(N Nagaraj)
I was reading a post on LinkedIn as someone has raised a pertinent point, why do school children remember their school textbooks by connecting with subjects that rarely remember titles and are ignorant about the publisher who publishes the books? It’s okay that school children won’t know the name of the author of books except when they reach a higher class they will recognize authors who prepare guides with answer keys and notes. I have asked many children even in higher class who will not know the publisher’s name. However, when it comes to Movies even an 8 or 10 can almost remember everyone from Actor to Director. During my school days, I will always curious to see the name of the publisher. There was a time children in those days grew up learning English through books that originated from the UK and were written by foreign authors later when schools started demanding books relevant to suit Indian children, some cosmetic changes were by replacing foreign names with Indian, but contents continued to represent British. It was in such a scenario the late Raja of Wanaparthy Samasthana, former Diplomat, and Congressman Rameshwar Rao who was Chairman of Orient BlackSwan (then Orient Longmans) revolutionized Indian English Language Teaching (ELT) by gathering experts to develop truly Indian content for from KG to Class 8 way back in 1974-75 under title Gulmohar Graded English Course and thereafter it was free for all by all other school textbook publishers who started publishing clones similar to Gulmohar series. At a time when Orient BlackSwan which was established as Orient Longmans on 7 January 1948 by Longmans Green UK, (entered India in 1895) is celebrating 75 years in 2023, Gulmohar planted in 1974-75 as a plant would turn 50 years old Gulmohar tree in 2024-25 that continues to create strong foundation until. . It’s not that visionaries of those days were not vocal for local or Make in India, but transition also needed perseverance and patience. The essence of my thoughts is encouraging curiosity should always begin from a young age as it would broaden thinking to make India new.
