The dictionary for primary schoolkids

It starts with “A” and ends with “zoom lens” and contains meanings of over 10,000 “words”, including “MP3 player”, “MP4 player” and “DIY”, in between. Each word is followed first by a sentence to explain the usage and then by the corresponding Bengali word. There are illustrations. This is the new pocket English-English-Bangla Dictionary, recently launched by Ratnasagar and Harper Collins, UK, at the South City International School.

The dictionary is available in other Indian languages, including Oriya, Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati. It has a simpler, pictorial version, My First English-English-Bangla Dictionary, targeted at primary schoolchildren.

“In our survey in and around Delhi, we found out that only 24 per cent of schoolchildren are fluent in English while 76 per cent prefer to speak in their mother tongues. Sixty two per cent of the teachers said they have to often speak in regional languages (even in English-medium schools),” said Elaine Higgleton, publishing director of Collins Language, UK, a special guest at the event.

Releasing the dictionary, Suranjan Das, vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, said: “This dictionary is bound to enrich all, not just kids. As it is, few use the dictionary these days.”

“MP3 player”, “MP4 player”and “DIY”, incidentally, remain “MP3 player”, “MP4 player”and “DIY”, written in the Bengali script with the meaning explained.

Doomsday plot

Eschatology (the study of the final events in history or the end of the world) and crime thrillers may be as diverse as chalk and cheese but these IIM grads have tried to fuse the two together. Avik Paul and Sanjay Virmani have come out with a work of fiction, God At Last, on the theme of doomsday. The book, published by Alchemy, was released at the Oxford Bookstore on September 13.

The plot revolves round six characters and how they seek to find answers to unanswered questions posed by different religions. As they go about uncovering a few unexpected secrets, they two cross-country intelligence agents are after them. A cloak-and-dagger thriller unfolds.

Paul, an IIM-Joka graduate and Virmani, an IIM, Bangalore passout, are both based in the US. The book was launched by Swami Suparnananda, the principal of Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, and Paul;s former teacher.

“I am yet to read the book. But I know one of the authors (Paul) very well. He initially had little faith in God. I think he just played with words in the title,” he joked.