New Book Launched
UG Says...

Publisher:
Indus Source Books
Journey of Sonavi Desai of Indus Source which led to publishing of the Book

I did not know much about UG until Arun Babani walked into my office sometime in mid-January 2009 to buy some books. I had heard of UG but had read nothing about him. Arun and I got talking and he mentioned that he had compiled a small gift book of UG quotations and asked whether I would like to publish it. He sent me a copy of the book the same day. At that time I was very busy with two books that were to be released in March/April. I kept the UG book on my desk, with the intention of considering it later.

However, every time I took a break from working, my eyes would fall on it. The face on the cover was strangely compelling. Finally, a few days later I opened it and went through the quotations. My reactions were mixed - I was sometimes confused, sometimes indignant, some quotes seemed totally incomprehensible, and some made me laugh at their sheer frankness and irreverence. But the thought that made me decide to go ahead with the publication was the underlying brutal honesty. I would turn a page and Boom! It was as though something had jumped out and punched me in the eye. There was something appealing about this almost radical expression of ideas. I phoned Arun and told him I would publish it sometime in the second half of 2009. He requested me to release it on 22 March. We were already in February by then and it seemed impossible. The book as it existed was small, about 80 pages; I wanted at least 200. I also needed to be able to get the other books out of my head and devote myself to this one. I could only promise to try my best.

But after that things seemed to just flow. Arun emailed me another file of quotations. I expressed a desire to include photos and within days I got a cd from Chandrashekarji. An updated Foreword from Mahesh Bhatt and an Introduction from Mukunda Rao arrived almost immediately on request. I began reading The Other Side of Belief, which is so beautifully written. And very soon, the ideas for the format developed and crystallized. I had to then turn to a very important player in this whole process - my printer. Could he give me copies by 22 March? He promised me at least 50 copies for the launch. (To his credit, I received 200 copies at 8.00 p.m. on 21 March!)

And so began a lot of feverish activity. Weekends were forgotten. Ideas were transformed into computer images, sometimes discarded or altered. Dummies, proofs, corrections. The cover was surprisingly easy. When I went through Chandrashekharji's cd and came across this particular photo, there were no second thoughts. It was the one - a very intense, beautiful picture. The back cover and quote also fell into place instantly.

The book was released in Bangalore on 22 March by Mahesh Bhatt at Chandrashekharji's house. I think this book will be very useful to those who want to get a glimpse of what UG was as well as to those who knew him. As a publisher of books on spirituality and philosophy, I see my role as a medium to present diverse points of view and traditions to help readers decide their own path in the journey of life. To quote UG: "Only if you reject all the other paths can you discover your own."