CHENNAI: The heaviest printed Bible in the country, weighing 7 kg, was displayed amidst 800 varieties of the holy book in every size, shape, material and colour conceivable.
On display at the 5th edition of Chennai International Christian Book Fair, the heavyweight — holy book — had a viewership unmatched excepting its direct competitor, the 10-gm Bible. Barely legible, due to the absence of a suitable magnifier, the micro-Bible certainly caused a few strained eyes, as the exhibition was declared open on Monday.
Exhibited to attract audiences to the fair, the record-holding Bibles were not all about size. “This Bible can be washed in any detergent. Cent per cent waterproof!,” explained an usher, proudly, of the green-jacketed ‘Water-proof Bible’. Rumour had it, that the model had been devised for usage at sea, where in the event of any calamity, the Holy Word would not sink, even if the vessel did.
Printed on leaves of cold, hard steel, is the ‘Steel Grip Bible’, which was described as ‘unbreakable’. Considering its metallic texture and corresponding weight, it was no surprise that this — the least conspicuous of them all — was chained with a tiny safety chain.
The only Bible missing was the ‘Scroll-Printed’ Mammoth Bible that weighs 97 kg and when unfurled stretches to 2 whole km. Owned by a Christian Society in Chromepet, the XXL text had not arrived at the venue in time for the inauguration, but was “on the way”, according to reliable sources.
The inauguration was presided over by Vasanthi Stanley, MP, Rajya Sabha. A thesis presented by her at the World Tamil Conference on ‘Contribution of Christianity to Tamil Print Media’ was released as a 8-page booklet at the function.