28.02.22 - Auroville Birthday Special - Emergence Auroville publishes its first book today

 

Dear fellow-Aurovilians,

I am happy to inform you that today on Auroville's 54th birthday, the first book of Emergence Auroville - a  small book publication and distribution unit I started some three years ago, has been published. I started this unit when the responsibility for the distribution of  'Dear Aurovilian - Inspiration from Karan Singh's Auroville Collaboration' - a book I had the honour and privilege to work on came upon me. 

About the book - It is a Gujarati transcription of Rabindranath Tagore's immortal poetic work Gitanjali. It has all the 103 poems in English which Tagore himself transcribed from original Bengali.  Against each English poetic verse, its Gujarati poetic transcription (not translation) is provided. I have received very high remarks about the quality of Gujarati transcription. The book precedes with transcriber's note,, an article by Nolini Kanta Gupta on Tagore and extracts from an introductory article by Anurag Banerjee (Founder, Overman Foundation, Kolkata)  to the book “The Rainbow Bridge: A Comparative Study of Tagore and Sri Aurobindo” authored by GB member Goutam Ghosal. The book has 230 pages. There are also a few photos. 

A sketch of Rabindranath Tagore by the Mother

About Gitanjali - The book has a universal appeal. Numerous men and women of culture, of learning and literature read it daily, just like numerous disciples of Sri Aurobindo read Savitri or the Prayers and Meditations of the Mother. During a poetry reading programme in England one evening, when Tagore himself read some of these poems, the audience listened with rapt attention and then... nothing. Each one in the audience stood up and left silently. Tagore felt that maybe the poems were not very appealing. From the next day onward, he started receiving numerous letters from people who were in the audience telling him how deeply they were touched that they were unable to respond in applause or any other form of external expression at the end of the programme. I hardly need to mention that it is this book - Gitanjali - which received Nobel Prize for literature. 

About the transcriber  - Manohar Desai is a retired professor of English based in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. He is a life-long lover of Gitanjali. I came in touch with him because for nearly two decades he used send his offerings / donations to LFAU occasionally.  For many years I knew him only as one more devotee and a disciple and a well-wisher of Aurovillle. However, about 3 years ago, he started sharing with me his literary works, chiefly his poems in Gujarati. I liked those poems very much and saw much value in them to serve and enrich the Gujarati literature and inspire the readers. Hence, I offered to publish them from  Auroville. He was delighted and touched by my offer. 

Transcreation of Tagore's Gitanjali is the first book from him. I intend to publish another book of his poems in due course.

Opinion on the book by a Gitanjali scholar

                                                        Shailesh Parekh, Ahmedabad

“I have gone through a few poems and have found them to be an expression of someone who has a good command over Gujarati language, who is in love with Tagore and his poems of Gitanjali. This translation is a  મુક્ત ભાવાનુવાદ (free transcription) done with dedication and admiration for the poet. This is Gujarati verse form of English prose of Tagore, which in turn is a transcreation of Bangla verse. All Gujarati રવીન્દ્ર અનુરાગીs (lovers of Rabindranath literature)  will welcome this new Gujarati transcreation, which will be a new addition to more than 10 already existing.” - Shailesh Parekh (a known scholar on Rabindranath Tagore from Ahmedabad)

I intend to organize a small book release function in Auroville sometime in March.

Motto of Emergence Auroville 

"Books on Auroville and things Auroville stands for"

The other day, I quickly created a Wordpress blog on Emergence Auroville but with more titles coming, I intend to create a sophisticated  website.

Email - emergence@auroville.org.in

If you have written a book which you think is related to Auroville or things Auroville stands for, you are invited to submit a summary and then, on request, the manuscript.

Long and glorious life to Emergence Auroville! May it  become an international venture at the service of Auroville vision, Auroville spirit, Auroville ideals, Auroville's aspirations throughout the world like Oxford, HarperCollins, Bloomsbury and such other international publishers are. 

All collaborations for the growth of Emergence Auroville are welcome. Let us publish and distribute high quality books that fill the world with Auroville spirit, Auroville vision and dream.