KOCHI: The tale of Totto-Chan , a girl who has come to symbolise unorthodox learning, is among the best-selling books published by NBT in Malayalam. Translated by poet and film-maker Anwar Ali, the book has been flying off the shelves like no other.
But besides the big purchasers, there are dedicated souls like Ramanunni, a retired teacher from Palakkad who set up a non-profit book selling venture. He has also played a key role in popularising books among school students and teachers.
Another compulsive book promoter is T.N. Gopalakrishnan Nair, a resident of Kallara near Koothattukulam, who retired as a government high school Malayalam teacher in 1994. “He comes with an autorickshaw to ship books for sales exhibitions,” says NBT assistant editor Rubin D’Cruz. “Considering that NBT books are heavily subsidised, leave alone profit, he ends up spending money from his own pocket in popularising these books.” Sure enough, Mr. Nair’s tryst with books began back in the 1980s during his association with the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad. He saw before his eyes his son becoming a bookworm and excelling in studies and co-curricular activities alike. “This brought me closer to books big time. Subsequently, I found myself sourcing rare volumes for parents and teachers alike and began to extensively travel between Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode for books which were in short supply those days,” he says. Over time, Mr. Nair carved a niche for himself by single-handedly organising book exhibitions, which grew in scale with publishers, NGOs, schools, and like-minded individuals coming on board.
Recuperating from a medical condition, Mr. Nair is concerned about not being able to host a few exhibitions he had promised at schools in Kottayam this month.
“I should be active, hopefully from the second week of August, and I have committed book exhibitions at three spaces already. I have enough books with me now to hold five such. Fortunately, there is an auto driver who helps me out in transporting books,” says Mr. Nair.
