BOOKS

This year's Bangalore Book Festival was neither better nor worse than usual, which is to say that it mainly offered the advantages of visiting a number of more or less ordinary bookstores in a single venue. I am always on the look-out for translations of literature from different countries and regions into English, but if this was a focus area at the Festival, it was not evident to me in the few hours I spent there. By and large, apart from the special focus sections on Kannada literature, the exhibitors had the usual run of the mill fare you find…

From avid book lovers to light readers, the Bangalore Book Fest is catering to all types of visitors. Children's books seemed to be the most popular genre and almost two thirds of the books displayed are meant for junior readers. Navya M Gowda, all of four and a half, seemed extremely thrilled with her copy of “Clifford’s Loose Tooth” from Scholastic. Pic: Deepti Sarma. The festival has been on full swing at Palace Grounds, from November 6th when it was inaugurated by Rastrakavi Shivarudrappa. With over 350 stalls, the festival is slated to end on Sunday November 15th. In 2008, 10…

The amiable and witty K K S Murthy, the face and voice of one of Bengaluru’s oldest and iconic landmarks took around 20 of us down an enchanting memory lane on October 10th, a pleasant Saturday evening.It was part of Jamming through October festival organised by Maraa , a community media collective based in Bangalore.Murthy's bibliophilic father K B K Rao practised as a lawyer in Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh). "Father would visit Bangalore on merely receiving a post card from auctioneers in Bangalore about families leaving the city selling used books. I have seen people from Kerala carrying and selling…

There’s a thrill in leafing through the pages of a book that comes with inscriptions of multiple ex-owners, like my second hand Rule Brittania by Daphne Du Maurier from Blossom Book House, where most of Bangalore’s book loving public goes to hunt for second hand titles both obscure and regular. Incidentally, they also have a great collection of cult graphic titles such as Watchman, Batman, etc. “I buy only second hand books from there,” says content consultant Mansi Narang, who lives in Langford Town. Her reasons? “The books are cheap, in good condition, there’s great variety and best of all,…

On Sunday, 21 June 2009, many Kannada book lovers gathered at Nayana Auditorium Kannada Bhavana. T Navakarnataka Publications released a series titled ”Vanitha Chintana Maale”, a set of ten books with content predominantly women centric . Navakarnataka Publications was established in 1960 and has as its motto: Pustakada Muulaka Manukulada Seve (Service to Mankind through books). In its nearly 50 years of operation, Navakarnataka has published more than 2500 different books that cater to a wide range of people – from intellectuals to the common man. In addition to a monthly newsletter titled ‘Hosathu’, Navakarnataka has been publishing books (predominantly…

Is it a memoir or another book depicting the glory of old Mysore? Is it about the politics and administration of the kingdom of Mysore? It is hard to categorise MA Sreenivasan’s ‘The Last Mysore Pradhan’. I presumed it would be the author’s autobiography when I had started reading it. But the book had much more to offer.Sreenivasan started his career as a young Mysore Civil Service (M.C.S) officer in 1918. He served as with both Mysore Kingdom and then the Government of British India. He was made a minister (pradhan) in 1943. In 1947, he was invited by the…

Disgustingly Cool Books for Kids. Hearing the title, I was certainly curious to know more. I decided to meet Poonam Bir Kasturi (founder of Daily Dump, which offers home composting solutions in Bengaluru through a range of services and products), the person responsible for these publications. The sleek set of five booklets, published by Daily Dump, introduces concepts of environment-friendliness, waste, sustainability, consumerism et cetera to children in an interesting and engaging manner. Disgustingly Cool books for kids (Pic: Vinitha) Poonam firmly believes product design must always intersect with sustainability. The primary design consideration for this set of books was…

Strapped into the passenger seat on a motorised hang-glider, Aditi De glides across the city in the introductory pages of this absorbing set of tales of Bangalore. As you flip through the pages, you realise that she travels across different eras of the city - Bengaluru, Bangalore and back to Bengaluru. In an attempt to understand Bangalore's identity, she has selected stories of its making during the Vijaynagar and Kempegowda reign, its growth during the Mysorean and Cantonment rule and its transformations from a post-independence literary era to the current Bengaluru. The anthology of stories by various literary figures describes…

While Bombay found many an obsequious reference in timeless books by its Vikram Chandras and Suketu Mehtas; William Dalrymple wrote home about Delhi in The City of Djinns; and numerous homegrown authors did as much for Kolkata, Bangalore drew a near blank in the English literary scene. Until now, of course. No longer the poor cousin, Namma Bengaluru is coming to seal its place on literary firmament with authors increasingly finding inspiration from Garden City. Thanks in part to the Indian Publishing industry opening up, leading to writers of diverse backgrounds. Thanks, also, to international interest facilitated by a flat…