Mangaluru :

Keen to learn about printing and publishing history of the state? Want to know more about first paper Mangaluru Samachara published in the state? Striving to answer this and other related questions is the Kannada Book Authority with its much vaunted project Kannada Pusthaka Samskruthi: Pustakodhyama Charithre, a book in three volumes that will run in to estimated 1,800 pages or 600 pages per volume, according to its chairperson Vasundhara Bhupathi.

With the authority completing 25-years next year, Vasundhara told reporters here that this book will be a perfect gift to all the bibliophiles to cherish the history of the printed work in an era of e-books. The authority has set up a five-member committee comprising M H Krishnaiah, Apparao Akkodi, A V Navada, Ramakanth Joshi and Sujnana Murthy that will document facts about the book with help of regional committees and PhD scholars in state universities.

While one volume will look at books published in 19th Century, the other two volumes will trace history of publishing and printing in Karnataka in subsequent two centuries. Approximating that the work could take the better part of one-year, Vasundhara said the authority is working out the project cost and will approach the state government for funds. “We have set aside a portion of our annual grants to chalk out the working details for this ambitious project,” she said.

Navada, committee member said documentation of any subject is need of the hour. A folklorist of repute, Navada said lot of rich folklore of the state and even the country has been lost to posterity for lack of documentation. “The state has a rich history in the world of publishing starting with Mangaluru Samachara and it is time that this history is captured in the form of a compendium for the future,” he said. The authority will also make available the book in e-format, he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Mangalore News / by Jaideep Shenoy / TNN / November 21st, 2017