Books and Book Lovers

 

                                                

                          (Swayamprava Sahu, poet and writer is reading the novel Head Office)

One day, in 1986 or 87, I was in the quarters of an MLA, an acquaintance whom I called uncle, his nephew being my friend. He had gone somewhere. I was chatting with his wife. I caught sight of a heap of books under a cot. Those were Ramayan and Mahabharat in odia written by J.B.Patnaik, then Chief Minister of Odisha. I asked his wife, “What is uncle doing with the books?” His wife said, “Your uncle has bought two hundred books of the CM to distribute among the readers, of course, in order to impress him. You can take two, one Ramayan and one Mahabharat.” I got two books free.

Another day, after a few years, I was with Umesh Prasad Sahu, the publisher of Bharat Bharati. He published the books of the former CM. While chitchatting I said about Ramayan and Mahabharat which I got free from the MLA’s quarters.  Umesh Prasad said, “The book ultimately reaches the reader.”

( Reactions  of Priyadarshini , an Amazon reader on Amazon's customer review page on Head Office)

Readers, particularly of regional literature, are depleting over the years. The reasons are many. One reason, maybe, intrusion of TV into the drawing rooms with a large number of entertaining channels. Before spread of TV, an employee or an educated person used to pick up a magazine or book after he returned from office. Now TV has taken that time. Parents stress now their children on teaching in English medium schools. English knowledge or proficiency in English, they believe, brings them jobs. Another reason, and an important one, pressure on the students to seek more marks, and concentrate in studies only, so that they get seats in good colleges or universities, in other words, to land in secure jobs with handsome salary. They don’t have time for literature or play on the fields. They also even don’t have time to socialize. Their parents and well wishers also don’t encourage and they consider reading books, other than the textbooks, is wastage of time.

Still books sell, but books in English. Since the people prefer their children educated in English medium, the readers in English are increasing, and that is, at the cost of regional literature. Writers like Chetan Bhagat or Devdutt Patnaik are great success. Chetan’s books sell in millions. But the readers having a taste for literature will read books not only of English, but also books in the language he speaks or he will learn the original language, if possible, the book written in, to get the charm and feel of the book. Translation compromises originality.

                   (Kamal's reaction on the novel Head Office received as WhatsApp message)

I would like to give a couple of examples I have come across. I was in Cuttack. There is a magazine stall in Mangalabag I used to visit at least once in a week. Besides Odia magazines, he also sells English, Hindi and Bengli magazines. During Durga Puja he sells as many Bengli Puja special magazines as Odia magazines. The owner of the stall says, not only the Bengli speaking people, but also many Odias buy the Bengli magazines, especially the Puja special issues. Many Odias also buy Hindi magazines.

Apoorv Sarkar was working from the TCS in our office. He was from West Bengal, a Bengli speaking young man. He was a lover of books. He was excited to know I did write. Then, in 2007, my novel Kashatandira Swapna (Dreams of Kash Flowers) had just come out to market. He wanted to read and to read in Odia he started learning the language. He left TCS and joined another company. After around six months, one day he rang me up and told, he had finished my novel and also gave his comments on the book saying he identified him with the protagonist of the novel. The main character of the novel, Ajay has struggled to stand in the society, more or less, Apoorv had the same experience. He requested to suggest him good Odia books he should read.

Apoorv’s case maybe an exception, but it proves the point that a person having a taste for literature will like to learn the language he speaks, though he cannot write or read, to read the books written in his/her mother tongue. This is not a big deal for a book lover. An English medium educated child does not have much difficulty to learn his/her mother tongue.

Books reach the reader, if he knows about the book, and also it is available to him with ease. I know about the books either by reading reviews from the newspapers or magazines and from my book-lover-friends. I have a few friends, when I meet or ring up them, a question they must ask what book I am reading or which good book I have recently read. We discuss books we have read recently or are reading. Now I don’t wait for the book fair to buy books or look for a book in different book shops. In this pandemic time I do not also go outside. E-commerce platforms have made easy availability. My recently published Odia book, Head Office, is now available on Amazon and Flipkart. I have posted the book only on social media, in Facebook and WhatsApp and the result is encouraging. I am getting review of the book on Amazon customer review page and from my friends, those who have my number, messages on WhatsApp. I was inquiring with the publisher; he said, everyday he gets orders of one or two of the book and those are not only from cities like Cuttack or Bhubaneswar, but also from remote towns like Bhadrak, Phulbani or Koraput.

*****