Now here is one Ahmedabadi or then should I say Amdavadi that the rest of us Indians should revere and cherish, why???? simply because the gentleman in question owns the smallest printed copy of the bard's immortal play "Macbeth" and showers more care and attention on it than most people do on their supposedly beloved pets.........
Meet Ratilal Mandali, a retired primary school teacher who boasts of the unique distinction of owning and possessing the world's smallest or then should I say miniature copy of the world's most celebrated playwright William Shakespeare's legendary work "Macbeth".........
This Amdavadi who candidly owns up to his lack of familiarity with the bard and his numerous works says that this copy of Macbeth that ad measures 3 cms by 1.5 cms by 5 cms first caught his eye and fancy at the city's Gujari Bazaar way back in circa 1975.........
Bashfully claiming that he is the only living person on planet earth to own this one of a kind copy or edition of the play he unassumingly lets out the information that this edition was printed by Alide Publications, London almost four hundred years back i.e. in the year of the lord 1626........
"Both the Limca Book of Records (2010) and the Indian Book of Records (2011) have duly certified or legitimised the inalienable or indisputable fact that I am the only person in the world to own and possess such a miniscule edition of the play and it is my penchant for owning things that are a little off the beaten path that attracted me towards the same at the very first glance", Mandali says.........
Wistfully remembering the blessed day on which he laid his hands on the book that has gained him name, fame and recognition he says, " I distinctly remember the fact that I did not have the resources to buy the book that had not only caught my fancy but was also haunting my dreams and that I had to borrow the then princely sum of Rs. 50 to pay the bookseller and make this ravishing beauty my very own"...........
Shyly disclosing the fact that he devotes his every waking moment to the love and care of his most priced possession Ratilal remarks " I have carefully bound this book with the most sturdy yet lightweight plastic sheet and parchment, I have also invested considerable sums of my far from robust resources in reinforcing the spine of this demure beauty and getting the 318 odd pages of the same chemically treated so that they do not succumb to the ravages of age"...........
Lamenting the fact that today's generation simply does not revere, cherish, love and lavish the due care and affection that books deserve, Mandali erupts, " at times I do wonder who if anybody at all will take care of this near miracle with the same love and affection that I have done, I know that my family members treat my otherwise meaningless and nondescript life's most significant acquisition with utter disdain and indifference and though I am old and infirm now, I know in my heart of hearts that I will soon be able to find a book lover who will overwhelm this dear child of mine with the awe and worship that it so richly deserves", Mandali signs off with a tear in his eye and a prayer on his wizened lips.........
I for one do ardently hope and pray that some bibliophile takes up the onus of preserving this one of a kind creation that is a celebration of the historic bard's life and times, I would have most certainly stepped forward more than willingly if I had the resources, but the latest monthly statement from my bank is a stark and rather irreverent reminder of the fact that my finances are in a critical state and barely sufficient to keep my body and soul together............
Meet Ratilal Mandali, a retired primary school teacher who boasts of the unique distinction of owning and possessing the world's smallest or then should I say miniature copy of the world's most celebrated playwright William Shakespeare's legendary work "Macbeth".........
This Amdavadi who candidly owns up to his lack of familiarity with the bard and his numerous works says that this copy of Macbeth that ad measures 3 cms by 1.5 cms by 5 cms first caught his eye and fancy at the city's Gujari Bazaar way back in circa 1975.........
Bashfully claiming that he is the only living person on planet earth to own this one of a kind copy or edition of the play he unassumingly lets out the information that this edition was printed by Alide Publications, London almost four hundred years back i.e. in the year of the lord 1626........
"Both the Limca Book of Records (2010) and the Indian Book of Records (2011) have duly certified or legitimised the inalienable or indisputable fact that I am the only person in the world to own and possess such a miniscule edition of the play and it is my penchant for owning things that are a little off the beaten path that attracted me towards the same at the very first glance", Mandali says.........
Wistfully remembering the blessed day on which he laid his hands on the book that has gained him name, fame and recognition he says, " I distinctly remember the fact that I did not have the resources to buy the book that had not only caught my fancy but was also haunting my dreams and that I had to borrow the then princely sum of Rs. 50 to pay the bookseller and make this ravishing beauty my very own"...........
Shyly disclosing the fact that he devotes his every waking moment to the love and care of his most priced possession Ratilal remarks " I have carefully bound this book with the most sturdy yet lightweight plastic sheet and parchment, I have also invested considerable sums of my far from robust resources in reinforcing the spine of this demure beauty and getting the 318 odd pages of the same chemically treated so that they do not succumb to the ravages of age"...........
Lamenting the fact that today's generation simply does not revere, cherish, love and lavish the due care and affection that books deserve, Mandali erupts, " at times I do wonder who if anybody at all will take care of this near miracle with the same love and affection that I have done, I know that my family members treat my otherwise meaningless and nondescript life's most significant acquisition with utter disdain and indifference and though I am old and infirm now, I know in my heart of hearts that I will soon be able to find a book lover who will overwhelm this dear child of mine with the awe and worship that it so richly deserves", Mandali signs off with a tear in his eye and a prayer on his wizened lips.........
I for one do ardently hope and pray that some bibliophile takes up the onus of preserving this one of a kind creation that is a celebration of the historic bard's life and times, I would have most certainly stepped forward more than willingly if I had the resources, but the latest monthly statement from my bank is a stark and rather irreverent reminder of the fact that my finances are in a critical state and barely sufficient to keep my body and soul together............
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