A friend who is a publishing industry veteran recently shared an interesting incident. Almost thirty years back, his parents were looking for a bride for him. The prospective families, for obvious reasons, inquired about his profession. When they were told that he was in book business, all of them seemed to develop cold feet. Apparently, kitaaban da kam ( book business in Punjabi) was looked down upon as unprofitable and of low stature.
Around 2001, when i got into publishing, hardly anyone i met, knew the difference between publishing and printing. They thought a publisher takes money from authors and prints the book for them. Partly, Indian publishers could be held responsible for this perception as a lot of them were doing just that. So whenever i shared with anyone that i was into publishing, more often than not, what i got to see was a blank and unimpressed face.
Come 2008. The world seems to have changed, or is it Indian publishing that has! Publishing is now one of the most happening professions and Indian publishing is up there on the global scene. It has money, stature and job satisfaction. Being on priority in the marriage mandi may just be the bonus.
