HarperCollins India announces publication of The Book of Bihari Literature
NEW DELHI, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On Bihar Day, HarperCollins India announces publication of Bihari literature book, edited by the poet-diplomat Abhay K., in October 2022.
About the book
Bihar has a long history dating back to the founding of the Mahajanapada (Great Kingdom) of Magadha in southern Bihar with its capital at Rajgriha, now Rajgir, and later at Pataliputra, now Patna. Over the centuries, several dynasties ruled Magadha and gave rise to two of the india great empires – the Maurya and Gupta empires. Both of these empires witnessed great advancements in mathematics, astronomy, literature, philosophy, science, statecraft, and the emergence of new religions such as Buddhism and Jainism.
Bihari literature book is the very first attempt to present an overview of the rich world of Bihari literature in English translation among the many languages spoken in Bihar. Many of these works have been translated for the first time, making them accessible to the English-speaking world.
Bihari literature, spanning two millennia, consists of literary works produced in various languages spoken in Bihar, such as Magahi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Angika, Bajjika, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, English and classical languages such as Sanskrit and Pali.
Presenting parts of
Mutta, Sumangalmata, Kautilya, Vatsyayna, Sarhapa, Vidyapati, Abdul-Qādir Bēdil, Dean Mahomed, Mahendar MisirBhikhari Thakur, Raghuver Narayan, Heera DomAcharya Shivpujan Sahay, Rambriksh Benipuri, Bedil Azimabadi, Hari Mohan JhaRamdhari Singh Dinkar, Nagarjun, Phanishwar Nath Renu, Surendra Mohan Prasad, Rameshwar Singh Kashyap, Mathura Prasad Naveen, Surendra Prasad Tarun, Rajkamal Chaudhary, Kalam HaidariThe bed, Ravindra KumarR.Ishari Arshad, Harishchandra PriyadarshiPandey Surendr, Mithilesh, Chandra Mohan Pradhan, Mridula Sinha, Shamoil AhmadRamdhari Singh Diwakar, Usha Kiran Khan, Alok Dhanwa, Subhash Chandra Yadav, Hussain Ul HaqueShawal, Aniruddha Prasad Vimal, Abdus Samad, Prem Kumar ManiAshok, Nagendra Sharma Bandhu, Arun KamalNarayanji, Avdhesh PreetVibha Rani, Anamika, Savita Singh, Ashwani Kumar, Amitava Kumar, Dhananjay ShrotriyaArun Harliwal, Tabish Khair, Kumar MukulRatneshwar, Kiran Kumari Sharma, Kavita, Pankhuri Sinha and Abhay K.
Translated by
Pandita Vairocanaraksita, Mangal MurtyRam Bhagwan Singh, NC Sinha, Nalini TanejaDr Syed Sarawar Hussain, Manisha Chaudhrydoctor Rakhshanda Jalil, Vidyanand Jha, Huma Mirza, Asif Jalal, Jay Ram SinghVivek Perampuria, Chaitali PandyaAbhay K., Dr. Bindu Sing, Gautam Choubey, Medha Singh, Abhay Kumar, Akanksha Garg and Nasim Fekrat.
Speaking on the occasion, the book’s editor, Abhay K., said: ”Bihari literature book includes literary works from eleven Bihar languages, spanning over three millennia. It is for the first time that the literature of so many languages of Bihar is made available in English translation. I am delighted to share on Bihar Day that the book is published by HarperCollins India which is known for publishing quality and memorable books. Editing this book has been a journey back to my roots in Bihar. I was only able to include a very small fraction of Bihar’s literary treasures in it due to various constraints. I hope to see more translations of Bihari literature published in the years to come.“
Prema GovindanCommissioning Editor at HarperCollins India, says: “Bihar has a long and checkered past, with an astonishing list of poets, philosophers, thinkers and storytellers cataloging its ups and downs. We are honored to publish Abhay K.’s delightful anthology of works of Bihari literature. With this book, we hope to introduce our readers to the diversity of thought and brilliance of writing that Bihar has offered us over the millennia.”
About the editor
Abhay K. (b. 1980) is from Nalanda, Bihar, and is the author of ten books of poetry. His poems have appeared in over a hundred literary journals, including Salzburg Poetry Review and Asian Literary Review. His “Earth Anthem” has been translated into over 150 languages. He received the 2013 SAARC Literary Prize and was invited to register his poems at the Library of Congress, washington d.c.in 2018. His translations of Kalidasa Meghadouta and Ritusamhara Sanskrit won the KLF Poetry Book of the Year 2020-2021 award.
About HarperCollins Editors India
HarperCollins Editors India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Editors. HarperCollins India publishes some of the best writers from the Indian subcontinent and around the world, releasing around 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalog of over 2,000 titles spread across 10 editions. Its authors have won almost all major literary awards including Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Prize, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Prize, Publishing Next Prize , the Tata Literature Live Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Award, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Prabha Khaitan Woman’s Voice Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India has received the Publisher of the Year award four times: at Publishing Next in 2015 and at Tata Literature Live! in 2016, 2018 and 2021. HarperCollins India also represents some of the best publishers in the world including Egmont, Oneworld, Harvard University Press, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet.
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SOURCE HarperCollins Publishers India
