A novel idea

Penguin India has just come up with a set of quick-reads for Delhi Metro commuters.

Train journeys and novels have a long-standing camaraderie. And we all, at some point of time, have gladly chipped in to keep this association sailing. Now, with shifting times, trains have journeyed from that experience of an occasional ride with friends and family to an average Delhiite's daily life. Boarding a train to get to one's workplace is no more the distinctiveness of a Mumbaikar or a Kolkattan alone. Over a million Delhiites reportedly use the Delhi Metro every day. So why keep the ‘novel' idea away, reflected Penguin India.
Vaishali Mathur, senior commissioning editor of the ever expanding publishing house, throws light on the ‘whys' and the ‘hows' behind the introduction of the concept to the city's commuters. “We have been studying the market and felt that there was a gap as far as literature for the people on the move with busy lifestyles and shortage of time, was concerned. These are people who like to read but don't have the patience to carry around heavy tomes.”
And so Metro Reads come to life. Penguin has introduced the series with a trio — “Love Over Coffee” by Delhiite Amrit N. Shetty, “Where Girls Dare” by Roorkee-resident Bhavna Chauhan, and “Dreams in Prussian Blue” by Pune-based Paritosh Uttam. Sticking to the concept of racy quickies, none of the novels spans beyond 250 pages, and the stories are severely metro-ish.
Amrit's protagonist Anup, a happy-go-lucky city slicker, with a pack of friends to help him out of sticky situations, finds himself a misfit in an IT company. He also has a quiet love affair with a colleague tucked away from the notice of other colleagues, and of course, his parents, who thinks he is too young to take important decisions of his life, such as marriage.

Full report here The Hindu