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OUP, a haven for bookworms
The fabulous world of books at the Oxford University Press.
THE EGYPTIANS used "Sacred carved writing" to record their civilisation. Or hieroglyphics in layman's parlance used picture signs to indicate letters. Immortalised in the Pyramids in Egypt and later Cecil De Mille's Cleopatra, hieroglyphics were replaced by cursive writing from 700 BC.
And then came the typewriter and the printing machine. Thanks to these marvellous inventions, bookworms, and others do not have to wrestle with the intricacies of the hieroglyphics. Just imagine a simple message by your mother telling you she has cooked chicken and left it in the kitchen.
A note pinned to the fridge has a hen and a pan on fire drawn on it. Now the quick-witted would understand this for what it is, scrumptious chicken cooked and ready. And for the over-imaginative it would mean something like having to clobber a hen and cooking it for dinner.
Jokes aside, writing has eased problems all around. In spite of the Internet, books flourish much to the delight of the bookworm. Reading books is sure to stay for as long as one loves to use imagination.
Opening a new door to living is what reading does. Incidentally, this is something which education also does. And where the twine meet is at publishing houses started by universities. One such is the Oxford University Press (and no, we shall not forget to mention its illustrious rival and neighbour, the Cambridge University Press either).
This story is, however, about the Oxford University Press (OUP) which celebrated its 500 years of glorious past in 1978 and commemorates its 190th year of its Indian concern this year. Part of the Oxford University, the OUP has adopted itself to the times with online editions of most of its popular series, including the Oxford English Dictionary and Encyclopaedia.
``The Internet has helped to increase the popularity of books.
The online version has reached a greater number of readers who were not into serious reading. We even had a competition inviting readers to send in words coined by them, for which there was a tremendous response,'' K.P.Suresh, Manager, Oxford University Press, said.
A world unto itself, the bookstore is located at 94, Koramangala Industrial Layout, 4th B Cross, 5th Block. So, the next time you have time to kill, visit the Oxford University Press at Koramangala. And if you find the going too tedious, the corner shop Internet parlour is always there.
By Preeti Mishra
Photo: K.Bhagya Prakash
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Life
Bangalore
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Coimbatore
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Hyderabad
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Thiruvananthapuram
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