The August Putsch of 1991, believed to have contributed to the dissolution of the Communist Party of Soviet Union and the Marxist-Leninist state, had far-reaching consequences, which include an impact on 136, Mount Road, Madras – 2.
Four months after the coup d’etat , the Soviet Union was dissolved. As an outcome, Soviet books stopped being delivered at this address, where the New Century Book House (NCBH) was functioning at that time. Earlier, NCBH was operating from 199, Mount Road, which was also a popular address among book lovers.
NCBH, established in 1951 as the publishing arm of the Communist Party of India, was a major source of Soviet books in Madras. These books, which had been translated into English, enjoyed a patronage beyond followers of the Communist ideology, because they covered all topics under the sun. Well, almost all. For, religion was ignored, except when it was critiqued. With a generous supply of novels and collections of short stories and books on science, Soviet books made an impression on young readers. They also sold top quality children’s books and folk tales. The books were ridiculously underpriced and many of them were hardbound and were printed in paper of excellent quality.
“We could offer Soviet books at attractive prices, because they came to us at subsidised rates. To give an example, a book that cost, say one rupee, would be given to us for 40 paisa. They were also given to us on credit. The Soviet Consulate in Madras oversaw the process,” says B. Baskar, senior manager, NCBH – Tamil Nadu.
The supply stopped in 1991, but Soviet books continued to be sold at NCBH through the 1990s, and beyond. “ After 1991, we sold old stocks. Even now, we have some books published in the Soviet era,” says Shanmugam Saravanan, secretary, NCBH – Tamil Nadu.
The NCBH is now located at Spencer Plaza. It carries out the publishing work from its head office in Ambattur. “We have been bringing out books that are making up for the loss of Soviet books,” says Mr. Baskar.
But, for the diehard fan of Soviet books, that loss could never be made good.
