A panting of Sankardee adorns the auditorium at Raj Bhavan in Guwahti.

Nagaon, Nov. 7: Fifteenth century Assamese saint-reformer Srimanta Sankardev?s immortal hymns, encapsulated in the holy Kirtan Ghosa, can soon be read in English.

Written in the Brojavali language, the original Kirtan Ghosa spans 30 chapters across 681 pages. The English version is considerably leaner ? 382 pages ? but retains the sum and substance of the original. Sankardev Sangha general secretary Hari Prasad Hazarika said the English Kirtan Ghosa was expected to reach readers this month-end.

Sankardev Sangha, which is the biggest organisation of the saint?s followers, initiated the project several years ago and entrusted Vaishnavite scholar Purnananda Saikia with the task of translating the tome. Saikia, who was the vice-principal of Guwahati Commerce College, died just after completing the translation. It was left to three Sankardev Sangha members ? Kailas Das, Dharmeswar Chutia and Rabindra Narayan Chaudhuri ? to give the finishing touches to the book.

Hazarika said the first edition of the book would be limited to 3,000 copies, each priced at Rs 400. He described the English version as a vehicle to take the humanist teachings of Srimanta Sankardev closer to the rest of the world. ?The original poetic beauty of Sankardev?s work has been retained. There are footnotes giving a detailed explanation of each important and comparatively complicated paragraph,? he said.

Srimanta Sankardev Ek-Saran-Nam Dharma has been a major influence on Assam?s socio-political milieu.

Sankardev Sangha spent over Rs 2 lakh in publishing the first edition of the translated Kirtan Ghosa. Minister of state for home Rockybul Hussian has promised to bear 50 per cent of the total expenditure.

?We are grateful to him for joining hands with us to make our dream come true,? Hazarika said.

As many as 1,000 copies of the first edition are expected to be sold to members of Sankardev Sangha. Though the saint?s followers are everywhere, the river isle of Majuli remains the hub of the Vaishnavite culture he introduced. That legacy is being kept alive in the island by nearly two dozen satras (monasteries), each having its distinct heritage and history.

The satras are monastic institutions that enshrine the essence of Vaishnavism and perpetuate the teachings of Srimanta Sankardev and those of his famous apostle Madhavdev. The satras also preserve the cultural trappings relevant to the religion and are a treasure-trove of priceless artefacts, including paintings, handicrafts and centuries-old scriptures.