SIVAKASI WEATHER
A giant winner

07-10-2015
7th October 2015

- The Hindu

A giant winner

A winner by a mile, at least from the point of view of visitors to the recent exhibition of prize-winning printed materials held recently in the city in connection with the Awards Function for the annual all-India printing excellence contest, was a giant Bhagavad Gita produced by Srinivas Fine Arts of Sivakasi. This 28.5 cm by 35.8cm, 672-page mega edition weighs 6 kg when packed with its accompaniments. It has been printed on a special, thick eco-friendly paper from Sweden using special eco-friendly vegetable inks from Japan that will ensure neither deterioration of the book nor fading of its text for a “guaranteed” 250 years.

Magnificently bound in soft leather with lettering and design scribed with gold foil that will not deteriorate, the book contains on each page beautifully laid-out text in Sanskrit with translation in English and Hindi. The 18 chapters of text comprising all 700 verses of the Gita is supplemented with reproductions of 150 paintings by G.L.N. Sinha, in the “Chitra Sutra of Vishnudarmottara Purana tradition”. The fore-edges of the pages have been gilded in gold and the golden metal corners of the cover boards enhance the classiness of the publication.

The book comes in a solid antique-looking box with artistic embossing and foiling, embellished with Swarovski crystals. The box is supplied with a stylised metal lock. And to make this mega edition easy to read, it comes with an antique-styled wooden reading stand that is itself a masterpiece in design and execution. It can be folded and rotated to suit the reader’s comfort. The stand rests on smooth, carved metal legs. A laser cut metal book-marker with a delicate peacock feather design and a tassel accompaniment comes with the book.

The first copy was gifted last April to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I wonder how many of this book priced at Rs. 38,750 he has gifted to leaders around the world. Certainly it is proving to be a gift many of the super-rich like to present, for the first edition, I am told, has been sold out and a second edition has been printed.

From the mega to the mini is the motto of Srinivas Fine Arts which has also produced a mini Gita of size 4.5 x 6 cm comprising 848 pages. With text in Sanskrit and English, and black-and-white drawings, this miniature edition is every bit a noteworthy contrast.


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