NEW DELHI : 103-yr-old Urdu Ramayana to go online soon

NEW DELHI : A copy of the Ramayana in Urdu, published in Lahore back in 1919, has been digitised by the Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) in Meerut and is ready to go online. “It will be available on the university’s website within four to five days,” said librarian and professor JA Siddiqui, who helped procure it.

The book reached Meerut University from Lahore via Sardhana. It was translated into Urdu 103 years ago.

Siddiqui had procured the book from one Muqarram Ali, a resident of Sardhana, Meerut, six years ago. “The Urdu Ramayana is a very rare book. I took it for the library from Ali, a relative of actor Naseeruddin Shah. I visited Ali’s house seven years ago and saw it in his collection. He told me it was gifted to him by a friend 60 years ago,” Siddiqui said.

The book has over 1,000 pages, with pictures of Rama and his durbar.