These listeners prefer non-fiction titles such as biographies, political histories, self-improvement and history. “It is the people who do not like to read much but like to know things that go for these titles. It sells CDs through its website for ₹ 99-199 and on Audible for approximately $10 (or ₹ 555) each on a revenue-sharing basis. Ltd (NHM), established in 2004, is one of the earliest ventures in audiobooks in Tamil and has uploaded over 100 audiobooks in the language since 2006.

“While in Kannada and Bengali audiobooks we stick to classics only, in English we are bringing out all kinds of titles, non-fiction, classics, fiction etc.,' says Zende. Just listen', BooksTALK aims to introduce about 100 audiobooks in three languages-English, Kannada and Bengali-in the market by year-end. With a funky website and a subhead “Story telling is back. “Even today if you go to a music shop you can pick up Katha audiobooks on CDs,' he says. “We have a rich tradition of oral storytelling in all languages in India and have been a listening culture historically.' Zende remembers how he grew up hearing audiobooks on cassettes, narrated on Bombay Doordarshan and then some years later, on CDs. “This whole narration business is nothing new in India,' says Jai Madhukar Zende, co-founder, BooksTALK, an year-old audiobook publisher.

Free kannada audio books download