Besides weekly and monthly magazines, it was a golden period for monthly novels. Those were the times when cinema and books dominated people's lives. And he did exactly that - Asokan's pocket novels, initially priced at ₹2, managed to capture the imagination of Tamil readers for decades. "He had registered many titles for his future publications." But the one that attracted young Asokan the most was pocket novels and he decided to cash in on it. Govindaraj, his son adds, also used to bring out a children's magazine called 'Muyal'. He drew the first cover of 'Rani', a magazine that was a rage among women in the 70s and 80s," says Asokan. "My father L Govindaraj was a freelance artist. Like the hanging rows of shampoo sachets in grocery shops now, these novels used to adorn every shop then," says G Asokan, a pioneer in publishing pocket novels.Īsokan had followed in his father's footsteps after school (Class 10). "In the 80s, there used be more than 40 novels every month. Of these, one or two would definitely be pocket novels - small publications in the size of a smartphone that could easily fit into a trouser pocket. Crime novels were all the rage once upon a time in Tamil Nadu and could be found in every household. It was all that one needed to while away a hot summer vacation or to survive a long train journey. Add to this, a fleetingly appearing ghost and a dash of romance and sleaze - and you have a crime novel in your hands. A long chase and finally a climax with a moral.
A hard-boiled detective peeling off a revenge plot.
| Illustration - Prathap RavishankarĪ spooky night.
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