The Hindu Business Line : Audiobooks co Karadi Tales plans to enter film, TV space

KARADI Tales Company, the Chennai-based publisher of audiobooks, is bullish about its future. Banking big on its plans to enter film and television production, beef up presence in the US and produce more books for adults, Karadi hopes to make a "quantum jump" in revenues.

Having just "scratched the surface" of the children's books market, the Rs 1.5-crore company believes it has the platform to become a Rs 50-crore company in three to four years, aided by huge "private investments."

Karadi's audiobooks (books that go with a cassette or CD) are directly distributed in 11 cities across 500 bookstores in the country. They are also available through local distributors in the US, Australia, South Africa and West Asia. The company's future plans include expanding its presence in the US through a large-scale investment.

As part of its diversification plans, Karadi is eyeing film and television production. "We have been in conversation with Turner Network for Indian productions," says Mr C.P. Viswanath, Director, Karadi Tales Company. The TV series, using both animation and live action, "is about a year away from airing."

The company has sold over eight lakh copies of its 36 titles in the children's series. "To put a record straight, Karadi cumulatively has sold more than Harry Potter in India. Perception and reality can be mismatched," says Mr Viswanath.

Last year, the company released an audiobook for adults, Wings of Fire by the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, under the `Charkha' imprint, and has sold 50,000 copies so far. Its Hindi and Tamil versions were launched recently.

In the pipeline are Mahatma Gandhi's The Story of My Experiments with Truth (with voices by Shekhar Kapoor and Nandita Das) and Kalidas' Shakuntala (by actress Shobana). Also on the cards is a series on saints like Kabir, Tukaram and Thyagaraja, using "the dying form of Harikatha with a contemporary presentation," says Mr Viswanath.

Karadi also aims to bring in "a revolution into how English is taught in school" through its non-formal education initiative. Karadi Path was launched last year in 30 schools in rural Tamil Nadu and 100 schools in Goa. The company's three-year target is to reach out to one lakh schools in the country.

Karadi Tales is focussed on Indian heritage and culture and draws themes from Panchantra and Jataka or even little known folktales, with "extensive re-telling" using the icons Karadi the bear and his friend Meera. Music for the audiobooks, which are in English, Hindi and Tamil, is by the band `Three Brothers and a Violin.'

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