keep the partnership between them and the distributors live and profitable. The next challenge of course, is digital content distribution and I am sure most of us are still clueless on how to move ahead. So far, several panel discussions have taken place to understand this and will continue to do so.

In a dynamic technology

driven business environment, it goes without saying that one who can sense, understand, design and use the technology to one's advantage will excel. Printed books in India will stay for a much longer time than expected and so will stay the distribution houses and retail. I strongly believe the modern retail will bounce back, having learnt some useful lessons and will once again expand its books space. The best of on-line stores will wade through the hurdles and keep better margin for self. The publisher’s own on-line store will be an important vertical within its business. Global readers will reach out to buy Indian books. High speed internet (of 2,000 times from now) will lead to faster downloads, especially on the hand held devices. Over all, the Indian publishing industry will experience a major shift 2016 onwards.

In an interactive programme with children Mr Michal Malinowski, a storyteller from

Poland, conducted a storytelling session at the Children’s Activity Corner in Hall No 18. The lively storytelling session engrossed children and took them to the world of imagination when Mr Michal started telling Polish tales while playing a Polish musical instrument. He said that stories and storytelling are important as they convey a meaning and prepare us to live life. He added that both the countries have a rich tradition of stories and by sharing them we can learn from each other. The children

also learnt the art for making castle from him.

M i c h a l M a l i n o w s k i i s the founder and Director of the Storytelling Museum in Konstancinjeziorna (near W a r s a w ) , P o l a n d . T h e Storytel l ing Museum is a unique institution devoted to the collection, preservation and promotion of oral heritage from all over the world. Mr Malinowski conducts storytelling sessions to children across the world. He was at the Children & Youth Pavilion yesterday regaling a large gathering of children with his inimitable style of storytelling.

The Storyteller from Poland

Partial view of Hall 18, NDWBF 2013

Tapping the opportunities in e-publishingNew Delhi World Book Fair 2013 puts up an array of exhibits in Hall No 3 by leading e-publishing companies which provide publishers a new platform to tag on the trend of digitized book formats as well as e-publishing. Show Daily met some of these exhibitors who set zeal in e-book/ e-publishing in the Indian book publishing industry.

The technology in the book publishing industry is changing fast; publishers

need to upgrade themselves accordingly to stay ahead of the competition. E-books, apps and other digital technologies are changing the way people read. A book lover can carry thousands of books in a small kindle, which he can carry anywhere…thus he can carry not just the book he is currently reading but the entire bookshelf with him, all the time.

And the kids who hate the sight of books would love to go through a book with lot of multimedia features and apps, thus enhancing their interest and curiosity. Books have suddenly becoming more interesting. The crowd swelling the colossal stand of Attano Media & Education Pvt Ltd in the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair consists of a horde of publishers as well as students from schools and universities who are smitten by the concept of the company’s e-publishing. “We provide CBSE courses through our e-book platform, working in close tie-up with leading publishers like Pearson, Tata McGraw Hill, etc,” said Mr Rohan Bharati of Attano Media & Education Pvt Ltd. He added that they deliver 300-400 books per day through their portal.

Oxford University Press (OUP) launched its digital aid at the fair, called Oxford Educate that integrates, in a single resource, an e-book with interactive teaching tools and learning materials. It includes animations, audio and video clips, slideshows, worksheets, reference material, answer keys and much more.

What’s more? Students sometimes refer more than one book at a time; they might like a particular chapter from a book and would be happy if they can buy just the particular chapter. Globally acclaimed e-publishing company Qbend does just that.

Qbend has unique delivery systems such as ‘e-chapters’ which compile different chapters from more than one book as per the requirement of the reader/student. “We deliver the complete e-publishing software platform to the most acclaimed publishers across the world,” asserted Mr Shyamsundar Krishnamani, manager-software development, Qbend.

Heralding the message of e-publishing to be a big platform in the book publishing industry of India, Ninestar presents its ideas and activities in an inspiring way at the New Delhi World Fair 2013. “Business of e-publishing is convenient and hassle-free to everyone, be it publishers or authors or students,” said Mr Naren Gopal of Ninestars adding that they provide a huge range of educational and general books through their e-platform which persuades many publishers who are new to this concept.

Its not just the students who are benefiting from this e-revolution, the professionals are also gaining. Primarily providing e-books and CDs on a range of law subjects, Manupatra Information Solutions Pvt Ltd is at the fair to power up the ‘legal’ search of those looking for distinguished e-books and other digitalized materials. “In addition to law books, e-publishing activities of the company also include the popular books/publications for chartered accountants,” told Ms Jyoti Kalra adding that the New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 provides a perfect meeting point with their target customers.

Widely known as ‘online retail bookshop’ across the globe, Infibeam delivers books of varied genres through its portal and its participation at the New Delhi World Book Fair is an opportunity which helps them interact with a number of new publishers and authors. Mr Vivek

Tiwari, assistant manager-Vendor Relations, Infibeam appreciates the way NBT has set separate section for e-publishers in the fair.

Magic Software’s activities over the last 20 years in the book publishing industry to get on new trends and developments are showcased at the international book fair. “Our e-publishing in partnership with leading publishers like Pearson, Scholastic, etc has been quite successful worldwide and a platform like New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 would be a rightful endeavour to popularise overall ideas of

e-book, e-publishing, digitized materials to those who are new to this concept,” said Mr Surajit Pal, senior manager, Business Development, Magic Software.

Also, people who are visually challenged or are not able to read due to old age or who simply wish someone to read them a book, can utilize the talking pen technology. Companies like Aadarsh offer talking pens for such readers. The opportunities are endless…it has opened up a plethora of ways to use the content, which was once stored just in the printed form.

Ms Jyoti Kalra Mr S. Krishnamani Mr Naren GopalMr Rohan Bharati Mr Vivek Tiwari Mr Surajit Pal