किताब पढ़ना एक बात है। किताब पर राय देना, दूसरी। और किताब के भीतर से अपने समय, समाज, भाषा, स्मृति और मनुष्य की उलझनों को पढ़ लेना, यह आलोचना का काम है।हमारे यहाँ अक्सर आलोचक को लेकर दो तरह की गलतफहमियाँ साथ-साथ चलती हैं। एक तरफ उसे ऐसा कठोर न्यायाधीश...

आपने अब तक पढ़ा, कथाकार, उपन्यासकार और पत्रकार में अंतर, और हिंदी में पत्रकार लेखक क्यों बन रहे हैं? , अब और आगे चलते हैं…हिंदी में एक परिचित दृश्य है। कॉलेज या उच्च विद्यालय के हिंदी विभाग में शिक्षक हैं। वे कविता पढ़ाते हैं, कहानी पढ़ाते हैं, आलोचना पढ़ाते हैं,...

आपने अब तक पढ़ा, कथाकार, उपन्यासकार और पत्रकार में अंतर, अब आगे चलते हैं...तो हिंदी में पत्रकारों का लेखक बनना कोई बिल्कुल नई घटना नहीं है। नई बात इसकी गति, दृश्यता और बाज़ार है।आज कोई पत्रकार टीवी पर दिखता है, यूट्यूब पर बोलता है, अख़बार या डिजिटल पोर्टल में लिखता...

किसी ने प्रश्न किया,क्या कारण है कि आज हिंदी में पत्रकार ही कहानीकार और उपन्यासकार हो रहे हैं?क्यों कहानीकार, उपन्यासकार और पत्रकार के भेद मिटते जा रहे हैं?पाठक कैसे चुनें कि किसे पढ़ना है?प्रश्नों को सुन कर एक बात तो अच्छी लगी की आनेवाली पीढ़ी में कुछ लोग सोच तो...

तो हुआ कुछ यूँ कि Rachnaye के एक Social Media post पर, ये प्रश्न आया की,भिखारी ठाकुर को भोजपुरी का शेक्सपीयर क्यों कहा जाता है? कालिदास से तुलना क्यों नहीं होती?क्या यह उपाधि आधिकारिक है?क्या शेक्सपीयर कालिदास से बड़े नाटककार थे?इन प्रश्नों को समझने और वास्तविक रूप देने के प्रयास...

There’s a familiar scene playing out in homes across India these days,A tired parent.A restless child.A glowing screen.You tell yourself: just 20 minutes. A cartoon. An educational app. Something in English, maybe something “learning-based.” It keeps them quiet. It feels efficient.Are picture books better than screen time?In early childhood (ages...

I walked into the bookstore looking for a Kannada novel.Not a rare one. Not out of print. Just a good contemporary novel someone had recommended. I expected to find it easily. After all, we’re a country of 22 officially recognized languages, hundreds of dialects, and thousands of publishers.Instead, I found...

What is the “genre hierarchy” in Indian language publishing?It’s the informal ranking of genres by cultural status—where poetry and literary fiction are treated as “serious,” while romance, pulp, devotional and mass fiction may sell more but get less respect.Why is poetry considered higher status than romance or thrillers?Because awards, academic...

Why are foreign books translated so heavily into Indian languages?They carry built-in recognition, lower copyright costs, and reduced financial risk for publishers.Is translation easier than writing original Indian-language books?No. Translation requires high literary skill, but it is easier for publishers to approve because the content is already validated.Are Indian writers...

I am part of a book club WhatsApp group where people from across India discuss books throughout the year. I, too, chime in at times, not always, Sharing a small snippet from the group, across the year. For anonymity purposes, naming the individuals as "someone"Someone: "Ok, so you tell me,...

Not All Editing Is the Same. And That’s Where Most Writers Go Wrong.Why manuscripts fail, relationships sour, and good books get misunderstood—because we use one word for five very different jobs.There’s a moment every editor knows well.A writer receives feedback and says, “But this is just your opinion.” Or worse:...

The publishing world loves a comforting story: an editor “discovers” a manuscript, an author gets “guidance,” and a book emerges like a shared miracle.That story exists. It’s also incomplete.A more accurate description is messier: publishing runs on asymmetry.Editors sit inside institutions—budgets, lists, sales meetings, reputational risk.Authors, especially debut or midlist...

After twenty-odd years in Indian publishing, you develop certain instincts.You can tell how a meeting will end before it begins.You can predict which manuscript will be called “important” and which will be called “interesting but difficult.”You learn to read silences better than sentences.And you learn something else, something far less...

“मगध” - एक नगर, साम्राज्य, गणराज्य, युद्ध, महाप्रलय, सत्ता, पतन, पुनरुत्थान - सब कुछ और बहुत कुछ।कुछ कथ्य, कुछ अकथ्य।“मगध” में संग्रहित कविताएँ इतिहास नहीं हैं, बल्कि इतिहास का सम्मोहन, मायालोक, आंतरिक स्मृति और चेतना हैं। उजड़ चुके नगरों की गूँज हैं, उन पत्थरों की चीख हैं जिन पर कभी...

If there is one arena where India’s contradictions theatrically perform, it’s the intersection of books and Cash on Delivery.In a country that worships knowledge, quotes the Gita, swears by Shakespeare in English exams, and treats books as auspicious gifts wrapped in golden paper, we still hesitate to… pay for them...

After a very long time, I was on a train journey, primarily because the railway station I was heading to was more famous than the airport.After boarding the train, when I walked into my AC 2 Tier coupe, I found two young souls, mostly in their early twenties, giggling and...

2025 didn’t wait for permission. It rewired Indian publishing while everyone was busy predicting its death.There’s a strange comfort in believing publishing moves slowly. That editors quietly pore over manuscripts, that readers discover books by accident, and that the industry is built on calm, deliberate decisions.But 2025, refused to play...

Here’s a secret most readers don’t know: you didn’t “discover” your last read; it was delivered to you, by a machine.Every time you browse Amazon, scroll Rachnaye, or click a “Top 10 Trending Reads” list, there’s an algorithm silently making decisions.It studies what you’ve liked, how long you hovered over...

And the story’s over. But... you’re still thinking about it.Once upon a time, stories were told in chapters to build. Now they unfold between two swipes.And yet, when done right... a 100-word story can still hit harder than a 400-page novel.You’ve seen them, Tiny stories on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Rachnaye,...

Every bestselling author has a secret co-author, sometimes human, sometimes algorithmic.The Truth They Won’t Tell You at Book LaunchesYou’ve seen the Instagram reels where a celebrity holds a freshly printed book, the camera zooming in, applause echoing, captions screaming, “My debut memoir is finally here!”And as the flashbulbs go off,...