Are urban book readers elitist?

cynic

India has a treasure of books written in hindi and regional languages. Hindi literature has a vast heritage behind it. But we hardly see people reading or discussing these books. Most of them would not be caught dead reading a hindi and regional book in public. Authors like Munshi Premchand, Sumitranandan Pant, Mahadevi Verma, and Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala' seem to be relegated to school text books now.

Are urban book readers elitist? Do you read hindi and regional language books?

I have to confess I don't read as many Hindi books.

surekh

The same issue happens in the film industries of the states. Haven't we heard how Marathi and Bengali film industries couldn't compete with Bollywood and Hollywood films? They and many other native film industries are making a slow comeback with the newer generation of film makers..

jhsurti

I would like to read some Hindi books but the limitation as to their availability in e-book format is an issue. I see some hindi books posted as pdf files which look like poorly scanned copies. Not the proper format. May be in future we'll see them. If I get a proper ebook format I will definitely be tempted to read.

Meself

The peak of Hindi literature period, unfortunately, has passed. The moment it is experiencing a downward spiral. The reason behind this is not the elitist nature of the writers. Today writers want to cater to a more global audience and English forms that link between the two. Also there seems to be an impasse when it comes to producing quality work in Hindi or any regional languages. The availability and the readers coterie is a huge issue that seems to remain unsolved as of now.

jhsurti

Meself 21-4-2018 09:07 PM
The peak of Hindi literature period, unfortunately, has passed. The moment it is experiencing a down ...

Apt analysis. The readership issue is one of the crucial points. With the now digital world, global language is the preferred medium.

cynic

jhsurti 21-4-2018 05:12 PM
I would like to read some Hindi books but the limitation as to their availability in e-book format i ...

It is a case of demand and supply. If there are more readers interested in Hindi/regional books, I am sure the writers and publishers would find a way to cater to them.

cynic

Meself 21-4-2018 09:07 PM
The peak of Hindi literature period, unfortunately, has passed. The moment it is experiencing a down ...

Well said. It is all pop culture now. The quality of books, even in English, it steadily going down.

Not all readers prefer an ebooks. In fact, according to recent surveys, more people prefer a hard copy than a digital version. So what stops them from picking up a Hindi book?

Meself

cynic 22-4-2018 11:40 AM
Well said. It is all pop culture now. The quality of books, even in English, it steadily going dow ...

Hindi no longer gives the feels it used to back in the era of Devkinandan Khatri with his brilliant work of Chandrakanta.


Firstly no one writes solely in Hindi, for it will not give them a global audience. Secondly, only after a book crosses the bestseller mark do the publishers dub it in Hindi and people pick it up. I'll agree that it is all turning into pop culture .The quality for most part is going down with little or no focus on the plot and characters.

surekh

Hindi and Urdu in written prose are still confined to academic circles; though books on poetry and shaayaris do get some mass market. Kavi sammelans and mushaayaris are slowly returning in new formats. But it's true that there are very few such native works that can compete with those in English. As a non- native Hindi reader, my knowledge of Hindi writers is limited to those I've read in school. If there is a Hindi writer with the mass appeal of an Amitav Ghosh or Ruskin Bond or even Chetan Bhagat (sorry for that!), things might change..

surekh

There is an article by Aatish Taseer "How English ruined Indian literature". It's a very telling commentary of our times. the link is here https://nyti.ms/1GwmPik