INDICA BOOKS is an online platform showcasing books on our civilisational knowledge and history as well as books belonging to other genres, written by authors who intellectually and emotionally belong to our civilisation.
It seeks to build a global community of book lovers by encouraging reading, sharing & writing – reviews, longform and books.
Our core activities include Publication, Launches and Promotions, Writing Training Sessions and Retreats, Book Mentorship (online – one to one for specific work as well as Open House), Interviews with authors, Master Classes, participation in Literary Festivals across the country.
Since its inception in 2020, the Indica Books Writers Workshop (previously known as Open House) has hosted over 80 sessions, encompassing hundreds of submissions and surpassing 1000 hours of discussions (Writers Workshop – 76 with Otis Haschemyer, Stanford University Faculty).
INDICA BOOK CLUB had also launched the 1000 Reviewer Club in 2020, an initiative to distribute 5000 copies by promoting 50 authors and distribute up to 100 copies of their books to a select group of 1000 reviewers.
In 2023-24, INDICA BOOK CLUB saw the publication of 7 books covering an interesting range of topics – three books by Professor V Krishnamurthy – Night Sky Tells the Time, An Anthology of Essays on Vedanta, and Autobiographical Sketches. Two books by Dr Edward Butler – Republic Commentary and The Way of Being. We also published, SaptaSvara by Shri Raghu Ananthanarayanan and Cognition and Spirituality by Dr K Sadananda. Published by Notion Press for INDICA.
INDICA BOOK CLUB supports authors whose books we believe makes people rethink about our civilisation and its history. We have distributed 1250 copies of eight books. These books include works of both fiction and non-fiction: Aarya Anthology (Edited by Shivakumar G V), All about Temples by Shefali Vaidya, The Idea of India: Bharat as a Civilization by Professor Subhask Kak, Forever There by Smt Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar, From Here to the Stars by Dr Pingali Gopal, Sacred Songs by Dr Bibek Debroy, The Great Brahmin Land Robbery by Gaurang Damini and Brahmin Genocide by Asi.
Seventeen book launches and promotional events were held for different authors across different platforms. Aarya was promoted in Coimbatore and Mysuru. Forever There in Coimbatore, Chennai and Varanasi as well as through online events. The Flight of Deities: An Anthology of Desecration & Devotion, Edited by Smt Meenakshi Jain was discussed in an online event organised by INDICA USA.
INDICA BOOKS chief curator Abhinav Aggarwal has published his own best seller – Completing Vyasa’s Mahabharata: 67 Upakathas For The Modern Reader. He conducted five conversations with authors. These include interesting books such as Mahagatha: 100 Tales From The Puranas, Rivers Of Rigveda & The Geography Of Ramayana, The Sati: Series IV and his own book. INDICA USA’s Avatans Kumar, Nishant Limbachia & Ram Lakshminarayanan spoke on Aryans and British India, Was Hinduism Invented and Colonial Casualties.
This year 10 sessions were held with Otis Haschemyer, providing a unique opportunity to aspiring writers and authors to get feedback on their writing from a Stegner Fellow in Stanford University’s Creative Writing Program and to engage with other like-minded writers.
Otis also provided two personalised consultations, with one-to-one mentoring being a cornerstone of effective learning, especially in the realm of writing. The individual attention, tailored feedback, and deep dives into specific areas of a writer’s work can lead to transformative growth.
Indic tradition has always stressed that real wisdom lies not merely in knowing the answers but in understanding the questions that shape our existence. In our Weekend with Wisdom series, intellectual and writer Dr. Makarand Paranjape, who has authored and curated books on a wide range of subjects including nationalism, spirituality, poetry, science, literature helped a group of writers learn how to frame their ideas more effectively. This retreat was held in Bengaluru.
We have sponsored sessions in Literary Festivals,w and we had authors including Shivakumar G V and Vijayalakshmi Vijayakumar participate in the Pondicherry Lit Fest.
