New Delhi: Waiting at a bus bay, Renu and Priya are engrossed in a book. As they mumble softly in English, the teenagers spot a bus approaching, and quickly put the book inside the bag.
Residents of a small town, Saharanpur, in Uttar Pradesh, they have come to the capital Delhi to appear for a job interview.
The book is Rapidex English Speaking Course, and it has helped numerous people in small towns and villages to converse in English and thus better their job prospects.
“We have sold over 10 billion copies since its launch,” said owner and publisher Ramesh Gupta. The family-owned company was launched in 1936 under the brand name Dehati Pustak Bhandar and published general books.
The company was divided and named Pustak Mahal in 1976. When it was divided yet again in 2012, Gupta named his branch PM Publications and took hold of the Hindi to English version of Rapidex. His three brothers together hold the rights for 15 other languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Assamese, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Marathi.
What gave him the idea to come up with Rapidex?
“During the 1970s, quite a few English learning books had come to the market,” Gupta said. “As publishers of books on diverse subjects, including cookery, short stories and painting, we too decided to explore the subject.”
The family commissioned a team to build up content for those who had not gone to English-medium schools. It took them four years to develop the subject matter.
The first edition of Rapidex was launched in 1976 with a print run of 3,000 copies. “Costing Rs18 (Dh1), it was offered to distributors and booksellers on the basis that if the book was not sold, it could be returned to us. But to our surprise, it showed good results and was sold out within weeks. Subsequently, the book was re-printed, with feedback from readers. By the early 80s, sales rose to 70,000 copies a year,” Gupta said.
The ‘aha’ moment for the company came in 1983 when it roped in Kapil Dev, who had just won the cricket World Cup. As brand ambassador, the Haryana-born all-rounder with a rustic accent sent sales of the book soaring. The cricket icon charmed the hearts of millions, who shed their inhibitions and complexities and learnt to converse in English.
”Those days celebrities endorsed FMCG [fast moving consumer goods] products. It was the first, and I guess, the only time that a book has been advertised in print and electronic media,” Gupta’s son, Nipun, said.
In an interview Kapil Dev had said that a board official’s remark that he is India’s captain, but cannot speak English, had deeply hurt him.
“What had captaincy to do with speaking English?” the cricket icon recalled, adding, “It made me determined to make my point in English!” It took time, but he did make a point, surprising everyone by speaking fluently in English.
The celebrity made no bones about the fact that he was chosen by Pustak Mahal because of the language drawback. He soon realised that his fans were inspired by him to learn a new language. “I was not trying to become a role model for learning English. But after some time, it became an effort from my side too. I realised I had to address media from different countries and must know proper English if I wanted to put across my views accurately,” he said.
Rapidly, Rapidex became a national bestseller. It has remained so for over four decades — instilling confidence in youngsters from all over the country. Every three to four years, a revised edition is published.
Costing Rs235, along with a CD that helps with pronunciations, the 400-plus pages promise to teach English in 60 days. Interestingly, since the last 41 years, the book’s jacket has remained the same. “Some of the pictures on the cover are of our family members,” Nipun said. “The book has taught English to millions of students, job-seekers and housewives, and educational institutions continue to gift copies to students for wins in competitions.
“We heard that during the Commonwealth Games in 2010, many taxi drivers purchased CDs for quick learning to converse with foreign travellers,” said Nipun.
Rapidex has been given prominence in various Bollywood films such as Hindi Medium, Tashan and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara. Rapidex has become an enviable brand that no longer requires promotion.
