Meet and Greet with Anant Narayan Mahadevan

‘Once Upon A Prime Time’, book reading with Ananth Narayan Mahadevan.

Students from the Doon International School attended the event hosted at The English Book Depot. They interacted with the author and crew of the film Pastt Tense, which is being shot in Uttarakhand by National Award-winning filmmaker and actor Ananth Narayan Mahadevan. 

The Meet and Greet was hosted by Garhwal Post and The English Book Depot. Satish Sharma, the Editor of Garhwal Post, the Editorial Board, special invitees, and guests thronged the Book Cafe at 7:00 p.m. on October 10, 2024; the event lasted over an hour and a half. Book reading was followed with a question and answer session with the author. Complete story will be published in The Garhwal Post on the 12th of October 2024*.

Anant Mahadevan a famous actor, director, writer in both the Marathi and Hindi film industry. He was born on 28th August in the year 1950 in Thrissur, United State Of Travancore And Cochin, India. He is also known as Anant Narayan Mahadevan. He started his film career in the year 1984. At present (2024) he is 74 years old. Having been an integral part of the Indian television serials and Hindi movies since the 1980s, he is also involved in the professional English and Hindi theatre. His favorite actors are Guru Dutt and Stephen Lang. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Just Marathi.

At the event Anath read the story of the making of Tipu Sultan the movie. The 18th century warrior king lived and died by the sword. But for the crew and cast who were working to bring him to life in a TV serial, it ended in a different, more horrifying ordeal: fire. Last fortnight, a devastating blaze swept through Premier Studios in Mysore, where actor-director Sanjay Khan was shooting a tele-serial based on Bhagwan Gidwani's historical novel The Sword of Tipu Sultan. The toll: 42 dead and at least 25. including Khan, seriously injured.

Read more about the book Once Upon A Prime Time by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, published by Embassy Book Distributors in the Brewing Knowledge blog from The English Book Depot: https://www.brewingknowledge.com/2024/10/books-of-week-5th-october-saturday-2024.html

* Garhwal Post 

Film making is no longer art but a commercial activity in India: Ananth Mahadevan

https://garhwalpost.in/film-making-is-no-longer-art-but-a-commercial-activity-in-india-ananth-mahadevan/

The Art Of Orignality - Rishona Chopra

In today's fast-paced world, we have lost the art of originality and have forgotten its value. Today, books, songs, music, and poems can easily be written with the help of AI. It can write flawless articles, with perfect grammar but what we need to understand is that the flaws are what make the work so real and beautiful. 

When we write things ourselves, it has our thoughts put into it and our feelings which are a thousand times better than anything AI can create. Yes, we make mistakes and our work may have flaws but those flaws are what show us what we can improve on and make it better. The power of the mind is the greatest and if we don't put that power to use, it gets dull. It's like a knife, If not used, it eventually gets blunt and loses its sharpness just like we can lose our creativity wit. 

Let us take songwriting, for example, something that AI creates may be quite nice but when the mind creates that, there is a uniqueness to it and your creative touch can be felt. Originality is not doing something first, it's doing it with the power of the mind and by yourself. 

To me, reading an article with broken English and grammar yet beautiful with feelings and creativity is always better than one with flawless language and a lack of feelings. 

If we turn to AI  to do our tasks, then it just shows the lack of confidence we have in ourselves. The Art Of Originality is to not fall into the trap of betraying your mind, it is to follow through and follow the mind. 

Shakespeare didn't use ChatGPT to write "Comedy Of Errors" and look what a classic it is! We don't need AI to be successful in our work, what the mind can create is far more powerful because you can feel it. 

Rishona Chopra 

Grade VIII

Gyanshree School 

A brief history of our time - The English Book Depot at 100

Best is quite unreal, as better is the only way ahead! This debate about rewards, awards, and PR is never ending and will raise many hackles. The only single truth is there is no more immense exhilaration than the #JoyOfLearning - reading, writing and speaking.

Back from the Hyderabad Literary Festival, I am convinced that stories alone make us, and we are a story! We had storytellers, booksellers, librarians, artists, activists, sponsors and young people. A beautiful milieu to spread the joy of reading. Books in print, digital form, oral rendition and choreography. We are celebrating 100 💯 years of the Bookstore and have set up a social space above the Bookstore. The Learning Forward India Foundation works to support schools and schooling with reading, writing, speaking and learning. 

#MyGoodSchool My Good School - above The English Book Depot at Dehradun, visit this social space when you visit the city next city.

A brief history of our time

100 Years of The English Book Depot, opened at Ferozepur in 1923, moved to Dehradun post partition of India to finally call it curtains down at Ferozepur in 1989 when we exited. The place was then filled in by one of our long-serving stalwarts at the bookshop Sh Kewal Ji, who decided to run it for his family and livelihood as Kewal Book Depot at the exact location.

Message from respected Lila Dhar Dewan to Sandeep Dutt.

Your eldest uncle and my eldest cousin, the late Sh. Rattan Lal and I had decided to open our book shops in Dehradun and Pathankot, respectively. So we both selected books for our shops in 1948 from The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt on the same day. Both the parcels were booked by train the next day. My younger brother Radha Krishna had joined Army and, as such, was to stay far away from us. I would name my shop The English Book Depot as that would have benefited me financially. However, I sacrificed my financial benefits by calling my shop Krishna Book Depot so that his name remained with us throughout our lives.

Late L. Narain Dass, the founder of The English Book Depot, was a native of Jampur District Dera Gazi Khan, situated in the southwest end of Punjab (now in Pakistan) on the other bank of river  Sindh. A vegetarian wearing a simple dress of kameez pyjamas and enjoying a simple life. He was fond of taking fruits. Always baskets full of various kinds of fruits were there in his house. He was not only the founder of The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt and ran the shop to earn but made it a training centre in BOOK TRADE. He used to call youth from his native town and get a room on hire for their stay. He stood guaranty with the hotel for payment of their bills for the food taken by the trainees.

There was a small sale of school textbooks only at that time. Very few Indians read other kinds of books, such as novels etc. The customers of general types of books in English language only were British soldiers stationed at various cantonments all over India. Hence scope and demand for bookshops to sell such kinds of books were in Cantonments only.

Late Lala Narain Dass Ji used to select a cantonment for his trainee. He should have done so to earn money permanently from them by importing books from the U.K. to supply those to bookshops. But he was providing them with the supplier's addresses. He stood as a guarantee with the suppliers for the payment of their dues. Thus natives of Jampur spread all over India and established their bookshops. Later, such shops were opened in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur etc.

All of them are financially sound and enjoying respectful life in their cities. The members of the third generation of the founders of those shops are running all those bookshops. I am skipping names of towns and cantonments for want of space. I was his last student learning book trade under him at his shop. Not only that. He kept me in his house, showering his (and my Massi jee) blessings, love and affection at par with their children. I opened my shop at Pathankot in December 1948 when The English Book Depot at Dehradun was also opened.

I knew Massan ji resigned from his Govt job in Lahore and founded The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantt in 1923. However, I need to find out the name of the book depot. He learnt the art of book trade and got addresses of suppliers of these in U. K. as I needed help finding the name of any bookshop in North India during those days. He during his later age engaged himself in the service of humanity through Arya Samaj. He was honoured as the permanent President of Arya Samaj Ferozepur Cantt and Manager of Arya School Ferozepur Cantt. Smt Snehlata has been the humane face of the bookshop for over 50 years.

Shri Narain Dass had another quality and far-sightedness. He ensured Jampuri booksellers were financially sound and enjoyed a monopoly in his business at his station. He did not allow his trainees to open his bookshop in Cantonment, where a Jampuri was already running his bookshop. I felt proud of being one of the Jampuri running their bookshops in Cantonments all over India. I used to tell Army officers who were liable to be transferred to some other Cantonments someday by telling them that I could make them an astrologer. Please visit a bookshop in that Cantonment. Ask the owner to show his palm to you. On having a look at it, tell him the following. The owner of this shop is a Jampuri. He received his training in this trade at The English Book Depot Ferozepur Cantonments. The owner of the shop would give you a surprising look!

Courtesy Lila Dhar Dewan, my father Dev Dutt's first cousin, has showered his immense blessing on us.

The writer Sandeep Dutt is an author, School Improvement Coach and third generation at The English Book Depot.

Best Bookstore Of 2023 by Food4Thought Foundation at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.

The School Bell - Simar Kaur

It is bizarre how a school bell can affect one’s mood regularly. The first bell of the day is accompanied by yawns, people rubbing their eyes, cranky comments, and excitement for a new day (which is rare in my case). Ah, the first class is sports. The most beloved classroom is the playground, where there are no rules. You don’t have to stay quiet or tire your hand while making notes when surrounded by the beautiful green grass. I perceived it as starting the day with an ounce of freedom until you get trapped in the strict regimentation as you enter through the large doors. 

It is hard to sit down and study right after having an intense sweating session on the ground (which is very true for me since I sweat a lot). As soon as the bell rings, I go upstairs with the rest of the school and sit at my desk panting, drinking water and coughing. That was how I used to follow the bell and get myself prepped for the studying sessions which were to follow. 

When I had maths and physics, I sighed, made a face, and moved on. And in English, painting and computers I used to be excited unless I forgot the equipment at home. To put it in a nutshell, I think nothing besides the school bell has been able to alter my mood so quickly and efficiently. I mightn’t have learnt a life lesson because of the bell, but the fact that it makes the school building feel alive with pleasure or, at times, sadness makes the school, school for me. After two years of frustrating mobile alarms, the school building is alive again, and so is the bell! Simar Kaur Grade X Gyanshree School

The Joy of Appreciation - Aashay Nimish Gaitonde

It always feels great to be appreciated. It is a beautiful feeling when people around you encourage you for the different things you do in life, both big and small. Appreciation motivates you to try harder in whatever you do and be a better version of yourself.

I would like to share a couple of incidents recently that I remember when I was received praise and appreciation.

Winning an inter-school roller-skating race

I once participated in an inter-school roller skating event where I came second in the Finals. I won a trophy & my parents were elated. I have been skating since I was six years old, so it was a wonderful moment. They hugged me and rewarded me by taking me to a “Marvel Studio” to visit my favourite comic superheroes and their film set. Here are some of the pictures taken -

Even today, my mom & dad always take time out to drop me at skating class every day & this motivates me to keep practising and being a better skater day by day! 

Securing the First rank in the NELTAS examination

The second incident was when I came first across all schools in India & UAE in a competitive exam for English language (NELTAS). I have been giving this exam for four years & this was the first time I ranked first in the Grand Finale.

I was thrilled when the results came out but was happier when everyone in my family & my teachers appreciated me. They have supported me through thick & thin; hence their applause was all the more special for me.

There are many such times when I have been complimented & supported by my family and friends, even when I have failed. It’s only when you receive such tremendous support that you feel that you can excel in anything you put your mind to!

Aashay Nimish Gaitonde

Grade : 5 Division: A Billabong High International School, Thane