Date:09/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/09/stories/2009010958851000.htm

Kerala - Kochi

What, after all, are the Kochiites reading?

Anand Haridas

Poetry, memoirs are some of the favourites the city folks are pursuing

Photo: H. Vibhu

CATCHING THEM YOUNG: A mother reading from a book to her daughter at a library in Kochi. —

KOCHI: The city is reading, that is for sure. Book shops sell well, even a year into the economic meltdown. So what, after all, is Kochi reading?

“Reading for the sake of spiritual development is no longer there. Now people ask why they should read something that will not help in furthering their career,” says Balachandran Chullikad, poet and actor.

And, along with this shift in reading taste vanished the tendency to sit together and discuss titles that moved the readers. “We do lack those reading groups, where one used to get introduced to new and quality reading material. In its absence, the readers move to easy stuff,” says Pradeep Kumar of Prism Books, distributor for leading English publishers in the city.

For those like Paul George, who tried his hand in setting up a space for lovers of quality reading material, groups like these were important. His shop Just Fiction wound up after five years.

“Books are always there. And when you lack that passion to go hunting for books, it is good be in a group that loves books. Even though, I had regulars coming for quality reading material, that clientele was not strong enough for me to keep the bookshop going.”

Then who is buying all these books? “These days, books are sold in bulk, as libraries look for commissions that are attached to bulk purchases. Look at this, no one is publishing plays any longer, no one is buying them. While more than 50 film screenplays were published last year including those of popular box office films of no academic interest, not even five plays were there,” says C.R. Omanakuttan, writer. Another genre that sells well is memoirs. Written by and for those representing an entire spectrum of experiences – from established socio-political figures and artistes to thieves and sex workers.

Many followers of literary magazines complain of missing the special anniversary issues.

These thick volumes used to be treasure troves of literature. With the present generation of writers failing to create a readership, as loyal as their predecessors, magazines prefer current affairs and politics. The changing economic scene is making its impact even among the minority of ‘silent readers’.

“Many complain that they don’t feel like going to the bookshop, given the price of English books these days. But the passion to read is still there. Like this post-graduate student, who requested a glance at the collection of works by Peruvian poet Caesar Vallojo, after reading my article on it,” says Vaikkom Murali, a passionate follower of international literature.