In letter and spirit
DEEPA GANESH
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Ankita Pustaka is a brave and heartening Kannada publishing enterprise
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COMMITMENT: Aesthetics of a book is as important as its content for Ankita. Tomorrow is World Book Day. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
The last thing one would want to do, particularly with shrinking resources, is to start a publishing house and that too of Kannada books. Someone with sharp business acumen would scorn the idea, more so because of the limited market regional language publishing has. And that Kannada doesn't exist beyond the four walls of our homes in an increasingly globalised environment is also a pertinent issue that acts as deterrent to even moot such enterprises. Nevertheless, it's also true that unflinching faith does take you some distance, and Ankita Pustaka, the Kannada bookstore and publishing house, stands testimony to that.
"We almost thought we had come to the streets," recalls Prabhawho runs Ankita along with her husband, Prakash Kambathalli. Ten years ago, when Prakash gave up his job at Prasaranga, Kannada University, Hampi, Prabha only had a part-time job at Arya Vaidya Shaala, as a Kannada lecturer. "We thought of various options, but nothing seemed viable," says Prabha. A friend and Kannada lecturer, H.N. Muralidhar, suggested that they should bring out a book with all the articles Prakash had till then published on theatre. For the couple, students of Kannada literature and also booklovers this didn't seem like a bad idea at all. They raised a loan and brought out two books: Rangavihara by Prakash and Pratikriye, a collection of articles on linguistics by H.N. Muralidhara. Of course, they didn't get the desired response, for a new writer seldom gets a warm reception. But they decided to persist.
"Publishing was Prakash's strength," explains Prabha. Prakash, even as an employee of NGEF, was the editor of NGEF Vani, a monthly in-house magazine. He, with his literary sensibilities, had strived to give it a different kind of a personality, blending literature and technology, making it interesting for the reader. His job in the publishing wing of Prasaranga, brought him closer to various aspects of production. "This gave us the confidence. Moreover, we wanted to do something in Kannada," explains Prakash.
Dogged in their mission, they ran from pillar to post and managed to get a few printing orders even as they liased with writers to bring out quality books. L.S. Seshagiri Rao and Srinivasa Raju put them on to the right people.
Their early books include Hosagannada Sahitya Charitre by L.S. Seshagiri Rao, Samagra Lalitha Prabhandagalu by A.N. Moorthy Rao and translations of Mahashweta Devi by H.S. Srimathi. These books gave Ankita a good name in the literary circles and the books stood out in the stands with their quality printing. "I've always been very particular about the aesthetics of a book as much as its content," adds Prakash.
Encouraged by friends, on August 15, 1998 (it was the 50th year of Indian Independence and so they have the Indian tricolour as their logo), they started a bookshop and released the revised edition of O.L. Nagabhushana Swamy's Vimarsheya Paribhashe and Nagesh Hegde's Nammolagina Brahmanda. "We had no background in marketing. But somehow we had the confidence that all our friends in the literary world would buy our books. But this myth was soon shattered when we realised that we survived only because of the interests of ordinary booklovers." It wasn't a bed of roses, but thanks to all those library copies, they broke even.
Gradually the word got around and Ankita came to be reckoned as an important space for Kannada books and people of Kannada sensibility. It also earned the goodwill of many Kannada writers, who were quite willing to get their books published by it, some of which even won awards. For instance, Dr. Siddalingiah's poetry collection Meravanige won the Pustaka Sogasu Award in 2002 from Kannada Book Authority. Ankita also won the Best Publishing House award from Kannada Sahitya Parishat in 2004 and the Second Best Bookstall award at the annual book fair at Palace Grounds. In the last 10 years, it has published 191 books and attracted hundreds of regulars who cannot do without a visit to the store.
Ankita has diversified into other activities to reinforce its identity not just as a publication and a bookshop but also as a body that has Kannada concerns for its base. It tied up with Vijaya Karnataka for three years (2002-2004) and conducted an annual short story competition to help identify young writers. At Rs. 25,000, the prize amount was also the highest in the field. Works of prizewinners have been compiled and published. In the Udupi Sahitya Sammelana 2002, the winners of the quiz contest were given books worth Rs. 3,000 as prize by Ankita.
In the recent times, Ankita has started stocking English books too. Doesn't that in a way mean succumbing to the pressures of an English-driven market? "In a way, it does. But the English books comprise less than 10 per cent of the total collection of books we have. And we keep only classics," explains Prabha. The couple has faced such dilemmas over not just English books, but also those on spirituality, religion... "Prakash and I have had serious debates on these issues, but then we realised that we cannot force our ideology on the reading public. Change has to be a gradual thing," says a market-savvy Prabha.
To commemorate their 10th year of existence, Ankita hopes to bring out small, colourful books for children, an area largely neglected. "I feel embarrassed when people ask for children's books in Kannada," admits Prabha.
In an otherwise bustling market road of Gandhibazar, Ankita comes as a link between the past and the present. A past when literary giants like Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, D.V. Gundappa, Navaratna Rama Rao would haunt the streets of Gandhibazar. A past when Gandhibazar was an inspiration for many a great piece of literature.
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