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GVK

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A Mysore newsman’s debut book
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A snag with self-publishing is that you don’t have anyone to blame, if things don’t go your way. There may be reasons for a writer to publish own work. The obvious one is that many who feel they have a book in them find no one in the publishing world sharing their enthusiasm. An odd publisher who eventually offers to bring out your book may want you fund it. Laxman Rao, a prolific writer in Delhi, says a report in ‘The Hindu’, has published six of his works on his own. Mr Rao makes a living, running a roadside tea-stall.


 Vijendra Rao must have his reasons. He admits his self-published debut book – Run of Mind – wouldn’t have had a fair chance with a profit-driven publisher. And no publisher is in it for philanthropy. Viji, we gather, has no regrets. He thinks his self-publishing experience has been worthwhile. Or else, he would not announce a list of his four forthcoming books – The Inside Glory,  Media Myths, Graft as a Tool of Violence, and Cricket My Love.


Run of the Mind is a compilation of 90 pieces he did during his editorial stint in ‘The Mysore Mail’, As the doyen of the Mysore media corps, Mr Krishna Vattam, put it in his forward, “what distinguishes Vijendra Rao is his keen sense of observation of day-to-day incidents in life; his pick of characters and events from a wide spectrum representing a cross-section of people, their lives, beliefs and idiosyncrasies”.


A cursory look at the table of contents throws up key words such as indebtedness, secularism, self-denigration, Bangalore blues, politics of English, package deal, Indianness, stray dogs, mind pollution, the perfect party, minority syndrome, ‘Ek din ki sultana’, man-eater of Germany,  fashion statement, virtual reality,  teenage pregnancy & graceless grannies, and ‘mirch masala’.


Such a thematic mix of essays betrays a wild ‘run of the mind’. The 173-pager is published by Iou India , A2/9 ‘Dharitri’, VII Cross, AIISH Layout, Bogadi II stage (south), Mysore 570026.


Ph. 91-0821-2547745; online order can be placed by e-mailing vijendrarao@iouindia.com.


Author can be reached at vijendra.rao@gmail.com


‘Run of Mind’ is priced at Rs.235. My bargain-seeking middle-class mind asks, Is there a discount, Mr Rao, for anyone who orders his copy citing this post?


 



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GVK

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A web fortnightly, www.NRIPulse.com, carries a review of Vijendra Rao’s book. The reviewer, Ms Maya Khankhoje, makes perceptive observations about English usage by Indian authors writing in English. Ms Khankhoje describes herself as a writer of Indian origin, born in Mexico, brought up in India, and now staying in Canada. We carry here quotes from her review selectively, not because it is critical of Mr Rao’s book but because of its instructive value to the rest of us.   


It took me a long time to get through the book because, even though I have lived in India for eleven years and visited it many more times, I have lost my ear for Indian English, after having lived most of my life abroad. Some of the author's use of archaic terms or "liberal" ideas expressed within the context of a very traditional mind-set have struck me as sometimes naïve and often plain outmoded. His views on women, which are highly respectful and considerate, might be deemed too liberal by ultraconservatives in India but condescending by Western feminists. Some turns of phrase which sound just right in India might sound quaint, if not downright ungrammatical, to a reader attuned to the language of modern media and literature.

   Ms Khankhoje’s book review was initially published in www.sawf.org. which, to quote the blurb,  is a site by Indian women for all men and women. 




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Run - review

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Thanks for reproducing excerpts of the review. Well, the book has received many encomiums  but, I have sincerely felt that they were rather liberal. There have been only two published reviews - I haven't sent the book to many publications - incidentally, both by women reviewers. Maya Khonkaje has been quite critical, but Sreevani (reviewing for Deccan Herald) was fairly generous. I felt glad that Maya had pointed to flaws in the book. Well, it is not Indian English, but wrong English. (I don't want to go into the details of how it happened, mainly becuase it would convince nobody and the damage has been done).  In fact, I wouldn't have come to know about the slip-ups had Maya not highlighted them. Thank you, Maya. 


Meanwhile, Vimla Patil, the former editor of FEMINA wrote to me saying some nice things about the book (and the same, along with excerpts from the two reviews, has gone on the blurb of the international edition of the book, published by Lulu Press). I asked her how come she had chosen to ignore the flip side. Yet again, with all her magnanimity, she said it was not the result that matters, but the effort.


I haven't excused myself for allowing the flaws to creep into the book. I owe my readers profuse apologies. At least, on this count, I must offer a discount on the book. Readers of mymysore.com will get Rs. 35 off (plus free postage for orders placed in India) on the cover price.


Vijendra



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