Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Beyond words and letters

Ravi Dayal was an extraordinary publisher. He combined the qualities of the heart with the acumen of a professional

IMPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME Ravi Dayal was known for delicacy and tact with words

Ravi Dayal was one of those rare human beings with the courage to chart his own path. But the beauty was, he was not a lonely wayfarer. His warmth attracted companions at every stage. The passing of the 68-year-old publisher in New Delhi this week has evoked grief across a spectrum of literary people. It is not just the publishing community, but authors and scholars and readers in general, unanimous that he has left a void unlikely to be filled.

Dayal's life is a reminder that in the end a man is judged by the intangible qualities of heart and mind he possessed, the lasting gifts he has left behind, and not by his flamboyance and money. Publishing is a business, but Ravi Dayal, it would seem, was an artist, with nothing more on his mind than the pursuit of perfection. Should his books sell well or attract attention, it would be a bonus, but his essential endeavour was to create a work of quality.

Superb craftsman

Vinod C. Khanna, co-author of "The Ramayana in Indonesia" published by Ravi Dayal in 2004, describes his capacity for "empathy with the author and the book" and his "deep interest in the subject." Clearly these were responsible for the "incredible patience" Dayal displayed as Khanna and his co-author Malini Saran took nearly 10 years to complete the book. "He was a superb craftsman, but he was beyond that," avers Khanna.

Celebrated sociologist Andre Beteille, Chairman of the Indian Council for Social Science Research, recalls that this "man of impeccable integrity and great professional competence" who published several of his works under Oxford University Press, did not consider himself above copyediting important works even as General Manager of the company. "He was a real connoisseur. He handled words with great delicacy and tact."

Author and publisher Rukun Advani, founder of Permanent Black, who worked under Dayal at Oxford University Press, recalls, "He was a brilliant editor. He taught the profession and the craft to me and everybody else there." Dayal, says Advani, was a "hands-on editor." He would not simply acquisition the work. "He made sure it appeared looking like he wanted to look."

When Dayal left to start on his own in 1987, it was perhaps a natural evolution. "He liked to work alone," says Tejeshwar Singh, Managing Director, Sage Publications. The company functioned from his residence, and if one dialled the number one would find him answering the phone himself. "That was his concept."

Recalls documentary filmmaker and publisher Suresh Kohli, long time friend, "He was not arrogant. He was a simple person with very meagre habits. And he smoked only bidis."

Yet, says Advani, "he had a very captivating influence and manner. He was charismatic, charming and articulate."

Discriminating publisher

Possibly more important are the values he laid down. Known for his social science publications and other academically oriented books, he had an eclectic list that featured many of Khushwant Singh's works and quality fiction too. A well-read man, he was the intellectual equal of those who wrote for him, says Advani. He had no hesitation in refusing a manuscript he felt was not up to the mark, and he taught his juniors that to publish indiscriminately would be to lower the impact of the imprint.

It was Ravi Dayal who introduced Amitav Ghosh to Indian readers with "Shadow Lines". The celebrated author thinks of him "like one of those great rocks in the streams of his beloved Kumaon — a force that stood immovably against the flow. While everywhere around him the talk was of inventories and advances, computerization and shelf-space, Ravi continued at his own stubborn and painstaking pace, paying close attention to every word on every page that appeared under his name."

Pramod Kapoor of Roli Books remembers when he was about to publish Ghosh's "Circle of Reason", Dayal called him up to say, since the rest of Ghosh's books had been brought out by his company, could he give him this one too? "We had no hesitation in giving him the book. There was a mutual respect for each other. He was a terrific publisher," says Kapoor.

After Samuel Israel, Dayal's is the next name that comes up in the context of giants of India's publishing history. Not surprisingly perhaps, both evolved as editors and publishers at OUP, whose India operations date back to the early 20th Century. Israel, says Tejeshwar Singh, was the first "really great publishing professional in India," and Dayal was the next, but he was second only chronologically, not in quality.

Dayal's professional acumen recognised the worth of a task. Then, says Beteille, a close friend, he "intervened personally, coaxed and cajoled" people into doing it. And in so doing, left his imprint on the sands of time.

ANJANA RAJAN

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail