Panther’s Paw: A Publisher fighting for Anti-Caste Literature
Panther’s Paw Publishing, a small autonomous house, is dedicated too bringing forward โคcritical voices and perspectives frequently enoughโ marginalized in mainstream publishing. Founded โwith a vision to blend personal narrative with socio-political commentary, theโฃ press has quickly become known for its โstrikingโค book designs and commitment to anti-caste literature.
Initially,author Samos envisioned a collection of personal essays reflecting โขhis upbringing in Orissa,alongside analytical pieces on social and political issues.He struggled toโ integrate these โฃtwo elements โuntil encouraged by Yogesh to simply beginโ writing. This led to a productive period of creation from 2020 to 2022.
A defining characteristic โขof panther’s Paw’s publications is their visuallyโ arresting covers.The design consistently aims โขto reflect the content’s โฃradical nature.For example, ‘milk of Equality, Soured,’ a compilation of B.R. Ambedkar’sโ writings,features an image of an overturned milk can,referencing the โconventionalโฃ vessels used by milk vendors. Similarly,’Cinema’ byโ Maitreya utilizes a stark design โฃ-โ a predominantly black cover punctuatedโ by a โขthin white โขstrip resembling flames.
Several titles โshowcase innovative typography. ‘Untouchable Goa’ employsโฃ a vertically oriented, calligraphic font for the wordโข “Goa,” while โค’Unwinding a Death โฃSpiral’ visually represents its title with a fragmented spiral design. ‘From Subjugation to Emancipation,’ another collectionโฃ of Ambedkar’s essays, utilizes stylized letters fromโ the title to fill the entire coverโฃ space.
The design studio November,responsible for 20 โขof Panther’s Paw’s โ27 covers,enjoys important creative freedom. Shiva Nallaperumal, from November, explains thay areโ encouraged to be as experimental and bold as theโข books themselves – a rare opportunity in the publishing world. โnallaperumal and his โฃco-founder, Juhi Vishnani, strive for a strong connection between a book’s content and โคits visual presentation,โ but also see their work as contributing to a broader aesthetic for the anti-caste movement.This approach is evident in titles like โ’Singing/thinking Anti-Caste,’ which chronicles the history ofโ Dalit musiciansโค in Maharashtra. Its cover features a title rendered in handmade linocuts, and a collection of 32 portraits of Ambedkar eschews a โtitle altogether, presenting a powerful, โnaturalistic image of the leader.
Despite its artistic success and critically important mission, Panther’s Paw faces significant financial challenges. Maitreya, the publisher, has taken on numerous roles – including logistics, layout, distribution, and publicity – to minimizeโ expenses. โขHowever,sales โremain low,and new obstacles continue to emerge.
The relocationโ from Mumbai to Nagpur duringโค theโ pandemic provedโ detrimental. Maitreya expresses disappointment with nagpur’s lackโฃ of support for literary endeavors and its slow responseโ to the cultural contributions โคPanther’s paw offers. Further compounding the difficulties, the publisher โwas โrecently asked to vacate its office, library, and warehouse space by the welfare trust in โNagpur, leaving a substantial โinventory of unsold books stored in Maitreya’s and friends’ homes, effectively becoming โa financial burden.
To address these issues, Maitreya โคlaunched a fundraising campaign in August, offering four titles โข(including two forthcoming)โ for approximately โน2,000, aiming to secure funding for the next fiveโค years. He estimates a monthly corpus of โน50,000 โwould allow the โคpress to continue publishing anti-caste literature without constant budgetary concerns.
Asโข of Saturday, โthe campaign had receivedโ only 85 orders against a target of 1,200. Maitreya notes the disparity between the success of books on caste published by mainstream, Savarna-ownedโ publishers and the โstruggles faced by Panther’sโ Paw, attributing thisโ to the pervasive influence โคof โcaste โand the disproportionate effort required for โขDalits to achieve recognition.