Month: January 2018

India Public Domain 2018: 17 Indian authors whose works entered public domain in 2018

We have a tradition at Pothi.com. Over the years  (2012,2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), we have compiled a list of Indian authors whose work has entered public domain at the beginning of this year. The criteria for this year’s names is that the author died in the calendar year 1957 and the work was published before his death. In case the work was published after the author’s death, it will only come out of copyright after 60 years from the date of publication.

We have collected the data from various sources including Wikipedia and other online sources, some which we will be linking here. The information provided is not foolproof, so if you notice any errors or are aware of other writers who died in 1957 and whose names have not been mentioned here, please let us know.

When an author enters public domain, it means that most of his works are now free to be republished, translated, and converted to different formats. This way the long-gone author breathes life again and gains new readership. Help us in our quest to conserve our rich literary culture.

Bhai Vir Singh (1872-1957)

This distinguished Punjabi poet is considered as the orchestrator of the Sikh literary Renaissance. He dabbled with lyrics when he was young and went on to invest his energies in pamphleteering. His work is a treatise on renunciation, piety and sacrifice. Rana Surat Singh is a famous poem he composed. Vir Singh played an important part in the renewal of Punjabi literary tradition by merging it with ideas he picked up from English. Some of his major creative works such as Sri Guru Nanak Chamatkar and Sri Guru Kalgidhar Chamatkar were originally serialized. He was an exponent of the romance and philosophy; some of his books are Sundari, Bijay Singh, Satwant Kaur, Subhagji da Sudhar Hathin Baba Naudh Singh. He also dabbled in shorter poems and lyrics. He was honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1955 and the Padma Bhushan Award in 1956. More about this prolific writer and creator of The Punjab & Sind Bank here.

Aleixo Clemente Messias Gomes (1873-1957)

Better known as Prof. Messias Gomes, this secondary school teacher, writer and Goan journalist was the author of several works on historical themes and co-founder of the daily O Heraldo, the first daily to be published in Portuguese India. More here.

Brajendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury  (1874-1957)

This Zamindar was a patron of the Indian national education movement and was also a renowned classical music maestro who hailed from Gouripur, Bengal. Marxism and the Indian Ideal and Indian Music & Mian Tansen are two books by him.

Jagadish Gupta (1886-1957)

An Indian poet, novelist and short story writer, Jagadish Gupta was one of the major exponents of modern Bengali literature. His style was original and he dealt with realistic and psychological themes. His stories and poems had been published in periodicals like Bharati, Bijoli, Uttara, Kali-Kalam, Prabasi, Bharatbarsha, Sonar Bangla and Kallol. Some of his other notable works include Asadhu Siddhartha, Kashyap o Surabhi, Binodini, Udaylekha, Meghabrito Ashani, Dulaler Dola, Nishedher Patabhumikay, Loghu Guru, etc. In 1954, the Government of India granted him a ‘Distinguished Man of Letters Allowance’. Read this.

S Shripad Mahadev Mate (1886-1957)

Mate was was a Marathi writer, educator and a social reformer from Maharashtra, India. The Dalits dubbed him Mahaar Mate as he worked against caste discrimination. Some of his works include Rasvanthichi Janm Katha, Santh-Panth-Thanth, Upekshithanche Antarang, Parasuram Charitra, etc. More details here.

Karmegha Konar (1889-1957)

Also known as Chennaa Pulavar, Konar was a popular Tamil poet and educator. He was the Chairman of the Tamil department at The American College in Madurai.

Narahari Dvarkadas Parikh (1891-1957)

Parikh was a writer, Indian independence activist and social reformer from Gujarat, India. Influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, he was associated with Gandhian institutes throughout his life. He wrote biographies like Mahadevbhainu Purvacharit on Mahadev Desai, Sardar Vallabhbhai Part 1-2 on Vallabhbhai Patel and Shreyarthini Sadhana on Kishorelal Mashruwal. He also edited works of his associates and translated some works. Manav Arthshastra is his work on human economics. His writings on economics education, politics and Gandhian thought include Manav Arthshastra, Samyavad and Sarvoday, Vardha Kelvanino Prayog, Yantrani and Maryada, etc. Read more about him here.

Venkata Krishna Rao, Bhavaraju (1895- 1957)

He studied law, was the founder-secretary of the Andhra Historical Research Society and edited its journal. He organized the 900th celebration of the coronation of the King Raja Raja Narendra, patron of Telugu’s best adikavi. His publications include History of the Early Dynasties of the Andhradeshas (200-625 AD) and a sequel of this work called History of the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, which was posthumously published by the Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Akademi. He wrote numerous historical monographs in Telugu including Rajaraja Narendradu, Prachina Andhranauka Jivanamu, Andhradeshamuvidesha Yatrikulu. Some of his historically themed stories have been published in the Telugu journals of the time. Read an encyclopedic entry on him here.

Nanduri Venkata Subba Rao (1895–1957)

This famous Telugu poet who practised law was the author of the famous work Yenki Patalu (an anthology of songs on a woman called Yenki) that ended up influencing eminent writers and thinkers like Adavi Bapiraju, Sri Sri, Chalam, Devulapalli and Krishna Sastry. More here.

Ram Babu Saxena (1897-1957)

This polyglot civil servant from Uttar Pradesh was learned in English, Persian and Urdu literature. He wrote a book in English called Modern Urdu Poetry. Only the Urdu translation of his work History of Literature by Muhammad Askari is available.

Bose Sunirmal (1902-1957)

He was a pioneer of Bengali juvenile literature, his output consisting of poetry, rhymes, stories, drama, and travelogues. He wrote prolifically in journals of the time like Prabasi, Sandesh, Ramdhanu, Alpana, Kishor, Asia, etc.  Some of his books are Chhanabada, Bade Maja, Hai Chai, Marener Dak, Sahure, etc.

J. Friend-Pereira  (1907-1957)

He was an Anglo-Indian academic and author.  Some of his poetry publications include Mind’s Mirror. He contributed to journals in India like the Modern Review and the New Review, besides translating works on the Islamic philosopher Avicenna as well as poetry from French and Latin.

Bhuvaneshwar (1910-1957)

He was a pioneer of the western style one-act play in Hindi and was heavily influenced by Ibsen, Shaw, Lawrence, Freud.  His first piece Shyama (Ek Vaivahik Vidambana) was published in 1933. Some of his works includShaitan,  Ek Samyahin, Samyavadi, Pratibha ka vivaah, Rahsya romanch. He also wrote plays that dealt with other dimensions besides relationships such as Mrityu, Hum Akele Nahin Hey, Sava Ath Baje, Strike, Usar, Roshni aur Aag, Kathputlian, Photographer ke Saamne, Tambe ke Kire, Itihaas ke kenchul, etc. His plays including Azadi ki Ninu, Jerusalem, Sikandar, Akbar, and Chengiz Khan have also dealt with historical themes.

Mahadevan or Devan (1913-1957)

Devan is a popular Tamil writer, a veteran Charles Dickens of the south, known for his witty and humorous stories. He worked as a teacher and also as a sub-editor at Ananda Vikatan That way Devan resembled Charles Dickens. He explored various genres of writing including the short story, novel, travelogue, drama and reporting. One of his novels, Justice Jagannathan has been translated into English. Some of his novels are Mythili, Malathi, CID Chandru, etc. Unlike other authors, there are various commentaries on this author. Check out the wiki entry.

Bakulesh (1919-1957)

Bakulesh is the pen name of Ramji Arjun Gajkandh. Born in a Gujarati Kutchhi family, this journalist and writer composed stories about the common man. His style has been described as poetic and down to earth. Recently a collection of his short stories called Bakuleshni Vartso was published.  Other works include Kharan Pani and Kadavnan Kanku.

Krishan Nair (?-1957)

He was a Malayalam scholar and critic and author of Kavya Jivitha Vrtti(vols 1& 2), a treatise on Indian poetics and commentaries of attakathas.

Lala Laxman (?- 1957)

This satirist was inspired by the writer and satirist Habibullah. His compositions have the element of Shahrashob (which is an Urdu genre of writing that deals with unrest for socio-political reasons and is a kind of lamentation for urbanity).

 

Interview: Richa Jha

We got to talk to picture book publisher Richa Jha!

Richa Jha is an Indian children’s author and picture book enthusiast. Her books have been shortlisted for prestigious national literary and industry awards, won a popular award, and entered the Limca Book of Records. She hosts the country’s first online critique platform and runs the only website dedicated to reviewing Indian picture books (Snuggle with Picture Books). She is a former editor for children’s books at the New Delhi based Wisdom Tree, and the Kids section editor at Time Out Delhi. She’s an active member of the kidlit community, SCBWI and IBBY, and regularly attends conferences, webinars and book fairs, including Bologna and Frankfurt. She now runs her independent publishing house, Pickle Yolk Books. She is a keen solo traveler having backpacked across 31 countries, and counting. She lives in the NCR with her husband and two children in a house filled with picture books, photographs and plush toys.

Writing children’s books is picking up in India. How did you start?

The picture book landscape in India seems to be gradually coming of age and there cannot be a happier soul in this country than I! It is heartening to see the kind of interesting, exciting books that are beginning to get written and published now. I feel we are all set to welcome a glorious phase of picture books in India!

I have been writing for over 20 years now, but my children’s book writing journey began only about seven years ago. This was a natural, organic extension to my passion for picture books. The love began in earnest once my first child was born in 2002 and I began buying books for him by the dozen when he was less than four months old. I didn’t look at age appropriateness. It was the sheer act of snuggling together and reading aloud to him that kept us both engrossed and took our bonding to another level. That’s when I began to appreciate the power of picture books. It has been (and continues to be) an amazing journey of discovering some of the greatest stories from around the world ever told in a format most engaging and complete. So when I began writing my own stories, it was like my mind had been prepping itself up for it all these years.

You’ve started a publishing house called Pickle Yolk Books and you also have a website called Snuggle with Picture Books. What has your publishing journey been like so far?

Unplanned, straight from the heart and deeply satisfying. I enjoy creating books but am yet to feel comfortable with the ‘publisher’ tag resting on my head, mostly because I am unable to get myself to ‘think’ like a publisher or see my Pickle Yolk Books like a business. In a way, it acts both as my biggest strength and my weakest link. By seeing myself only as a creator, I make sure I don’t allow the market/ selling dynamics to influence my choice of subjects. But brave books don’t sell; brave picture books, even less so.

Then there are the additional ‘age-appropriate book’ perceptions of the parents to battle with. Parents in India are loath to seeing even their 5-6-year-olds with a picture book in their hands. In a mad rush to get them to read ‘real’ books the weaning off happens early. So by definition, picture books in India get slotted as books for under 5-year-olds. Given the kind of books I publish, therefore, it’s like creating books for a non-existent reader! My biggest challenge as a publisher is to get parents, teachers, children to warm up to the idea that picture books can (and should) be read by older children too, alongside anything else that they are reading.

The themes of your books are unique and brave. Be it bereavement, gender, friendship or embarrassment, you talk about tough issues to little people. How do you zero in on these ideas? 

I have always believed that our children lead difficult lives that we adults often gloss over. We tend to sugarcoat it as an innocent idyllic life-stage. But in reality, they are faced with constant rejections and varying forms and degrees of loss. They struggle with finding acceptance in an adult world, they fight hard for their thoughts to be heard, they are negotiating a rude, mean dynamics among the peers and are battling all kinds of fears that are new to them, in additions to getting weighted down by academics and parental expectations. All this, without the hindsight of experience. It’s not easy for them. And that is what my books are all about. About tough personal challenges in some form that the children themselves figure a way of navigating around and triumphing over. So it’s not about issues but about the real demons they face within and without.

How long does it take for you to write a 400-word picture book?

Sometimes, as many as five years! But for most books, it is about a year. I go through several (about 50, on an average) rounds of revision, spread over months/ years. Because I also publish most of what I write, I have the luxury of keeping them in a constant state of revision until the final printed copies are out. Actually, in that sense, they never quite end up not being works in progress.

You’ve collaborated with artists Gautam Benegal and Ruchi Mhasane. What’s the most important thing to remember when you are collaborating?

Trusting and respecting the illustrators’ artistic process and their creative space. Which also means that unless I am struggling to meet a critical deadline, I try not to rush them through the artwork. What I love about working with both Gautam and Ruchi is that they act as my creative conscience-keepers; in moments when I am beset with self-doubt about the story of the WIP, they help me get back my clarity. And they never shy away from pointing out the flaws and weaknesses in my story. In many ways, learning to welcome and respect feedback (without taking it personally) is the first step in any healthy collaboration.

What are the tools an author and illustrator need to know about while creating a picture book? 

I am not sure if these would qualify as tools, but here are the essentials.

  1. First and foremost, there is the need to rid oneself of the perception that a picture book is easy to write; it looks deceptively simple. And read hundreds and hundreds of good books in this format before attempting one of your own.
  2. The author needs to think visually. So even though, in most cases, the illustrations are done by another person, by thinking visually, the author is able to get the pacing, page turns and punches right.
  3. A picture book is very different from an illustrated storybook; the latter follows a somewhat similar narrative like the oral stories we are used to hearing from our grandparents. But a picture book is different. The interplay of the text and visuals is what forms its core and soul.
  4. The illustrators need to go way beyond what the text says when planning out their visuals. In a picture book, the illustrations have as much role to play as the text. So a parallel visual narrative or two over and above what the text says is non-negotiable.
  5. Where most picture books fail is getting the ending right. Without a deeply satisfying ending, the reader feels cheated.

Favorite picture book?

That’s impossible to respond to! I have countless favorites. I once compiled a list for my blog (but this too was a couple of years ago; I’ve discovered so many gems since!): A Monster Jamboree of my Favourite Picture Books.

Sneak peek into your next project.

I could fill reams talking about my works in progress! These days I am working on the story of a blind boy negotiating the crowded streets of Calcutta (Maccher Jhol, illustrated by Sumanta Dey) and on a funny story of a dad-daughter duo.

All the best with your future projects, Richa!