“Rupa Publications is not just about books…it’s about being best in the business”

–says Kapish Mehra, MD, Rupa Publications India in conversation with Smita Dwivedi

Kapish, the third generation in the business is proud of the legacy that he is taking forward and is all set to write a new chapter of success! On asking about his journey so far, he said, “This company was started by my grandfather in 1936. So, I have an advantage of experience and understandings of my father and grandfather about the business. At the same time, I have an added responsibility to match their levels of perfection. As today, I am looking after all the verticals of Rupa.” “The books we are publishing now should appeal to readers and bibliophiles everywhere,” he shared further. That is one of the reasons company is focusing more on tier 2 and tier 3 cities not just metros. “Our books are available from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari. A book lover from remote states of Northeast, down South or West has an access to our books,” he added. “During last year we launched a series celebrating the writings of the great masters of Indian literature: Timeless Malgudi: The Very Best of R.K. Narayan, the first book to be published, anthologies featuring the works of Ruskin Bond and Abdul Kalam.

With the wide selection of great books we’re publishing, we hope to entertain, engage, move and delight our readers…always,” he added further.

Rupa’s authors range from heavyweights like Chetan Bhagat, whose non-fiction book What Young India Wants sold 5,00,000 copies in a day, according to the company, to debutant Varun Agarwal, whose book How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded A Million-Dollar Company came off the slush pile and sold out its first print run of 20,000 copies within weeks. So, on enquiring about the exemplary publishing phenomena of Chetan Bhagat, he shared, “I was only 17, when I first read Chetan’s Five Point Someone, I immediately called my dad and asked him to increase print run of this book as it would a bestseller for sure and rest is history, as we all know.”

Asking about diversification plans, he added, “Rupa Publications India has launched Maven, its business imprint. Maven publishes the most ambitious and essential books on business and economics, spanning the widest possible range-from leadership and entrepreneurship, business strategy and marketing, personal finance and investing to economic policy and public finance. Original and thought-provoking, these books will change the way business books are conceived, written and published in the country.”