ARAVAM: THE PUBLISHING HOUSE STARTED BY 5 WORKERS
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| Sanu Attupuram, Ganesh Kodakad, Niyas, Abi Jethas and Subhash, Feroke, Kozhikode |
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With
neither office nor finance, 5 young friends from Feroke, Kozhikode,
have started a publishing house catering to upcoming writers.
Sanu Attupuram, a tailor, Ganesh Kodakad, an electrician, Niyas,
a construction worker, Abi Jethas, an agricultural labourer and Subhash, a
carpenter, had earlier met during street plays.
Their first venture was ‘Aravam’, a little magazine, which did
not go beyond 4 or 5 issues owing to financial constraints.
But
the 5-men team was not ready to give up.
They turned their attention to publishing.
With self-confidence compensating for experience and funds, they
jumped into the unknown field.
Their
vision was simple: to publish worthwhile works of nascent writers by
bearing the expenses themselves and to give a reasonable share of the
profits to the authors.
The
1st book they selected was a collection of poems by K.K.Rajan,
a well-worker. 500 copies
were printed at a cost of Rs.5000. By
direct marketing, the book was sold out within 6 months.
“The
most gratifying thing was that we could give Rs.1500 to Rajan,” they
say.
The
2nd book, a collection of stories by Sajith Kodakkad, a
furniture worker, was published with better inputs: better lay out and
design, introduction by a noted writer, advice from a professional
publisher and a book releasing function.
1000 copies of the book, which cost Rs.10000, were almost sold out
and Sajith was given Rs.3500.
The
3rd book, a one-act play by Priyadarshan sold 850 out of 1000
copies in 6 months.
Often
the friends have to sacrifice their work to find time for their affair
with letters. And often their
marketing trips stretch from Kasargod to Thrissur.
'Aravam' editorial board meeting atop Feroke Bridge
Courtesy: Vinu Abraham, Sree, Malayala Manorama, April 14, 2002
Contributed by: Administrator
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