Patna, Nov. 11: There is good news for research scholars looking for some authentic text on the condition of farmers and artisans in Bihar in the 19th century. Very soon they will get a book titled Notes on the district of Gaya, which mentions such information in detail.

The initiative has been taken by Maharajadhiraja Ka-meshwar Singh Kalyani Foundation, which, under its Bihar Heritage Series, is coming out with 500 copies of the book on November 28 this year.

Set up in 1989, the foundation started the Bihar Heritage Series in 1996 and under this series only those books are published which have very significant account of Bihar and which are now not available in the market or even in libraries. The latest launch will be the 16th book in this series.

Written by the then Indian Civil Services officer, George A Grierson, who served as collector of Gaya in 1880, the book was published in 1893 and remained available in the market till 1944.

Grierson has contributed in a big way through his writings as far as authentic information about Indian folklore is concerned. Some of his important works are Linguistic Survey of India and Bihar Peasants’ Life for which he is said to have travelled extensively to collect authentic information.

“The book used to be a favourite of researchers studying rural India as it is based on direct observation of Grierson and presents an authentic account of condition of peasants and artisans in Gaya,” foundation honorary managing trustee and noted sociologist Hetukar Jha told The Telegraph.

Jha, who also edits the books published under the Bihar Heritage Series, said that the book, however, had not been available in market since 1944 and thus the current lot of research scholars have been deprived of a very authentic source of information. “We got one copy of the book from India Office Library, London, for coming out with fresh copies of the book,” he added.

He said apart from giving an insight into the rural economy and economic condition of peasants and artisans, the book also has a detailed acco-unt of the traditional irrigati-on system being used by the farming community.

Jha said that the fresh copy of Grierson’s book on Gaya would be released during the annual function of the foundation which is held at Darbhanga on November 28 every year to mark the birth anniversary of last Maharaja of Darbhanga — Kameshwar Singh. The foundation also invites eminent persons from the field of social sciences and literature and organises their lectures so that residents can get an opportunity to hear from them that what is happening in different fields of social sciences and literature.

This year, the main speakers would be sociologists Dipankar Gupta and P.K. Bose. While Gupta used to teach at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Bose is associated with Institute for the Study in Social Sciences, Calcutta.

“The topics of lecture are decided by the speakers themselves. This year, we hope the presence of two sociologists would help the participants get latest information about the things taking place in the field of sociology,” Jha said.

He said former Bihar director-general of police D.N. Gautam, who is currently working as an advisor to Jharkhand government, would be the guest of honour at this year’s function.