Literary Notes
To write, to publish
FEBRUARY, the Bangla month of Falgun, is our precious month. It is our time of reckoning---recollecting the past and calculating the future; to renew our pledge for Bangla Bhasha. This is a cherished month for publishers. The Ekushey Boi Mela is participated in by around three hundred large and small publishing houses of the country. During this time, Bangla Bazar in Dhaka is like Dariyaganj of Delhi and College Street of Kolkata, the hub of publishers. Amidst this book business there came a tourist publisher from the long ago land of Marco Polo. There has been an emerging European need--- to understand Asia--- particularly awakened giant China and growing up giant India. The Italian publisher was out here to discover contemporary innovative authors and translate their works. He was in search of young writers who have had first hand experience with reality. The focus was on novelistic writing with a sociological setting, such as the urban milieu and a closer look at the metropolises. The familiarity of the writer with the place, the physical and social content and relevance, the physical design of neighborhoods, the matrix of social and cultural relationship within the inhabitants were the focus. Andrea Berrini was set on such a venture--- to connect Italian readers with Asian writers, and so bridge the existing gap. Himself a writer and in partnership with the Italian publisher Guinte Editore, an age-old brand in Italian publishing, he has recently set up Metropoli D'Asia, his own publishing house, andrea.berrini@metropoliasia.it The pursuit of his literary mission in India was favored by Berrini's close promotional connections with Zubaan-Penguin India. This recent tie-up, though limited to four books a year, 'is an extremely innovative and imaginative move that perhaps may not have been possible in the West.' Together, the 'collaborative strengths' gets Zubaan writers 'more exposure and sale …marketing and distribution.' Situated in this innovative marketing niche was Shazia Omar's Like a Diamond in the Sky, a Penguin Zubaan publication 2009. Picked up for translation by Metropoli d'Asia, the book was to be showcased on European bookstands, with an Italian title and image cover: Come un diamante nel cielo, translated by Andrea Sirotti, a self employed translator and co author of Four Hundred Thousand Stars. The publisher's catalogue review labeled the Italian version as a crime novel from Bangladesh. This year, in May, the book fair in Toulon will focus on India and Bangladesh. A detailed discussion was held at Red Shift Café between the publisher and Writers' Block on Saturday, 30 January. The Reading Circle, TRC, a group of regular readers, met on 17 January at Red Shift over a reading session of Shazia Omar's Like a Diamond in the Sky. The central theme of the novel is the social malady--- alienation as succinctly noted by Sal Imam. A feeling of isolation and estrangement runs deep within family, between friends, the extended community and society at large. The psycho-social social problems that confront the young in the urban setting are clear. In addition, as a western reader remarked, the writer has hit the nail right on the head. Drug addiction and rehabilitation is not only this country's problem; it is just as big a problem in the western countries. According to the chief of Penguin India, book business is tough in a country where the average sale of an English novel is between 3000 and 5000 copies. For the same product in Bangladesh, no figures are available. One may safely assume that such figures would be bleak and almost inconsequential. In India, more publishers are publishing in regional languages. There are 18 such languages throughout the country. On the other hand, Bangladesh has one language. Even a cursory look will affirm that Bangla book publication has reached a commendable standard and is at par with the international publications. The small cost of Bangla books suits the purse and pockets of all readers.
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