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Chetan Bhagat has
3 Idiots to promote his novel cause. But other new-age w w A theme wardrobe of fuschia and black was young writer Tishaa Khosla’s signature style at the recent launch of the seventh edition of her book titled (what else) Pink or Black.w The promotion of Chetan Bhagat’s new book 2 States— The Story of My Marriage saw a debate on the state of Indian marriages.
CHETAN BHAGAT may have made his millions riding on the reel and real success of his earlier novel (Five Point Someone adapted into 3 Idiots), but not every young author hits the jackpot. There’s much marketing savvy and strategy that new writers have to employ to push their plot. From socio-cultural discourse to theatrical interpretations of texts to dramatic props, there is much innovation and promotional panache’ that young novelists have been bringing to literary events that may otherwise end up as boring yawn-between-the-yarn affairs or get typecast into another of those wine ‘n’ cheese outings, which often have the glitterati outnumbering the literati. Zipping in and out of cultural capitals, our new-age authors carry not only an armload of their paperbacks but also a pout full of sound bytes and a perspective that’s refreshing even if raw. Himani Dalmia, the 25-year-old Oxford-educated debutante on India’s bookscape who launched her Life is Perfect in Chandigarh sometime back, articulates this new vibrancy and verve at launches, "Our entire event had a very youngish 20s’ feel to it. The guest speaker (Shruti Choudhry) as well as the publisher (Kapish Mehra) represented the face of Young India". Himani hit upon an interesting idea to market her novel, inspiration for which came from a launch of the book In Search of Sita that saw a film on this mythological princess being screened to make the readers relate better to the character. "The run-of-the-mill book launches can be so boring. That’s why I want to do something different. The secret is to go beyond the book". Hence the plan to make monogamy the talking point at her launches in Pune, Bengaluru etc. "Since my book delves into issues like infidelity that plague many present-day Indian marriages, throwing up a debate on the relevance of monogamy can help connect to a wider audience," says the Delhi-based novelist, who finds theatrical interpretations an interesting ploy for engaging readers. Drama, in fact, isn’t confined to the covers of all new titles crowding the cabinets. It is stepping beyond the printed word into its promotional space. That’s the twist in the telling of the tale. This was borne out by a recent event to popularise thrillers that found visiting British author Jake Arnott playing a protagonist in a staged crime. Hosted by the British Library, Chandigarh, the setting spilled the feel of blood and bullet from fiction into actual action. Says Bipin Kumar, manager of the library, "Book lovers want something beyond the routine events that just involve getting a celebrity guest to launch them. That’s why we decided to add some real drama to our crime fiction launch by having youngsters stage an act. It looked so authentic that some visitors got all anxious on seeing a body lying in a pool of what they thought was blood!" All credit to some students of the Inter National Institute of Fashion Design, Chandigarh, who conceptualised the props for the act. "The guest writer Arnott, too, played his part by releasing not just the book but also the ‘actors’ from the clasp of handcuffs," informs Christina Singh, deputy manager, who was part of the promotional planning. Somewhere it’s a scene that can chill, somewhere it’s dressed to kill. Take the launch of the seventh edition (or even earlier editions) of Tishaa Khosla’s Pink or Black, that saw the young writer in frill and fuschia, denoting the colour scheme of the book’s title. Call it the ‘theatre of the word’ or whatever, the idea is to grab eyeballs for a cover in the crowd on the bookshelves. "A lot of writers are themselves taking the initiative for book promotions," says Pankaj P. Singh of Browser bookstore. "Like US-based Punjabi writers Neena Kahlon and Ratanjit Singh got in touch with us directly, asking if we could host their book launch". Another author with initiative is Neeraj Chhibba, who has also taken the now-famous route to fiction: Inspiration IIT. But unlike Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, Chhibba’s maiden foray is not about the winners of the IIT dream, but the losers. Hence the title: Zero Percentile---Missed IIT Kissed Russia. Says this software professional-turned-novelist, "Writers have to take a lot of initiative themselves to market their books that may otherwise get lost in the maze of titles making it to the marts these days". "To grab mindspace for the book, a writer has to adopt all sorts of strategies and tap all kinds of spaces to connect with the readers," he elaborates. He has, on his own, been doing the rounds of cultural hubs like Kolkata, Jaipur, Delhi and, of course, our own Chandigarh, to reach out to book lovers. But his promotions are not confined to the cultural circuit, they also cross into cyberspace. Twitter is one medium where he’s pretty proactive for connecting with prospective readers across the globe. Interestingly, the blurb of his debut novel even mentions his Twitter address. Says Chhibba, "Through tweets I spread word about my book and I’ve been getting good feedback too". And why not, Twitter is one medium that’s been actively employed even by Chetan Bhagat, who is believed to have connected to another noted IIT alumnus and roped him in for a review of his book through cyber networking. So, are all these writers taking on a role that’s essentially that of the publishers: book promotion? "Publishers are more concerned with pushing sales, for which they may hold a tour of some cities. Beyond that, it’s for the writer to reach out to a wider audience, be it through blogs, tweets or media chats," says Chhibba. Whether it is theatre or Twitter, does it signal a maturing and a moving of the Indian literati beyond wine-and-cheese author events? "Ah, those cocktail launches are nothing more than media events. The younger audience needs something different to connect. Our young demography and writer profiles have to be reflected in the literary events too," feels Himani, who has a Master’s in South Asian Literature. Not only are the book promotions stepping beyond the stereotypes of wine ‘n’ shine, the young writers, too, are defying definitions. While the likes of Advaita Kala and Rupa Gulab may have become the poster girls of Indian Chic Lit, some new kids on the bloc are steering clear of such constricting classifications. Himani, for one, vehemently refuses to be slotted. "The issues that I’ve dealt with in my novel are serious, examining the dark side of adult life. It straddles the genre between general fiction and Chic Lit. But it’s definitely not Chic Lit, for there isn’t a single shopping scene or any groom-hunting!" Says blog writer-cum-journalist Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, who also came calling to Chandigarh to promote You Are Here, a girl’s search for spouse and sanity in the age of blogging, which touches more upon concerns governing Chic Lit: "I don't classify myself, that's the publisher's job. I want to continue exploring our urban youth. I like dissecting people who’ve grown up here and are battling two worlds". So, whilst these new authors bring a perspective that’s young, their plots are adult in range and reach. Writing that’s youthful in expression but grown-up in its engagement. All this rushing around to woo readers is fine, but with this rapid rush of young blood into Indian Writing in English, are we producing literature in a hurry? Says Meenakshi, "There is definitely a large market for books in India, but I'm not sure if ‘writing in a hurry’ is happening...I believe there can never be too many books. But I also dread the day when there may be more writers than readers...And while I'm not a huge fan of the cellphone novel, in this age of new titles rushing at you from all directions, books do have a hard time holding attention". So, in this tweet-and-blog-powered bookscape with blurring boundaries, the authors rush in where the publishers fear to tread.
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