Bringing Indian Literature to France:

How did your initial vision for ‘Lettres Indiennes’ evolve, and what drives your choice of authors representing India’s many literatures?

When I moved to France in 1997, no French Publisher was publishing contemporary Indian writing in a systematic manner. This led me to launch the Series Lettres Indiennes with Actes Sud Publishers. My main objective was to make French readers discover the diversity of contemporary Indian writing, in English, but also specifically in the Indian languages. “When we speak of Indian literature, we never use the singular,” was often my opening remark in my talks across France.

The first titles that appeared in my series from 2000 onwards were Nirmal Verma from Hindi, Mahasweta Devi from Bengali and Mukundan from Malayalam. My guiding principle when selecting titles or writers has always been to opt for subjects with universal appeal but with a distinctively Indian or South Asian flavour.

How did leading the French Book Office deepen your insight into Indo-French publishing and guide the evolution of ‘Lettres Indiennes’?

My work at the French Book Office was a fascinating discovery of the world of books, writers and publishing.
I was teaching at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), when I was recruited to create a French Book Office in 1980, conceive a book policy and oversee its implementation across India and later across South Asia. I quickly realized that for any policy to be successful in the long term, it has to be open, inclusive, and reciprocal.

As the only non-French Director of Books in the French government’s program covering five countries (at that time), I understood the Indian point of view instinctively. During Book Fairs, in Calcutta, Delhi or even Guwahati, I often heard the refrain. – it is all very well to publish French writers in India, but what about my/our books, our writers in France.

A memory of precisely this kind of reciprocity from that time has stayed with me. On her very first visit to India, I had introduced the renowned French writer Marguerite Yourcenar to the Punjabi and Hindi writer, Amrita Pritam. They hit it off instantly and she decided to translate some of Amrita Pritam’s poems with my help, for the prestigious literary journal the Nouvelle Revue Française. The poems were published and attracted a lot of attention. As a result, Amrita Pritam’s novels were soon picked up by publishers for translation into French.

What challenges do you see in taking Indian literature abroad, and how can collaborative efforts help close these gaps?

The role of French literature and contemporary French writing is crucial to French Cultural Policy. Writers and philosophers are visible in the media and given a voice. It is not at all unusual to invite a French philosopher to comment on a domestic or international event in the 8 pm news bulletin on TV. Something unthinkable in India.
France is the only country I know where an eminent and fascinating lexicographer and linguist like Alain Rey (now deceased) became a renowned public figure.

Unfortunately, literature and books do not get the importance they deserve in Indian Cultural Policy abroad. Officials in France often asked me what our Ministry of Culture had planned for books that particular year and I struggled for an answer. The Minister of Culture in France is a prized and prestigious portfolio, with André Malraux having served in this capacity.

I sincerely believe that Indian Books and Literature should have a more major and visible role in our Cultural Policy abroad.

Which themes, narratives, or literary styles from India resonate most strongly with French readers today?

French readers (the large majority of which are women) are by and large very discerning and France publishes and reads extensively, including literature in translation from other countries and cultures.

In my 27 years of publishing in France, I have found that the French reader expects to read good, well-translated literature though the themes can vary. I have always followed my own convictions when selecting titles and readers have responded positively.

Since every book I publish carries my name, I get a phenomenal amount of feedback on social media, on the books that I have published or intend to. This kind of real time feedback makes my work very exciting and rewarding.

I must add that translation remains a problem. For example, I have never been able to publish U.R. Ananthamurthy because of the paucity of Kannada translators.

How do you envision the future of Lettres Indiennes, and which literary traditions from India are you eager to introduce to French readers?

The Lettres Indiennes Collection, that I launched in 1998 met with success and interest from readers across France and francophone countries but also made me realize that the readers wanted more than fiction.
So my first step to give a new boost to the series was to publish non-fiction. Pavan Varma’s “Being Indian” that appeared in 2005, was amongst my initial forays into this new field and met with frankly unexpected success. Sonia Faleiro, Nalini Jameela are others who come to mind. I even published Alice Albinia’s much appreciated “Empires of the Indus”.

The next logical step was to extend the scope of my series to South Asia. In 2007, Kunzang Choden from Bhutan was amongst my prized titles; so were Tahmima Anam from Bangladesh and Jamil Ahmad from Pakistan.

The series is now in its 27th year of sustained publishing with a faithful readership. While remaining devoted to my established authors such as Amitav Ghosh and Anuradha Roy, this faithful readership has allowed me to publish young new voices. Aravind Jayan (Teen Couple have fun outdoors) in 2024, was a step in this direction that earned him invitations to two Book Festivals and got him sizable press coverage. French readers have been wonderfully loyal, and I owe them enormous gratitude.

Rajesh Sharma did his Master’s in French literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi where he taught for two years before working for the French Embassy as Director of the French Book Office from 1980 to 1997. In 1998, he launched the literary collection “Lettres Indiennes” (Indian Literature), in France with Actes Sud Publishers and continues as its director till today. From 1998 to 2015, he taught various courses on India at Sciences Po, Paris. He has been decorated twice by the French Government – Chevalier (1992), and Officer (2003) de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.