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...

“बड़ा हुआ तो क्या हुआ, जैसे पेड़ खजूर; पंथी को छाया नहीं, फल लागे अति दूर”ये प्रसिद्ध पंक्तियाँ बचपन से हमारे कानों में पड़ती आई हैं। ऐसी दो पंक्तियों की पूर्ण रचना को दोहा कहते हैं।दोहा हिंदी काव्य का एक अत्यंत लोकप्रिय मात्रिक छंद है जिसका प्रयोग प्राचीन समय से...

मुझे आज भी याद है, कक्षा पाँच की हिंदी की वो क्लास जिसमे उमाशंकर माटसाब ने कहा की चलो आज निबंध करेंगे, अपनी कॉपी पर गाय के बारे में जो जानते हो लिखो।मैंने, पहली पंक्ति लिखी,“गाय एक चौपाया जानवर है।”"उसके दो सींग, दो कान, एक मुँह (थूथून) , एक बड़ा...

Walk into any second-hand bookstore in India, and you’ll find them, names you might have heard once in passing, or not at all; writers who built our literary foundations but now linger in the quiet corners of dusty shelves.Once celebrated, now forgotten : they are not merely absent from reading...

In Indian literature, words do more than tell stories sometimes, they decide which stories survive. One such word is “dialect.”At first glance, it appears harmless, a neutral linguistic category. But, beneath it lies a subtle hierarchy, a centuries-old politics of recognition and invisibility.Why is Bhojpuri, with nearly 50 million speakers,...

Vaikom Muhammad BasheerBasheer’s characters were drawn from society’s margins, gamblers, pickpockets, and prostitutes, but were depicted with innocence and humanity.He wrote in a colloquial, grammar-free style that brought him closer to the people and away from literary elitism.His barefoot wanderings, prison days, and personal struggles shaped both his worldview and...

Novels That Were Not Written for the Masses...Many exceptional Indian language books are critically acclaimed but rarely read.These works are not written for mass appeal, and often miss a wide readership despite literary depth.Themes may be too philosophical, experimental, political, or esoteric for mainstream audiences.Language complexity, lack of translations, and...

Why Publishers Lose Good Writers (and Sometimes Their Sleep Too!)Here are the primary reasons:Royalties & Transparency – Writers often feel royalties are late, low, or lost in translation (literally and financially). They don't know the reason behind it as well.Data Deficiency – Many publishers still run like it’s the 1980s,...