Bengaluru stores see sharp surge in demand for S L Bhyrappa books

Following the passing of celebrated Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa on Wednesday, bookstores across the city have been doing brisk sales of his books. Some shops have run out of copies. With the author’s publisher, Sahitya Bhandara, closed until Friday, stores are unable to restock his works immediately.

At Bookworm on Church Street, translated titles like ‘Parva’ and ‘Orphaned’ have been in great demand since Wednesday. Their stock of signed copies of the book ‘Aavarana’ have sold out, said Krishna Gowda, the proprietor. The controversial novel, which tackles religion, caste and prejudices, made history when it was published in 2007. It was reprinted 10 times within five months.

Kannada titles like ‘Nirakarana’, ‘Naayi Neralu’, ‘Bhitti’ and ‘Yaana’ are also being purchased in large numbers. Krishna hopes to increase his inventory of Bhyrappa’s books by next week.On Thursday, about 12 customers dropped in looking for his books, while on Wednesday, Krishna received about 25 orders on WhatsApp.

Titles like ‘Gruhabhanga’ and ‘Mandra’ in addition to ‘Parva’, ‘Aavarana’ and ‘Bhitti’ have been popular at The Book Hive, also on Church Street. “About 40-45 of Bhyrappa’s books have been sold since Wednesday,” said Keshav R, who runs the store. On Thursday, one customer purchased eight Bhyrappa titles, he reveals. Keshav has ordered more copies of ‘Parva’ and ‘Aavarana’, “but the distributor said that they will only be available after 10 days,” he shared.

Between its biggest outlet in Gandhi Nagar and its online store, Sapna Book House had sold over 500 copies of Bhyrappa’s works by Thursday morning. R Doddegowda, general manager of its Kannada books and publication wing, said, “We have all titles in stock, but only in limited numbers. The demand is likely to continue. Most of the readers are in their 40s or above,” he said.

Since Wednesday, Ankita Pustaka in Gandhi Bazaar sold 17 copies of ‘Aavarana’, 12 each of ‘Parva’ and ‘Bhitti’, 10 of ‘Gruhabhanga’, eight each of ‘Dharmashree’ and ‘Vamshavruksha’, and a few copies of other titles. Earlier, they would sell only 2-3 copies a day. “A majority of the buyers were new to our store, and aged between 30 and 50,” said its owner Prakash Kambathalli. He said their current stock will last until Dasara.

On Thursday morning, Mayi Gowda of Blossom Book House received a call asking for signed copies of Bhyrappa’s books. “We didn’t have any,” he said. Bhyrappa’s works have always been popular at Blossom, with Kannada originals outperforming translations. “Most buyers are elderly readers or Bengalureans living abroad,” he added.  ‘Aavarana’, ‘Matadana’ and ‘Daatu’ are the most sought-after in Kannada, while ‘Parva’ and 'Uttara Kaanda’ lead among translations. The former is a retelling of the ‘Mahabharata’, while the latter reinterprets the ‘Ramayana’ through Sita’s perspective.

At Beetle Book Shop in Vijayanagar, owner Dhananjaya N said sales have risen only slightly since the author’s passing. “‘Parva’ is always the fastest-moving title in both Kannada and English. We sell 50-60 copies a month, and more during this time of the year because of festive online sales. ‘Vamsharuksha’ and ‘Yaana’ are also popular,” he said. 

‘Most demand coming from Bengaluru’

Sahitya Bhandara has been publishing Bhyrappa’s writings. According to its proprietor, M G Arun, the demand for fresh supplies is coming mostly from the book stores in Bengaluru. As a mark of respect for Bhyrappa’s passing, the centre has been closed until Friday. “We will start dispatching after that,” he said.

Subbu Publications, the translation wing of Sahithya Bhandara, has announced a 25% discount on novels published by them, such as ‘Matadana’, ‘Dharmashree’, ‘Kavalu’ and ‘Uttara Kaanda’.