Tired.
I suppose I was tired.
Had just finished a feature film and was overwhelmed by talk of distribution, strategies, market forces, bottom lines.
Tired and constricted. 

Tired of a largely unquestioned idea about money being the only metric of success.
And I found myself in Calcutta. Quite by chance. Coffee with old friends at Seagull. With people whom I had known practically my whole life. 

Safe.
But different. 

They looked happy. They were engaged with the world. They did things because an idea moved them. They did not seem to look at a feasibility study before they made a decision. They jumped. And then looked around for a parachute. Because it seemed like a fantastic idea at the time. 

It seemed mad. And amazing. 

And they were turning 40. Divisible by five. Banded together. Their fates intertwined, professional and personal. And I thought, this is a good room to be in. 

And making a film, learning more about their work and lives, and the world they build, was a wonderful place to spend some time. 

And perhaps be able to breathe again. 

And so we spoke to some of the lives Seagull had touched and asked for their insight. This took us from Calcutta, Bombay, Delhi, Jaipur, to Seattle, San Fransisco, Orange County, Chicago and New York.

We returned to try and make a coherent film of all these conversations. And we made seven.
Here’s one of them.

— Pushan Kripalani, director of 'Of the Book and Other Stories'

Authors, booksellers, and artists in India and abroad reflect on their role in the theatre of publishing where hesitant, unconventional ideas find their place on the page. The film also features interviews with the Seagull team, including founder Naveen Kishore who shares fragments of his long, successful journey from theatre-lighting designer to publisher. Of the Book and Other Stories explores how Seagull Books remains at home in Kolkata while being a publisher for and of the world.

The inaugural screening will be held in Bangalore on July 7. The first round of screenings will take place in India in Delhi, Mumbai, Cuttack, and Bhubaneswar, and in the US in Seattle and Texas.