Providence chooses its people. Otherwise, late Daudayal Mehra would have passed away trading in hosiery, and worse, there would have been no Rupa & Co.
Seventy-five years after his late grandfather set sailing the journey of Rupa in the world of publishing and book distribution on a humble note, company managing director Kapish Mehra talks of having a list of nearly 2000 book titles and “a front list that is growing by leaps and bounds.” With its present well-entrenched as the frontrunner in the mass English readership, and the future already etched on the drawing board, Rupa is indeed at a defining moment in its platinum year. But its past is equally inspiring.
Relates Kapish, “It was by accident that my grandfather got into publishing. Late K. Jackson Marshall, the India representative of Collins dictionary, noticed his salesmanship in hosiery business in Calcutta's New Market and persuaded him to sell their dictionaries.” It, however, didn't take much time for Mehra to develop a liking for books which led him to start Rupa at College Street corner, “near Presidency College and the Sanskrit School, the hub of intellect and the litterateurs” to be precise. Kapish fills in, “His first customer was Humayun Kabir, who later went on to become the Education and Culture Minister of independent India.”
But why the name ‘Rupa'? “That's also an interesting story. He was looking for a name to give his company. He had gone to see a play in which there were two characters — Rupa and Sona. He found Sona too glamorous a name and instead picked Rupa.” Mehra started the company with a loan of Rs.590 from Pearl Assurance Company.
Also, not too many people know that the familiar logo of Rupa was designed by Satyajit Ray. “All he charged for it were a few good books to read,” says Kapish. However, to mark its 75th year, Kapish has “added some elements to the old one.”
During the Second World War, Mehra settled down in Allahabad, after fleeing Kolkata — which many people did then, to escape random bombings. Post independence, he shifted base to Mumbai and then to Delhi, carrying Rupa all along. After two decades of book distribution, Rupa turned a publisher in 1960.
“It began with two slim volumes of Bengali poetry followed by Herman Hesse's ‘Siddhartha',” says Kapish. “Siddhartha” became a bestseller and since then, the list of bestsellers has continued to swell. From then on to the rousing success of Chetan Bhagat's novels, Rupa has lived up to its ability to deliver. States Kapish, “We have always brought out books which mass readers like to pick up. That is why even our pricing has always been so low. For example, Sunil Gavaskar's autobiography, ‘Sunny Days', yet another Rupa bestseller, was priced at just Rs.20. Even today, our price starts at Rs.50.”
Mass readership
Since the last few years, he says Rupa has given yet another thrust to mass reading. “We don't want to tell readers what they should read, rather, we publish what they would like to read.” India today has three generations of English speaking people, “and not all of them want to read just one kind of books. " To keep a tab on the pulse of the readers, the company regularly organises book fairs in cities and small towns alike and readership assessment teams meet on a weekly basis. “Besides, our teams are in constant touch with distributors. In every book fair, I make it a point to quietly watch reader behaviour, which book they pick, which not.” Such steps have given Rupa almost a Midas touch. “When the English book publishing industry is talking about selling 3000-4000 books, we are talking of getting a sale figure of one million copies,” says Kapish with an air of pride.
Yet another feature, he feels, has worked for Rupa. “We don't dilly dally much with authors. In just 3-4 weeks, we tell them if we can publish their work. Also, every year, we give an award to an author in recognition of his/her work.”
Kapish seals the conversation with a fond memory. “I was in Class IV. During my school holidays, my father gave me a Rupa book to read. When I began reading, I realised that the pages mentioned in the contents page didn't tally with the chapters. I pointed it out to my father. They eventually corrected it and I got a cheque of Rs.100 for ‘doing editorial service'. I think that day I got my first lesson about how Rupa works, if you are true to your work, the organisation will reward you.”
(To celebrate its platinum jubilee, Rupa is hosting a seminar on “Future of Books in India” on August 26 at 7 p.m. at The Park in New Delhi.)
