Ideas, like seeds, sometimes tend to germinate in the most challenging circumstances. The story of Elami, a new Telugu publishing house, germinated amidst the shrinking sale of books published in Telugu, according to its founders. Started by the trio of Purnima Tammireddy, Rohith and Aditya Korrapati, the regional publishing house is set to publish its first title, a translation of Saadat Hasan Manto’s works, in Telugu next month. “Manto is all the more relevant today in view of the violence and communalism around us,” says Rohith.

The word Elami, says Purnima, comes from ancient Telugu without any Sanskritic influences, and represents a range of emotions including love, passionate energy, adventure or even courage; all ingredients necessary in the making of a new regional publishing house in a digital age. Purnima, whose idea it was to start a regional publishing house, claims that for a major Indian language, the sale of Telugu books is poor. Even the well-known books, she says, sell only around 1,000 to 2,000 copies.

“One popular narrative is that everyone has lost interest in reading books because of digital media. At the same time, there is no scope for someone from a small town or a village to buy books,” she says, adding that the key reason was a breakdown of book distribution chains. “With the distribution channel broken, there is no bridge between author and reader,” Purnima says, adding that Elami wants to bridge this gap.

Another reason behind setting up Elami, Rohith claims, is that Telugu literature has been “gate-kept” for a long time. “Only one idea of Telugu literature is allowed to sustain itself. Hardly any good literature is being translated into Telugu, and we want to address this gap through Elami,” says Rohith.

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