Literature Rides Economic Boom
by Namita Bhandare
India Everywhere was the theme at the World Economic Forum in Davos last year. It has now found a resonance in the literary world — as was evident at the ongoing second Jaipur Literature Festival.
“Economically, India is flabbergasting,” says Marc Parent, editor of Buchet Chastel, that will publish French translations of Sadat Hasan Manto’s short stories and a collection of essays by Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate 60 years of Indian independence. Parent last year published French translations of Tarun Tejpal and Rana Dasgupta.
“Economic power brings literary power and there is a major movement in Indian fiction and non-fiction,” he points out.
David Godwin, literary agent for Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai, agrees that India is becoming a literary powerhouse, pointing to the growth in publishing infrastructure from quality imprints to quality bookshops. “It’s part of the new affluence.” Godwin says he is considering opening an office in New Delhi.
A Practical Policy 