Paper 301

Day 8
Arkaprabha Sanyal
New Forms of Publication
Synopsis

Printing made it possible for more and more people to read and relate. As the novel forms
started being published, people could easily relate to the socio-economic atmosphere that
formed them and a growing need for reading was felt. New literary forms emerged in the
forms of short stories, lyrics, essays on social and political matters, etc. There was a wide
number of readers in the Middle Class Women. Some of them even went to school while
others stayed at home and learnt. A visual culture was also spreading. Raja Ravi Varma
produced images for mass circulation and it was easy for poor people to get access to
calenders and other printed stuff to decorate their houses. Books were sold at the
crossroads, libraries were set up and overall it was a great period for print.
 New Forms of Publication

Printing created an appetite for new kinds of writing. As more and more people could now
read, they wanted to see their own lives, experiences, emotions and relationships reflected
in what they read. The novel, a literary firm which had developed in Europe, ideally
catered to this need. It soon acquired distinctively Indian forms and styles. For readers, it
opened up new worlds of experience, and gave a vivid sense of the diversity of human
lives. Other new literary forms also entered the world of reading – lyrics, short stories,
essays about social and political matters. In different ways, they reinforced the new
emphasis on human lives and intimate feelings, about the political and social rules that
shaped such things.
 Visual Culture In New Forms

By the end of the nineteenth century, a new visual culture was taking shape. With the
setting up of an increasing number of printing presses, visual images could be easily
reproduced in multiple copies. Painters like Raja Ravi Varma produced images for mass
circulation. Poor wood engravers who made woodblocks set up shop near the letterpresses
and were employed by print shops. Cheap prints and calendars, easily available in the
bazaar, could be bought even by the poor to decorate the walls of their homes or places of
work. These prints began shaping popular ideas about modernity and tradition, religion and
politics, and society and culture.
 Women and Print

Many writers wrote about the lives and feelings of women. Due to this, readership among
middle-class women increased substantially. There were many liberal husbands and fathers
who stressed on women’s education. While some women got education at home, some
others went to schools as well. This was the time, when many women writers also began to
express their views through their writings. Conservative Hindus and Muslims were still
against women’s education. They thought that a girl’s mind would be polluted by
education. People wanted their daughters to read religious texts but did not want them to
read anything else. While Urdu, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi print culture had developed
early, Hindi printing began seriously only from the 1870s.
 Print and the Poor People

Cheap small books were brought to markets in nineteenth century Madras towns. These
books were sold at crossroads so that poor people could buy them. Public libraries were set
up from the early twentieth century which helped in increasing the access to books. Many
rich people set up library in order to assert their prestige in their area.
Thank You