Kozhikode (Kerala) [India], January 26 : Malayalam translation of poet-diplomat Abhay K's bestselling book, titled, 'Nalanda: How it Changed the World', was launched at the prestigious Kerala Literature Festival today by the well-known Malayalam writer Benyamin.
Published by DC Books, the Malayalam translation of Nalanda, done by Purna Krishnan, brings the authentic history of the Nalanda Mahavihara to the Malayalam readers in India and across the world.
The book launch was preceded by a stimulating discussion on Nalanda: Buddhism, dissent and debate, between author Abhay K and Hindustan Times book editor Manjula Narayan at the festival in Kozhikode.
'Nalanda: How it Changed the World' has already been translated and published into Hindi by Penguin Swadesh and is being translated into Gujarati, Telugu, Marathi, Polish and Spanish.
The book traces the origin of the idea of a university and the standard courtyard architecture plan of the modern universities, including the quads and courts of Oxford and Cambridge, to Nalanda. It also argues that Nalanda also promoted book culture and gave the world the very first printed book,i.e. The Diamond Sutra, which is a part of the Prajna Paramita Sutras of the Buddhists.
Well-known historian William Dalrymple writes, "Abhay K has written a wonderfully accessible introduction to early India's most important centre of philosophy and learning, the great monastery, university of Nalanda. Setting his story within a seductively sketched panorama of the golden age of early Buddhism, Abhay celebrates Nalanda's dazzling libraries, scholars, teachings, doctrines and finally, its global influence. Sympathetic, scholarly and poetic, Abhay K's Nalanda fills an important gap and deserves to be widely read."
Author and MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, says, "Even as he resurrects Nalanda from the embers of history, Abhay K does not simply eulogise it; instead, he transforms this wellspring of scholastic endeavour into an emblem of humankind's quest for knowledge. In my view, Abhay K's Nalanda, stunning and scholarly, is an outstanding starting point."
Abhay K is an award-winning author of several books, the latest among them, The Alphabets of Africa, which is an ode to a continent that continues to define the human journey. He has recently been awarded the Sarojini Naidu Award for Poetry for his lyrical and singable translation of Sri Hanuman Chalisa into English.