Limca record set; 141 books released

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the heavy downpour partially robbed the event of its grandeur, the jumbo book release function  organised by the State Language Institute at the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan on Monday evening turned out to be a memorable milestone in the UDF Government’s 100-day action plan. The formal intimation regarding the entry of the event into the Limca Book of Guinness Records reached the Institute Director M R Thampan, even as the function was underway.   A total of 141 books were published in the 100 days since the action plan was announced by the Oommen Chandy Government. The non-fiction and reference books cover a wide range of subjects from music, art, literature, philosophy, and cinema to folk art, science, agriculture and technology.   The Chief Minister, who inaugurated the function, said that this was a proud moment for the Malayalee citizens. He congratulated the Institute and its director for achieving the ambitious target. Culture Minister K C Joseph added that the event will be remembered as a major reference point in the evolution of Malayalam into a classical language.   Addressing the gathering, poet O N V Kurup pointed out that for people to earn the dignity of cultured existence, it was important to cultivate a reverence towards their mother tongue. “Gandhiji had a signature in Hindi as well as in English. It was a declaration to the world that he had a mother tongue which he held dear to his heart. The colonial rule has robbed us of the pride in our language and culture and it is high time that we shed such false notions,” he said. The poet remembered being taken to a book store in Germany where Nobel laureate Herman Hesse had worked as store keeper. He later released the new edition of ‘Atmopadeshashatakam’, the interpretation of Sri Narayana Guru’s preachings authored by K Sreenivasan.   The other books released include, ‘Osho - Avabodhathinte Theerthadakan’ by Chempoor Sukumaran Nair, ‘Poonthanam - Patavum Patanavum’ by P Soman, ‘Keralatyhile Kaivelakal’ by S Haripriya, ‘Paniya Bhasha Nighandu’ by P G Padmini and ‘Malayala Bhasha Nighandu’ by Vattaparamabil Gopinatha Pillai. Some of the books such as ‘Kathakaliyile Manodharmangal’ by Chavara Appukkuttan Pillai have been reprinted with more detailed prefaces and annexures added to the original.  The event, originally planned to be held in the open air auditorium where all the 141 books could be released at the same time, had to be moved indoors to the Koothambalam at the last minute owing to the heavy rainfall. The Rabindra Sangeeta Sandhya presented by Hindustani vocalist Abhradita Banerjee and troupe, which followed the release function, served to lift the watered down spirits of the gathering.