000			03918cam a2200325 a 4500
001			17366528
005			20240405122929.0
007			ta
008			111230s2012 ii a b 001 0 eng d
010			_a 2012354722
016	7		_a016017604 _2Uk
020			_a9788178244525 (pbk)
043			_aa-ii---
082			_a306.095482
100	1		_aVēṅkaṭācalapati, Ā. Irā., _d1967-
245	1	4	_aThe province of the book : _bscholars, scribes, and scribblers in colonial Tamilnadu / _cA.R. Venkatachalapathy.
260			_aRanikhet : _bPermanent Black ; _aBangalore : _bDistributed by Orient Blackswan, _c2015.
300			_axvii, 292 p. : _bill. ; _c22 cm.
365			_bRs. 750.00
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [264]-282) and index.
520			_aThe first Indian language book ever to be printed was in Tamil, in 1577. After many fits and starts and some spectacular achievements, print and the culture of book publishing became well-recognized facets of Tamil society during the late colonial period. The Province of the Book explores the wonderful world of scholarly and subaltern publishing—especially popular fiction and street literature—in its heyday. The basis of Tamil book publishing was, to begin with, the patronage of writers by the local nobility and affluent Hindu monastic orders. Such patronage was eroded by the socio-economic transformations which came with colonialism. During the period of transition which resulted, attempts were made to create a market for Tamil books, with local writers not knowing where to turn for a living. It was only with the rise of the novel and a reading middle class—including young women and housewives—which finally broke the stranglehold of patronage, allowing Tamil publishing to grow into the market venture that it is today. This is a brilliant and pioneering work which reconstructs a universe hitherto unknown— the world of the Tamil book. It shows famous and unknown authors at work, the religious literati with its cortège of students, radical nationalist poets such as Subramania Bharati rousing the masses and being crushed in the process, humble scribblers eking out a livelihood writing bazaar pamphlets, successful scribes compiling anthologies for students and astrological wisdom for the credulous, and the ubiquitous English official surrounding them all—censoring, adjudicating, dictating. The book also looks closely at reading practices, modes of reading, and the nature, numbers, and composition of book readers. Its epilogue traces the broad contours of Tamil publishing from the time of Independence to the present and speculates on the future of the Tamil book. Monographs on the history of the book in India are seldom as conversant with the international literature on the subject as this one. A.R. Venkatachalapathy’s work dazzles because he is au fait not just with the history and culture of publishing in Tamilnadu but equally in France, Britain, and the USA. The archives he has mined reveal government documents, pamphlets, tracts, periodicals, manuscripts, catalogues, bibliographies, reviews, advertisements, letters, and even account ledgers. In short, this book will fascinate anyone interested in history, sociology, cultural studies, and the media, and prove indispensable for students of book history and publishing cultures.
650		0	_aPublishers and publishing _zIndia _zTamil Nadu _xHistory.
650		0	_aTamil imprints _xPublishing _zIndia _zTamil Nadu _xHistory.
650		0	_aPrinting _zIndia _zTamil Nadu _xHistory.
650		0	_aAuthors and patrons _zIndia _zTamil Nadu _xHistory _y19th century.
650		0	_aTamil literature _y19th century _xHistory and criticism.
650		0	_aTamil literature _y20th century _xHistory and criticism.
856			_uhttps://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/toc/z2012_537.pdf _zClick here for table of contents
942			_2ddc _cBK
999			_c212467 _d212467