Books turn over a new leaf with boom in religion and spirituality

Manohar Rai’s cart of paperbacks, a feature at the Sunday book bazaar in New Delhi’s Daryaganj, a bargain hunter’s dream, has had a makeover. The best displays on the cart now are of books on religious thought, spirituality, and philosophy. Patanjali Yoga Sutras and Laghu Upanishad occupy pride of place where there used to be impressively titled books such as Badmashon Ki Basti and Gunah ka Karz.

“After we came back from the Pandemic-enforced quarantine, many of my regular customers were asking for titles on Hindu philosophy, astrology, and yoga. Now, they sell as well as pulp, if not better,” says Rai.

Booksellers across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Delhi told Business Standard  about the rising interest in religious, spiritual, and philosophical texts and attributed it to a post-pandemic concern for mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. If you happened to visit the International Book Fair in New Delhi a month back, you might have noticed a preponderance of titles in this genre.

“We have seen astrology and yoga titles fly off the shelves faster than ever before. Sales in this genre have nearly doubled,” says Arun Amre, a bookseller in Mumbai.

This is a trend confirmed by publishers, who are flocking to the segment, though empirical data might take a while to come.

“There’s been a surge in demand for religion and spirituality books. The sub-genres that have seen the most growth are spiritual wellness, self-help, philosophy, and mind-body-spirit,” says Gurveen Chadha, executive editor at Penguin Random House India. Vijesh Kumar, associate vice-president of sales at the publishing house, says it is one of the fastest growing genres and remains relevant throughout the year.

Penguin publishes a variety of religion and spirituality books in India, including high-selling titles by Gaur Gopal Das, Osho, Gauranga Prabhu and Sadhguru, under its imprint, Penguin Ananda.

Dibakar Ghosh, Editorial Director at Rupa Publications India, talks about a spurt in the number of authors who want to research and write on these topics. Even established writers such as Bibek Debroy and Sanjeev Sanyal are writing a more in this genre.

What could be strengthening the trend is the traction the genre gets on social media. Delhi-based literary agent Kanishka Gupta says books by personalities talking about religion and spirituality have seen steady demand. "Their social media teams are working to promote them," he says. This leads to more people knowing about them and perhaps buying their books.  

NK Singh, proprietor of Daryaganj-based Global Vision Publishing House, says currently there is a rise in demand for books around yoga and astrology. “Additionally, some books are being reprinted due to renewed demand like for the ones written by VD Savarkar and MS Golwalkar," he says.

The trend can be seen across platforms, form e-commerce sites to street stalls. Rakesh Kumar, who sells paperbacks near the Dwarka Sector-14 Metro station in Delhi, points at the long and well-stacked rows of translations of the Bhagavad Gita, Chanakya Neeti, and The Autobiography of a Yogi. "Ab yahi bik raha hai, isliye yahi le kar aate hain (this is what sells these days, so we stock these)," he says. 

Amre, the bookseller in Mumbai, says the rising interest has led to diversification of the genre. "We now have children’s primers, even comic books and graphic novels, which speak of the science behind astral charts and the glory of Hinduism," he says.

A Kolkata-based scholar of young-adult literature, who does not want to be named, says the subject is becoming a favourite with writers of children’s books. “More and more authors are taking up the challenge of translating the Vedas and teachings of Adi Shankaracharya and also distilling content from the scriptures into simplified primers,” said the scholar. Authors take up such projects as a challenge and aim to cut through the jargon and explain complex philosophies in simple ways.

Curiously, Khan Market, the favourite haunt of New Delhi’s swish set that is home to a fair few bookshops, appears to be untouched by the divine wave. Abhinav Bamhi, who runs Faqir Chand Bookstore here, says: “Here the sales have always been centered around fiction, law, and history. These categories continue to see high demand."