Sail with the Wind

Few days back, I was at one of the best book stores in Chennai, 'Landmark' at the Citi Centre! I always love visiting this place- due to its ambience, clean environment and an utopian lifestyle promises. Somehow, due to passion , the visits always start at the books section  and before I could think about the next stop shop, it's almost two hours and having been satiated with enough of books and music, I had always left the mall at that stage. This visit was not like the usual one, as I had planned my visit only for this shop!

There was a surfeit of books to window browse (a new terminology?)  and I was quiet impressed with the new releases from Kiran Bedi, Chetan Bhagat, Clarke and the variety of subjects were mind boggling.  This time, I determined to buy some books if I land up at the right one and when I almost zeroed in on one, I was stopped dead on track, after one look at the price. When I checked another title, the same was the case. I was then wondering, how come when a person who had come with a fair bit of decent budget is unable to buy , what will an enthusiast with a shoe string budget do?  When I was discussing this with my friend, he said it is good that I did not buy that , as the copies are easily available on the internet.  I was bemused !

Once we used to buy pre recorded cassettes of film songs, have the selected songs recorded at music shops with blank cassettes brought from Singapore.  Then came the ACDs and MP3 CDs sold cheap at all bazaars. With the  advent of websites where any song could be downloaded with quality, for next to nothing, the numbering days of the pre recorded cassettes and CDs , were there on the wall for all to see!

Is the book industry also going the same way? When I saw a 'pirated' copy of the book "Who moved my Cheese" selling at Rs 50/- right on the main arteries of Chennai, I was told that a free eBook is available on the internet ! I came across liberal minded friends on popular networking sites, who make it a point to publish only badly copied , but readable, versions of many popular writers in Tamil.

Well! when the technology advances,  in comes the accompanying share of woes too. Despite all the regulations and an alert law enforcing agency, little advancement seems to have been made in preventing piracy. DVDs are available right on the first day of the release of a movie. Recently, a song was forced to be officially released, as it had already been leaked into the grey market! Any book could be had on the platforms of Chennai  or Bangalore for a song. Tell me who will buy a book , when its copies are available for a paltry price at will? Unless, he is one who loves the smell of fresh pages of newly printed book and I know of some who use book as sedative, when  they will start dozing before you complete counting ten!

I do empathize with the book publishers and film makers.It should be heart breaking for a producer whose efforts for years go down the drain with a single illegally copied DVD. I had read people like Irwing Wallace had spent 20 years to write one book on Nobel prize, named "Prize'. Such 'humongous efforts going  waste is a heart break' is an understatement. But, it's also  time relevant industries wake up instead of helplessly fretting and fuming . While the law enforcers are  out on their job to curb and nab, let us move towards the user  and price it affordably and reasonably.  We can no more stick to the  moth eaten path adamantly and still complain about the evils.  When there is an advancement in technology, the same is also misused to have pirates floating everywhere. It is time to sail with the wind. Make it affordable for people to buy legally and this is bound to reduce illegal editions. Nowadays, people are not hesitating  to pay a price for quality and this should be used to the advantage . We cannot afford to be anachronistic by insisting on listening to Radio and tape recorders when most advanced digitally recorded music available, virtually for a song.

Let us think differently and make both the readers' and booksellers'  life easy!