Assamese book on way to script world record

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Jan 31: 'Agnisikha', an Assamese book comprising a collection of articles written by Arun Goswami from 1987 to 2013 and edited by Prati Goswami, is on way to get a berth in the Guinness Book of World Records. Talking to The Sentinel, Goswami said: "The process on the part of the authority for the verification for inclusion of the book in the Guinness Book of World Records is underway. The book, published by Chandra Prakashan in 2013, is a collection of 2,300 of my 5,000 articles. The book contains 10,160 pages. According to information with us, it's the longest ever collection of articles in the world till date. The earlier longest book of the world was written by Agatha Krishti with a total of 4,032 pages. It's a collection of short stories and articles. However, my book hasn't got marketing and publicity it deserves. The book was released in 2013 by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and eminent writers Arabinda Shukla and Amar Mitra. They appreciated the work and the initiative. Then Congress leader Himanta Bishwa Sarma did assure us of projecting the book to the textbook selection committee of the state to use it as a reference book in colleges and other educatiol institutions. The assurance is yet to be translated into reality. The government has also not taken any initiative in this regard. The outcome is such that people don't know the book and its specific features which can be used by the students of literature. I am very happy that my book hasn't got its due importance, but  an intertiol agency like Guinness Book of World Records is going to accord it the importance is deserves."

Publisher Rajesh Sarma said: "We have published an Assamese book which is the longest book of the world. However, a number of publishers have started to comment against us questioning the authenticity of the book. As the book has more 10,000 pages, it is difficult to read it. We have, therefore, requested scientist Uddhab Bharali to make a stand for the same. Accordingly, he has designed a stand that makes it easier to read the book. The cost of the book is Rs 60,000 a copy. We have reduced the price to Rs 40,000. We have printed 1,000 copies first, of which around 100 copies have been sold. However, the district libraries of the state have not selected the book to keep it as the executive meeting of textbook selection committee has not been conducted during these years. A copy of the book, which we have given to the Guwahati District Library to showcase, is available in the library. It is pathetic that though we have tried to focus the Assamese language and Assamese resources in front of the entire world, due to negligence and negative campaign by some people, the book has not got the fame it deserves."