The Great Marathi

Changing political leaders and agendas didn’t leave the project untouched. The Vishwakosh project office today wears a grim look. The show is left with only a dozen-strong team.

‘‘When I went through a stack of government resolutions (GRs) since 1960, I was shocked to see that GRs are issued from the Mantralaya to spray insecticide on library books and clear a Rs 200 courier bill,’’ says Jichkar.

The project was led by Tarkateertha Joshi till his death in 1997 and later by late M P Rege and writer-critic R G Jadhav. It has so far produced more than 19000 printed pages spread over 16 volumes, though the 17th volume was gathering dust in the press until recently. Most of the Vishwakosh volumes are out of print and the project had no budget to reprint them though there has been a huge demand for it. ‘‘Marathi Vishwakosh was never out of demand,’’ says Satish Kulkarni who heads the science and technology section of the encyclopedia. Originally planned to be a 20 volume project, three volumes of elaborate indexes and maps have been added. Efforts are also on to update all volumes.

Jichkar is at work. ‘‘Plans are in place. We are looking for funds,’’ he says. He has been floating a plan to publish a Varshiki, an Almanac in Marathi, as a fundraiser. Based on World Almanac or Encyclopedia of Britannica Almanac, this Marathi Vishwakosh Almanac will deal with various facets of science and humanities.

If Jichkar’s plan work, the 1000-page Almanac will hit the market early next year, targeting Marathi speaking people in Europe and America as well as in India. He plans to earn Rs 1.35 crore from the Almanac.

Plans are also afoot to go online. Work on creating the Vishwakosh website has begun. CDA-C has produced a CD rom of Kumar Vishwakosh, a 12-volume encyclopedia for children. Efforts are on to make the entire Vishwakosh available on CD-rom.

Sceptics, however, say Jichkar may not have much time to carry out his plans since the next general election in Maharashtra is just a year away. ‘‘The apparent pace for Vishwakosh work would depend upon how he (Jichkar) handles the bureaucracy and sets the Vishwakosh house in order in the limited time,’’ says Madhu Nene, a senior activist-scribe from Wai.