about us

Since its inception in 1978, Roli Books has been synonymous with pathbreaking and quality publishing. Our decision to focus on art books was led by the fact that there was a vacuum in scholarly books with cutting edge visuals and design in India. Over four decades later we stay true to our origins, continuing to be market leaders in art and illustrated books in India. We continue to be inspired by our country’s incredibly rich past and our catalogue boasts the greatest talents in various fields as our collaborators.

Along the way innovation and the ability to tailor our list to an evolving market and readership has made our books relevant and in print even years after they were first published. A few notables, such as Saris of India, Made for Maharajas: A Design Diary of Princely India, Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, the Then and Now Series, Tiffin: 500 Authentic Recipes Celebrating India’s Regional Cuisine, Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer, I Too Had a Dream – the autobiography of Dr. Verghese Kurien, When a Tree Shook Delhi on the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984 and The Steel Frame: A History of the Indian Administrative Service, are incredible market successes that also found a home amongst the best publishers and bookshops across the world; but as importantly they are cornerstones of India’s published history and culture, used by many to understand the country better.

Successfully straddling tradition and modernity, our books are based on scholarship yet accessible to a wide, non-specialist readership.

Roli is the only Indian publisher to own a chain of bookshops, CMYK, in over six locations in the country, including the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai. Dedicated to art and illustrated books, CMYK has the largest collection of illustrated books from leading publishers such as Thames & Hudson, Phaidon, Abrams, V&A, MoMA, Steidl who Roli distributes exclusively in South Asia.

By choosing to remain a certain size, we have the privilege of being guided by our passions – an idea that binds our small but dedicated team. We are committed to telling stories, to quality, to remain independent and to being the custodians of culture. Thank you to all the authors, photographers, artists and creative minds who continue to trust us with communicating their vision. And thank you booklovers and dear readers… We need more of you more than ever!

Priya and Kapil Kapoor