KOCHI: As the nation celebrates another birthday of Mahatma Gandhi tomorrow, his autobiography ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'', continues to be in great demand in Kerala with its Malayalam translation having so far sold nearly six lakh copies, the highest among Indian languages.
The book, being published in 16 languages,first appeared as a series in the Gujarati weekly Navjivan during 1925-28. It was brought out in book format in 1927 by the Navjivan Trust. "The Malayalam translation was first published by Poornodaya Book Trust in 1997 when one lakh copies were sold and there has been no looking back since," Parameshwara Sarma, Secretary Poornodaya Book Trust, formed to popularise Gandhian literature, told PTI.
While Poornodaya alone has so far sold 5.90 lakh copies, D C Books and Mathrubhumi publications have also brought out Malayalam editions. The book was first translated by K Madhavanar in 1928 for a weekly of the Mathrubhumi publication. It was later launched in a book form by Mathrubhumi.
About 10,000 copies have so far been sold with the eighth edition to be launched this month. About four lakh copies have been sold in Hindi and three lakh in Gujarati, Sarma said. The least number is 5000 sold in Bengali. The sanskrit edition was launched on Oct 2 last year. The autobiography has also been published in Chinese, Japanese and various other languages. The 538 page book is sold at a subsidised price of Rs 30 to schools and colleges in Kerala by the trust and is in great demand even now.
''We have presently orders for 10,000 copies which we are unable to meet'', Sarma said. The subsidy is being given by the Navjeevan Trust. The Autobiography covers Mahatma''s life from his early childhood through to 1920. In 1999, the book was designated as one of the ''100 most Important spiritual books of the 20th century'' by Harper Collins.