It’s all around us, yet we pretend not to see it. Erotica. You can’t live with it, you can’t live without it. Most of all, there’s no hiding from it. Bookstores have entire shelves dedicated to the genre. Everyone gives it a sideward glance while pretending to browse through the nearest section. But no one wants to be seen there.
Karunakara M, store manager, Blossom Book House, says, “We shifted the section to the last aisle so that people feel more comfortable when looking through the books.”
The word sex might still be taboo, but the books flying off the shelves tell a different story. “People are interested in books with illustrations.
Ann Hooper’s
Kamasutra is very popular. Many versions of the Kamasutra are bought as gifts too,” says Kishore, an employee with Crossword. He displays a collector’s edition of the book, priced at Rs12,000. The Playboy 50th anniversary edition too is a preferred gift, according to Karunakara: “The book is also preferred by a lot of designers and artists.”
Both vouch for the sales of the Letters to Penthouse series, known for its raunchy descriptions, as a favourite buy among teenagers. The market, no doubt, is definitely opening its cache of books on erotica in keeping with readers’ demands.
“It is mostly books by authors from the West that are in demand. Then there are a few people who buy How-To books as well. Erotica accounts for about 20 to 30 per cent of sales every month,” says Karunakara.
Vinay Anchan, sales manager, Harper Collins, Bangalore, agrees that a trend is emerging: “The market is very big for such books. Imported editions sell very well.” The illustrated versions of Vatsyayana’s
Kamasutra are myriad. And Dr Vikram Prabhu, psychiatrist, Sagar Hospitals, says the book offers one of the most scientific and authoritative takes on sex. “One should look to history and Indian architecture where it is most reflected. It shows what our sexual mores were.” But, according to Dr Prabhu, India remains a sexually repressed country, “for all the pelvic thrusting shown in the movies”.
“It is all about acceptance and perspective. It is time people asked themselves if they are becoming too rigid in their thinking today. The fact that people take precautions for H1N1 more than HIV says it all,” he says.
But old habits die hard, and so does the conditioning of the mind. Karunakara says most customers avoid eye contact when bringing Erotics to the cash counter: “They are shy about it and probably are afraid of being perceived a certain way if they are seen buying books from the section.”
What can be perceived as Erotica is subjective, says Dr Prabhu. Erotica is in no way pornography, he clarifies. “And children can be introduced to sex manuals once past the age of 15. It is the age when they are curious and being informed is very important,” he adds.
