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Some names in the publishing world are not just the identity of a business, they tell the story of an entire era. Respected Narendra Kumar Verma ji was one such name, who expanded the world of books by giving platform to new writers and enriched the society through literature.

Respected Narendra Kumar Verma will always be remembered as the founder-guide of Diamond Books and Chairman of Diamond Group. They have become an integral part of the reading habit of an entire generation. What he created is not just a commercial empire, but an entire world of stories, characters and voices that reaches millions of homes in India. On July 10, at the age of seventy-seven, he merged into the five elements and left for his last journey. Many personalities associated with literature, publishing, education and social fields paid tribute to him in the prayer meeting and life celebration organized at India Habitat Center in New Delhi on 13th July. He is no longer physically among us, but Diamond Books and Grihalakshmi will always try to follow the path shown by him. This article is an attempt to capture his leadership journey, Diamond’s cultural impact and those aspects of his personality that have been repeatedly recalled by writers, colleagues, staff and family.

From commerce to literature

Graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce in 1968. When he completed his studies as a commerce student, no one would have guessed that later on he would become such a great patron and promoter of Hindi literature. His deep connection with Hindi literature became possible through the establishment of Hindi Book Center in Delhi and from here a commerce student became a true lover of Hindi literature. His first literary experience started from the World Hindi Conference in Nagpur and then via Mauritius, he reached every place where Hindi was propagated. He started liking visiting such places where Hindi literature was discussed. From here a deep love for Hindi was born within him and gradually he started publishing popular literature in Hindi.

business based on relationships

The Diamond Group has its roots in the family book business of pre-partition Multan. After Partition, the family settled in Delhi and set up a book business afresh amidst extremely adverse circumstances. According to the company’s official history, Diamond Books was formally established in the year 1970. This beginning was not just a business event, it was a proof of his ability to recognize opportunities amidst limited resources and remain steadfast, which later became the hallmark of his leadership. Along with his younger brother Gulshan Rai, he gave a new direction to the Diamond Publishing Group and instead of keeping the organization merely a commercial unit, he incorporated human culture in it. Under his leadership, Diamond did not limit itself to just being a book publisher.

the vast world of languages

Diamond’s catalog today is said to extend to approximately ten thousand titles and to other Indian languages ​​including Hindi and English, which includes books in multiple languages ​​such as Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese, Odia, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Nepali and Manipuri along with more than five thousand Hindi and two thousand seven hundred English titles. This diversity is not limited to any one literary identity but extends to many subjects like fiction, non-fiction literature, religion, health, culture, sports, humor, astrology and yoga. There was a time when in the Indian publishing world, English was considered the domain of prestige and other Indian languages ​​including Hindi were considered merely the domain of quantity. It was his foresight that he saw India’s linguistic diversity not as a limitation but as a strength and with the help of that strength he took Diamond to every linguistic region of the country.

Chacha Chaudhary’s magic

Diamond Comics was established in the year 1978. Diamond provided regular book format, wide printing and wide distribution to characters like Chacha Chaudhary, Pinky, Billu, Raman and Smtji, created by cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma. In 1981, Chacha Chaudhary reached a huge readership in the independent Chitrakatha format and later became a memory of Indian childhood. Chacha Chaudhary had no supernatural powers, only a red turban, a stick and a brain that was said to be faster than a computer. Sabu was with him, Mahabali who came from the planet Jupiter. This pairing of intelligence and strength remained part of the imagination of Indian children for decades. Pinky was that girl whose attempts to help often created new troubles. Billu was the one whose stories were mixed with friendship, cricket and mischief. Apart from these, characters like Motu Patlu, Fouladi Singh, Raman, Shrimatiji and Rajan Iqbal made Diamond Comics the most colorful identity of Indian newsstands. In the year 2023, Election Commission of India and Pran Comics prepared a special publication to make young voters aware through these characters.

bridge made of magazines

Apart from books and comics, Diamond created diverse reader communities through magazines, while ‘Grihalakshmi’ established a deep connection with Hindi-speaking women readers by weaving together family, food, health, relationships and social awareness. ‘Cricket Today’ created its own identity among sports lovers, especially among young readers, while magazines like Sadhna Path and Sahitya Vimarsh brought together readers associated with spirituality and literature on one platform. These magazines later expanded into websites, articles, video content, social media, and events, moving beyond a monthly issue to become an ongoing digital community.

Journey from print to digital

The journey of their publishing has gone through many technological phases, from the era of hand editing and printed catalogs to computer-based design, organized marketing and e-commerce. Under his leadership, Diamond also ventured into new areas like publishing along with e-books, audiobooks, YouTube and social media publishing. This transition was not as simple as launching a website; it required understanding new issues such as copyright, digital rights, search systems, data, and immediate reader feedback. This digital era of Diamond can be called a new form of its old distribution thinking.

support for new writers

The new author has no record of sales, no old line of readers, only a manuscript, a few words and the belief that his story should reach the world. Respected Narendra Kumar Verma ji was recognized as a publisher who saw possibilities in this uncertainty. The saga of writer Lima Dhar is the most emotional example of this. She initially received several rejections for her first story book, Till We Meet Again, then received seven publishing offers within five weeks. She was about to sign a contract with a reputed publishing house in Mumbai when respected Narendra Kumar Verma ji spoke on telephone. There was a discussion between the two for about half an hour and Lima changed his decision. Kevin Missel was just fourteen years old when he wrote Damian Black: The Battle of the Lost Ages. Diamond took this teenager’s manuscript seriously and published it in 2011, which was released by the then Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Author Deepak Yadav’s first book, Walking With You, was also published by Diamond in 2013, when he was still in his teens. This working style shows that giving opportunity did not only mean publishing the first book, it also meant giving confidence to the author to continue writing.

relationships based on trust

Former Union Minister and litterateur Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank described him as not just a publisher but an integral member of the family, a loving parent and well-wisher. He recalled that Verma ji published many of his books and continuously inspired him for every new creation. Honorable Kiran Bedi also remembered him as a close friend and well-wisher.

affinity with osho

Osho’s valuable literature is published exclusively by Diamond Books, and reaches readers not only in Hindi and English, but also in many other Indian languages. Making this literature to spirituality and deep thinking available to a wide readership is a proof of the foresight of respected Narendra Kumar Verma, in which literature is not only a means of entertainment but also a medium of expansion of thoughts and consciousness. But what was even more important was that the relationships he formed with every writer and thinker were not just professional but were always emotional and intimate. This intimacy is the characteristic of his personality which established him as a true companion and friend, more than just a publisher.

Person, Publisher and Father

Shri Narendra Kumar Verma’s personality was equally bright in many roles. He will always be remembered as a good man, a skilled publisher, an astute editor, a strong father, a loving father-in-law and a doting grandfather. The family remembers him as a person who adopted his daughter-in-law not as an outsider in the new house, but as a daughter. He was extremely loving as a husband, father, father-in-law and grandfather. His home was always open to the public and the achievements of his family members gave him as much joy as his own successes.

the legacy that remains

Diamond Books, Grihalakshmi and Cricket Today now stand with the responsibility of taking that legacy forward, because just as the last page is never the last in the world of publishing, similarly the saga of respected Narendra Kumar Verma will also continue to grow with each new reader and each new writer. He is gone, but his voice, his faith and his love will always live on in every page of Diamond.