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...