They had no experience in the publishing industry and decided to come out with 20,000 copies.
"Many called us idiots. Nobody comes out with more than 2,000 or 3,000 copies initially. But we were sold out in six months and had to print another 20,000 copies. Maybe the novelty of the idea attracted people. It was word-of-mouth publicity," says Shobha.
Marketing the first series was another problem. "It was terrible experience," she recalls.
"No store in India was familiar with such a product. They didn't know where to place it. They didn't know whether to sell it as a book or an audio cassette. I still remember carrying Karadi Tales in my bag and going from store to store, asking them to keep it for a month to see how people would react."
Nobody was willing to take it then. Now, they keep asking me for more sets."
They had no experience in the publishing industry and decided to come out with 20,000 copies.