Jyotin Pingua (21), a second-year science student of Karim City College in Jamshedpur, can speak in his mother tongue Ho but rues he can't write the script, Warang Kshiti.
As there are no shops in the steel city where one can find books in tribal languages, the Ho youth couldn't learn the script. But, Jyotin bought a grammar book Ho Ol Ho Padao at the ongoing 31st Jamshedpur Book Fair on Monday.
Like Jyotin, there are several youngsters from tribal backgrounds who make it a point to visit the 10-day book fair at Ravindra Bhavan in Sakchi, which started on November 20.
Their prime attraction is KK Publication from Allahabad, which is the only kiosk in the fair selling book in various tribal languages like Santhali, Ho, Mundari, Khortha and Kuruk.
"We speak Ho at home but have never written in its script. Having studied in a Hindi-medium school, I write Ho in Devanagri script but today (Monday) I bought a Ho grammar book to learn the Warang Kshiti script and practice it in my free time," said Jyotin.
Besides Ho Ol Ho Padao by Gangaram Balira, Kuruk Bhasha Evam Sanskriti by Mahesh Bhagat and Mundari ke Sanrakshak-Father Hoffman by Asvita Tigga are the most popular books.
Tribal youths, not just from Jamshedpur but from nearby districts, are thronging the book fair.
Sushant Purty from Majhgaon in West Singhbhum, found browsing Santhali novels, said awareness among tribal people about their language and literature was on the rise.
Proprietor of KK Publication B.N. Sen, who put up his stall for second time at the Jamshedpur Book Fair, said tribal language books were selling like hot cakes.
"I have kept books mostly by authors from Jharkhand, Odisha and Bengal. Surprisingly, most youngsters are coming to buy the books. We have sold about 111 copies of various books in tribal languages in the last three days. Hopefully, we will sell more. Last year too, the response was encouraging," said Sen.
He added that they kept the prices of books low to encourage tribal readers and learners. "We know that tribal people, especially from rural areas, cannot afford costly books. Therefore most of the books are available at a price range below Rs 100. I think publishers should promote unique languages because they are our heritage," he said.
