"Why is Paulo Coelho such a big deal in India?"
The question came up during a late evening stroll with a professor friend. I had no answer.
Later, as I sat on the throne nursing an upset stomach, the answer came to me. Coelho is popular in India because so are Chetan Bhagat and Ayn Rand.
Indians like to read shallow books. Young Adult literature is being devoured by people in their late 20s and 30s.
The black and white characters of Rand, the pop philosophy of Coelho and Robin Sharma. Plot, conclusion and moral, all pre processed, just like our NCERT textbooks. Why, then, would you grapple with Nietzsche, or have your thoughts provoked by The Little Prince?
The question came up during a late evening stroll with a professor friend. I had no answer.
Later, as I sat on the throne nursing an upset stomach, the answer came to me. Coelho is popular in India because so are Chetan Bhagat and Ayn Rand.
Indians like to read shallow books. Young Adult literature is being devoured by people in their late 20s and 30s.
The black and white characters of Rand, the pop philosophy of Coelho and Robin Sharma. Plot, conclusion and moral, all pre processed, just like our NCERT textbooks. Why, then, would you grapple with Nietzsche, or have your thoughts provoked by The Little Prince?