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Booking profit THE world of books is seeing exciting times as new literary vistas open up. Books of all hues and sizes by Indian authors in English — from biographies to fiction and from romance to fantasy — are capturing the imagination of the reader. With banker-turned-author Amish Tripathi becoming the poster boy of Indian publishing after inking a $1 million (around Rs 5.5 crore) deal for a three-book epic, it seems to be boom time for books and authors. Blockbuster debut Before the mega deal, Tripathi's blockbuster debut trilogy, The Immortals of Meluha (2010), The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of the Vayuputras (2013) revolving around the life and times of Lord Shiva sold over a million and a half copies clocking record sales of nearly Rs 22 crore. Tripathi is not alone. Over the past decade Indian writing has been making rapid strides in global ratings. In fact, the main impetus came in the late 1990s when Arundhati Roy picked up the Booker Prize (now called Man Booker) for The God of Small Things. Megabuck advances Seeing the looming presence of Indian authors in the English literary world, multinational publishing houses like Penguin, Harper Collins and many others set up local ventures in India which encouraged more writers. But the biggest fillip to Indians writing in English has been the attention being given to authors by western publishers. They began getting enormous advances even as they dominated coveted award functions and the bestsellers' lists on three continents. Before Tripathi made headlines for a million-dollar deal with home-grown publishing house Westland — part of the Tata group — the value of Indian authors in material terms has been the subject of envy in the literary world. Vikram Seth has reportedly sold world rights of A Suitable Girl — sequel to A Suitable Boy — to Hamish Hamilton UK, for £ 1.7 million (approx Rs 13.8 crore). There have been a number of sub-crore deals in the recent past with historian Ramachandra Guha leading the way with a reported Rs 97 lakh paid by Penguin for seven of his books. It is rumoured that Random House bought the rights of cricketer Yuvraj Singh's autobiography In Different Form for Rs 50
lakh. Striking gold Celebrity author Chetan Bhagat has been churning out bestsellers since 2008 with many of his books striking gold at the box office as well. The 2009 hit 3 Idiots was based on his book Five Point Someone. The recent movie Kai Po Che, too, has been inspired by his book The Three Mistakes of My Life. UTV Motion Pictures has acquired the rights of his new book Revolution 2020. Another bestselling author Shobhaa De's risqué blockbusters gave publishing world its first bestsellers right since the 1980s. Those were the heady days of Starry Nights, Socialite Evenings and Sultry Days and Shobhaa De then reigned supreme as India’s best-selling writer and queen of pulp. Even today, her books are still bestsellers. She recently turned publisher. Her Shobhaa Books along with Penguin Books released Kareena Kapoor's The Style Diary of a Bollywood Diva. Interestingly, till now it was the just the established writers who were ushering in the mega bucks but gennext is now taking over. Young authors like Amish Tripathi, Jeet Thayill, Siddhartha Deb, Kiran Desai, Chetan Bhatgat and others are drawing back book lovers once again even as they look all set for a slew of new titles.
BRING PIRATES TO BOOK! *
Earlier it was overseas authors like Sydney Sheldon, John Grisham, Jeffery Archer, Robin Cook and others who raked in the megabucks for pirates. *
Now with the spike in their popularity Indian authors too have been added to the rising pile of pirated books. All leading Indian authors are victims of piracy which is growing at 20 per cent per annum-the growth rate registered by the legitimate industry. *
While in the mid nineties pirated books were shoddily produced, the same is not true anymore. Pirates have become extremely professional something that has the publishing industry increasingly worried. *
Authors and publishers say that what is needed is a lot more support from the police than has been forthcoming and also from the judiciary to stop this illicit activity. But, says an industry source, more than the cops and the courts, publishers would have to seek support from readers. Laws may be lax and conviction rate low, but if readers reject pirated books that will finally slam the door in the face of the illegal trade.
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The new gen tablet At a premium hospital in New Delhi, a radiologist routinely examines the CT scan image of a patient on his Apple iPad. In Chandigarh, a young student is busy playing Shadowgun Deadzone on his father’s Google Nexus. In Himachal Pradesh, an upmarket orchard owner has gained Rs 5,000 a truck by auctioning his apples online on his Samsung Galaxy tablet. In Mumbai’s Dalal Street, a stock broker is carefully watching the market ticker on his Motorola Xoom. In Madurai, executives of a leading fisheries company use a Sony Xperia tablet to get information on the right time when their trawler can set sail for fishing.
Tablets are everywhere. And these have a widespread utility — from playing games to online market analysis — tablets seem to be fast becoming the next big digital gizmo. Whether in schools or newspaper offices, in private banks, research organisations, hospitals and higher education institutes, these are not just the most useful tools of the trade but are fast becoming an essential one as well. Burgeoning demand The burgeoning demand for the tablet can be gauged from the fact that an estimated three million units of various brands were sold in 2012. The figure is expected to double in 2013. The third quarter (July to September) of 2012 is an indicator of the speed at which the demand is burgeoning. Nearly 1.1 million tablets were sold in India in this period as against 98,135 in the same quarter in the previous year — an amazing increase of more than one million tablets in the same period. This explains why leading global brands like Apple, Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Google, HP and others are readying themselves for the boom-time expected in the Indian tablet market. Giving them stiff competition are homegrown companies like Reliance Communication, Beetel, HCL Infosystems, Macromax, Karbonn, Lava, Zync Global, Champion Computers and more who are rapidly tapping into the demand and launching their own tablets in various price ranges. “A tablet is becoming a part of people’s lives in cities. Whether it is a student or an executive, a doctor or a chartered accountant, it has utility for everyone,” says Vinod Kumar Jain, a dealer in leading digital products in Nehru Place, New Delhi. Plethora of choices Indian companies have launched or are launching a series of new dual-core and quad-core tablets in 7 inch, 8 inch, 9.7 inch and 10.1 inch screens less than Rs 15,000 range. Zync Global, for example, brought out five new tablets in February this year. Says Ashish Garg, director of the company, “We are very bullish about the tablet market. The price range of these tablets with the latest features is going to sweep people off their feet.” Champion Computers, too, launched Wtab 705 Talk Tablet in February. This is a dual phone and tab Android 4.0 with a 7-inch touch-screen that sports a 480 x 800 pixels resolution. With this launch, the company claims to have the complete range to meet the needs of consumers. Says Kapil Wadhwa, managing director, “Our strategy is not only to offer competitively priced products but also keep bringing upgraded products that help users technologically as well. This new tablet is one such example. At Rs 6,300, you will not get a better product.” Wi-fi connectivity A majority of the Indian tablets come with wi-fi connectivity and are 3G-enabled. Almost 80 per cent of them have a 7-inch screen and are android powered. However, many of these tablets do not have voice calling functions, though most leading companies are now working towards that goal. In 2012, more than 50 per cent of the Indian market was cornered by three companies — Samsung, Micromax and Datawind. The highest share was held by Samsung at 23.9 per cent followed by Micromax at 15.3 per cent and at number three was Datawind, the maker of Aakash 2 with a market share of 12.3 per cent. There are three segments of the tablet market in India. The highest demand is for tablets between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. The second category is between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000, while the third comprises high-end users, with tablets in the Rs 20,000 and Rs 35,000 range. And with more than 50 companies vying for your favour, the decision is not going to be an easy one!
Know your computing devices Notebook Till a few years back, it was what kids carried to school. Today, a notebook denotes a small size laptop, which weighs between 2.5 kg and 3 kg and has a flat panel screen producing sharp images. It is ultra slim, has minimal graphics and a very small keypad. Netbook A stripped-down version of laptop and Notebook, the Netbook has reduced computing power and does not have an optical device. Basically, it is an inexpensive laptop or Notebook with internet. Notepad This is a digital tablet that lets you draw images and write text electronically with the help of a stylus or digital pen. These images and text can, then, be transferred to a PC by attaching the Notepad to it. Thinkpad This is basically a Notebook by IBM. It has the same functions as a small laptop/Notebook/Tablet but is called a Thinkpad. It is now being made by Lenovo after it acquired the brand from IBM. iPad A portable computing device by Apple. The iPad is the original Tablet and has taken the world by a storm as it blends a laptop with a mobile phone. It has a multi-touch screen and a virtual keyboard. Phablet The opposite of a Tablet, this is a smart phone that also works as a computer with a screen ranging between five and eight inches. Experts feel that the Tablet and Phablet will merge into one in future.
Price: Rs 24,000
Price: Rs 21,500
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Price: Rs 34,500
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Making students’ life much easier Purushottam set up a company, Suphalaam, to enable cost-effective education software to benefit large groups of students Vibha Sharma purushottam turned his dreams to reality with the inception of Suphalaam Technologies Pvt. Ltd. — a pioneer in providing complete technology solutions for running Tablet PC based eLearning Programs. Growing up in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, he joined IIT Bombay and pursued Bachelors and Masters in Electrical Engineering. Drived by the idea of entrepreneurship, he started nurturing a dream to chart his own course to create a large-scale impact through his work. He opted for the conventional path and joined ARM Ltd., in the UK. He realised that in order to make an individual mark in such a big concern, one had to wait a very long time for which he wasn't ready. He switched jobs and worked in different capacities. Mishra, along with hid Indian friends started a charity "Future and Light for Young" (FLY) to help meritorious but poor students. Thus, they could lead their families out of the shackles of poverty. FLY, which began in 2007, has already helped hundreds of students. Purushottam gained some valuable technical and corporate skills and was getting acquainted with the Indian education segment through his philanthropic work. Mishra believes unlike developed societies which provide opportunities that make even their average students more productive, Indian society does not ensure the same for even the best students coming out of the best institutes. He thought deeply about the quality, the archaic system and the promise of a bright future that a good education system could hold for a nation like India. He decided that the education segment was the call for him. He wanted to be an important cog in the overhauling of the education system by ensuring that ALL students get access to best academic content and teachers. He wanted to design a cost-effective electronic gadget costing less than Rs 3,000 and provide good educational content. Suphalaam was born in 2009. The first product, SmartBox, won the best electronic product of the year award at a national consortium. A weak electronic manufacturing ecosystem in India, coupled with aggressive churning out of new tablets from manufacturing units in China, made Suphalaam stop that product line and realign to provide complete education solutions to the client on third-party tablet PCs. The Smart Learning Suite has struck a chord with over 10,000 students. They can view video lectures of chosen topics anywhere and any number of times by this software. They can access notes, take tests, view results and receive feedback. What keeps Mishra going is: “A word of appreciation from an end-user and acceptance of a product/service by a large group that makes you feel that everything that you sacrificed, every moment that you spent working on it, every battle that you fought on the way and all the effort was very much worth it after all.”
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BLING IT ON
GOLDEN YACHTING EXPERIENCE
Price: $4.8 billion (Rs 26,400 crore)
LEVITATING EARTH
Price: $120 (Rs 6,600) for 8-inch globe
WAKE UP & SMELL THIS COFFEE
Price: $11,000 for 500gm top-end Tera Nera (Rs 6.05 lakh)
Price: $7,500
(Rs 4,12,500)
Price: $100
(Rs 5,500)
MOUSE ON THE GO Price in
India: Rs 3,600
SMUGGLER’S BELT Price: $245
(Rs 13,475)
SIP A ‘RARE’ VINTAGE Price: $88,000
(Rs 48.40 lakh)
ULTIMATE LUXURY ON WHEELS Price: $3,19,250
(Rs 1,75,58,750)
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THE world of books is seeing exciting times as new literary vistas open up. Books of all hues and sizes by Indian authors in English — from biographies to fiction and from romance to fantasy — are capturing the imagination of the reader.
With banker-turned-author Amish Tripathi becoming the poster boy of Indian publishing after inking a $1 million (around Rs 5.5 crore) deal for a three-book epic, it seems to be boom time for books and authors.
PACESETTER Purushottam Mishra
Given the choices, it is not easy for first-timers to take quick decisions at choosing a tablet. The initial dilemma is whether to buy a global or an Indian brand. Though common sense says established players like Apple, Samsung, Sony, Motorola and others are a better bet but the reality is that Indian brands too are not far behind and these can be a lot cheaper as well.
ASUS TRANSFORMER PAD INFINITY
AMAZON KINDLE FIRE HD 8.9
ACER ICONIA A501
HUAWEI MEDIAPAD 7
HP SLATE 2
GOOGLE NEXUS 10
APPLE iPAD-4
SONY XPERIA TABLET ‘S’
BLACK BERRY PLAYBOOK
MOTOROLA XOOM
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 10.1
SURFACE BY MICROSOFT
TOSHIBA EXCITE 7.7
If you were to see this yacht, the first question you would ask yourself is: Who will buy it? Simply because it costs as much as the budget of some small countries and even oil Sheikhs and tycoons would baulk at its price tag. So, what’s so special about this yacht called History Supreme that has been built by the UK-based Start Hughes and Company? For one, the 100-foot yacht is made of 1,00,000 kg of solid gold and platinum. Its interiors have some of the rarest and most un-obtainable decorations found in the universe. It has all the creature comforts and luxuries imaginable and those which are beyond imagination as well.
We all know that the earth is one of the many free-moving planets in the universe. Now you can demonstrate the earth’s movement at home with the Magnetic Levitating Antique World Globe by German company Stellanova. A built-in computer chip adjusts atmospheric changes and allows the globe to remain suspended at all times with the help of magnets. In sizes ranging from four inches to 25 inches, the antique-style globe is an attractive decoration piece. It is complemented by parchment-coloured oceans and pastel-toned landmasses. It will change the view of the world of anyone who sees it.
Most of us enjoy an occasional cup of coffee without really worrying about its price. But if you have on the menu the Terra Nera brand of coffee from the Peruvian Andes in South America you had better scan the price with a magnifying glass. The extravagant brew is made by passing the coffee beans through the digestive system of specially bred civet cats and are then collected, washed and dried and processed immediately. The coffee that comes in six grades can be bought only on pre-order. And those buying the top grade from Harrods in London will get a handcrafted and engraved 24-carat gold-plated sack which retains the freshness of the coffee and 
VINTAGE LIGHT
SMART ‘TYPE’ PHONE
This digital accessory will add a touch of style to your desktop. Besides being user-friendly, the Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse has an innovative jet-setting style providing user-comfort and portability. It has touch-sensitive features and can be used just about anywhere, even on a rough surface or carpet, thanks to BlueTrack Technology. It can be operated from a distance of 30 feet from the computer. Interestingly, there is no middle button or scroll wheel. Instead there is a touch-sensitive scrolling strip that runs vertically down the centre which accounts for its sleek look. Though a lot costlier than a common mouse, it is worth the investment to add a touch of class to the workplace.
It is difficult to say with some certainty whether this belt was ever used for smuggling. But American leather products company Barrett Alley’s Stealthy Belt in hand-sewn tanned leather and a hand-forged iron buckle comes with the warning that it should not be used for any illicit activities. It has a hidden compartment on the inner side near the buckle to carry concealed banknotes or other “contraband”. Though extensively used by travellers to carry cash safely, it can be a boon for any smuggler to purloin stuff from one country to another. 
It is the Grand Emperor of Single Malts imbibed by connoisseurs and admired by royalty. When the Macallan Single Malt comes in an equally bespoke cabinet, then it becomes even more precious. The famous Speyside distillery has launched an exclusive hand-crafted Burr Oak case designed by renowned British craftsman Viscount Linley containing six of the rarest of the rare Single Malts of 1937, 1940, 1948, 1955, 1966 and 1970 vintage. The cabinet also contains six crystal tumblers for the magical experience of savouring each of these peerless malts sip by sip.
It’s pure luxury on four wheels. The Rolls-Royce Wraith has finally been unveiled at the just concluded (March 17) Geneva Motor Show. Powered by a V12 engine it has an 8-speed auto transmission and produces 624 hp power. It accelerates from 0-100 kmph in 4.5 seconds. With the company calling it “the ultimate gentleman’s gran turismo”, the Wraith is packed with every conceivable technology and luxury. The seats have leather-and-wood finish and the roof has 1,340 fibre optic lamps giving the illusion of a starry sky making it among the classiest cars in the world.