“See that man in the brown shirt? That’s Amish, the writer.”
“ That’s Amish? Oh my god! He’s my favourite writer! Oh my god! Oh my god!”
I overheard this exchange, between two gorgeous women, as I walked past them during the poolside party that was held to celebrate the fifth edition of Lit for Life, the lit fest organised by The Hindu .
As I heard the oh-my-god escape her lips repeatedly, I looked at my right palm. Only minutes before I had shaken Amish’s hand and had a small chat with him. I had not met a more down-to-earth celebrity (isn’t he one?) in a long time. He told me, among other things, how the ‘overnight success’ had come to him after 10 years of struggle.
Thanks to Lit for Life, I also attended a conversation with Chetan Bhagat and was charmed by his composure and confidence in the face of all the criticism that comes his way all the time. A lesser mortal would have turned sour, in spite of all the success, for being refused recognition as a ‘literary figure’, but not Chetan Bhagat — his confidence level seems to be rising and his influence on Indian society expanding with every new book. I have read neither Amish nor Chetan Bhagat (I have read portions of Two States ) to be able to comment on the literary quality of their works. My assessment of them is drawn mainly from the judgment of learned friends and acquaintances who have read them. Their opinion of the two is not at all flattering — and yet, surprisingly, they never miss out on the new releases by these writers.
Amish and Chetan Bhagat may not be the best of wordsmiths, but their stories are accessible — why else should hundreds of thousands of Indians read them and accord them cult status? Until just a decade ago, these two men were faceless employees of two different banks, not related to any literary heavyweight, and had no godfathers in the publishing industry.
Yet they changed the reading habits of Indians — and how.
Time was when the layman was required to read books written by distinguished writers in order to improve his intellect and his command over English. But these two writers chose to write in the language of the layman, thus taking English books — never mind their literary value — to even the smallest of Indian towns.
Guardians of literature, meanwhile, take heart. There might come a time when people who got into the habit of reading only after discovering a Chetan Bhagat or an Amish will move on to the more meaningful stuff that you would like them to read.
