Literature on iPod?

I can’t imagine a drive to work minus all the music that radio channels queue up in between all their chatter. Irrespective of whether the compositions are great, they manage to sooth the nerves — enough to deal with the challenge of battling through Bangalore’s traffic through peak hours. So when a certain Jai Madhukar Zende walked in at the office one day to share his new concept that had a lot to do with my drive time, I listened — first skeptically and then curiously.

Jai, along with his partner Jayashree Mantri Easwaran work out of the IIMB campus. Though, their work has little to do with the business school as such, it’s got a lot to do with relearning, and relooking at the very idea of making literature a more integral part of our lives. They’ve started this company called Books Talk, which does just that - makes books talk. So you get the picture — you can actually have someone read out a book for you. “We are selling audio books,” said Jai.

Now, the very idea of an audio book and you are thinking — management-related or self-help stuff that experts love sharing liberally. But Jai corrects, “These are actual story books that are read out to you.” Then, you wonder, how can some one else read my book for me! Strangely, the concept is not as alien as it sounds. The well-travelled will let you in on audio books as a time saving mechanism. And closer home, haven’t we all grown up listening to our elders tell stories?

However, what Books Talk does is not tell you kiddie stories. Here, you are talking Sherlock Homes, Khalil Gibran or even Alice in Wonderland. “We have around 14 books that are already available at stores. While a lot of our narrator include popular theatre artistes like Ashish Sen, Arundhati and Jagadish Raja, we also have literary names like UR Ananthamurthy, Sudha Murthy, Subroto Bagchi and Chandrashekar Khambar not just sharing their works but also narrating it,” explains Jai.

The two-member team, that is heading Books Talk, says that they gave up plush jobs to start off this venture. They have enough studies and statistics that indicate that while they may be catering to a niche set of readers, a lot of ardent book readers tend to enjoy being read to. “Sure, people like to snuggle up and read a book when they can. But the point is, we hardly get that kind of time. So when you can listen in while driving, or while being involved in the routine that goes into managing a home, then why not?” asks Jai.

Jai sounded like he was talking to me. I love a good read, and strive hard to put together enough time for it each day. So, I listened in to a story by Sherlock Holmes, narrated by Ashish Sen. The stories come equipped with bookmarks, after every 10 minutes of narration, which is quite cool. It does take a bit of getting used to, but over time, I could definitely do with more of these. You can buy them at bookstores across the city, and play them in the car, on the comp, on your music system or even your iPod.

A tie up with Harper and Penguin books has ensured a good many titles on the shelf and more to come... so much so that we may have a new designation in our office — the audio book reviewer.