After 'Bal Narendra', a 'graphic biography' on Modi now

Books on Narendra Modi seems to be the flavour of the poll season with another work -- a 'graphic biography' narrating his journey from birth till becoming the prime ministerial candidate of BJP -- set to hit bookstores soon.

'Narendra Modi: The Icon of Development' is being published by city-based Prabhat Prakashan. It has a Hindi edition 'Narendra Modi: Bhavishya Ki Asha' and is also being published in Marathi and Gujarati.

Over 10 books in different languages, including English, Hindi and Gujarati, on Modi have been released in the past two months and a few more are slated to hit the market soon.

The 24-page book, priced at Rs 60, carries illustrations of various phases of Modi's life including his childhood, how he helped his father sell tea in trains, how he became an RSS pracharak, his involvement in Ekta Yatra in 1991, his tenure as BJP general secretary and his journey from Gujarat Chief Minister to BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.

Prabhat Prakashan Director Piyush Kumar says the basic idea behind the graphic novel was to "exploit brand Modi" in this election season.

"We wanted to exploit brand Modi as there has been a huge demand for books about his life. The idea was evolved last December during the Patna book fair and now the Hindi and English versions are ready. We will also have an informal launch in the near future," Kumar told PTI.

"Work on bringing out the Marathi and Gujarati versions is also in progress. Saket Prakashan, Aurangabad and Navbharat, Ahmedabad have got the rights for those. We are also working on an animation CD on his life but it will take some time," he adds.

The concept for the book is written by Kanpur-based writer Zameer and is largely based on Modi's biography written by Kishore Makwana.

The publication house has come up with 4,000 copies each in Hindi and English and will bring the next edition soon.

"We have got an order for 1,000 copies from Wheeler. The book will be available on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal soon apart from the 250 booksellers across the country," Kumar says.

He also says that earlier books on Modi have got good response and there is a plan to bring more before the elections get over.

"Brand Modi is becoming big in publishing business. We have published around 11 books on him recently and they have been received well. Now, we are also bringing a book on tweets from Modi and BJP," he says.

The graphic novel also shows Modi's brave deeds, his work as an RSS pracharak, hoisting the tricolour in in Srinagar's Lal Chowk in 1992, his differences with then state BJP president Shankar Singh Vaghela and taking oath as chief minister of Gujarat.

It concludes with his speech at an election campaign in Delhi after becoming BJP's PM candidate.

Earlier, a comic book 'Bal Narendra - Childhood Stories of Narendra Modi' was brought out by Rannade Prakashan and Blue Snail Animation. The comic book tells stories of Modi's bravery.