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,...

Once upon a time, we read blurbs. Now, we scroll.In a world where books share screen space with Instagram grids, a stunning cover isn’t vanity, it’s survival. Whether it’s the matte feel of a minimalist indie paperback, like Becoming Bangalore or a riot of colour in a mytho-fiction bestseller, like...

Once upon a time, Indian fiction was infused with the scents of wet earth, temples, and mango orchards.Then came the 1990s cable TV, credit cards, call centres, and cappuccinos.The India that read Malgudi Days woke up one morning to One Night @ the Call Centre. Suddenly, the hero was no...

In the landscape of twentieth‐century Telugu literature, certain autobiographies stand out for their candour, cultural sweep and historical resonance.“From Hampi to Harappa” is widely regarded as one of the top ten Telugu autobiographies of the twentieth century.What makes this book remarkable? The author Tirumala Ramachandra, born in a Sri Vaishnava...

Ever imagined The Screen Ate the Story, or Did It? What happens when every story we used to read is now streaming on a screen?Somewhere between a midnight binge-watch and an unfinished paperback lies the modern Indian reader, guilty, distracted, but still deeply in love with stories. In a country...

In an age when our thumbs flick over reels and our attention hovers for seconds rather than chapters, something curious is happening in Indian literature and media: the great epics of South Asia are being remixed, reworked and retold.The ancient war-story of Mahābhārata is no longer just the Sanskrit text...