Tuesday, July 6, 2010

South Asian Consumer Insight - Jaipur Literature Festival

"As the [India's] economy has boomed, and its middle class has grown, book sales have shot up.  Most books in India are still sold in small family-run shops, but book chains are moving into malls and airports.  Keen to exploit this growth, several foreign publishers, including Hachette, and HarperCollins have launched in India in recent years."

States the Economist article here.  While consumer products, luxury brands, etc. remains aspirational goods, anything related to educational is imbued int he psyche of the culture.  This perhaps is yet another avenue for democratization of the "class" structure in India.

"Room was also made for a group of writers who are little known, even in India: Dalits, formerly known as “untouchables” at the bottom of Hinduism’s caste system. Omprakash Valmiki, whose Hindi autobiography, “Joothan: A Dalit’s Life”, has been translated into English, read poems about the routine wretchedness of the lives of poor Indians. Another Dalit, Ajay Navaria, surprised some of his listeners with his expletive-peppered verses."

See the festival's website here.

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