New Delhi, Nov 05: Will it be Munshi Premchand or Jaishankar Prasad, Mahadevi Verma or Amrita Pritam – whose work will be voted the best Hindi novel of all times?
In the first such exercise of its kind, literary figures, academicians and readers are participating in an opinion poll to prepare a list of 100 best Hindi novels of all time.
The poll, the results of which are expected to be ready in three months, also aims at preparing a list of 100 best English novels translated into Hindi and another of 100
best novels in Indian regional languages that have been translated to the national language.
Around 600 letters are being sent out by the Central Secretariat Library (CSL), which is conducting the poll, to a cross-section of people interested in Hindi literature to prepare the lists.
"A few months ago, a list of the best English novels of all time had appeared, which prompted us to think why we don't carry out a similar rating for Hindi novels," S C Bhalla, Director of CSL, told a news agency.
He said the idea was mooted in a meeting of the book selection committee of the library, where it was given a whole-hearted go-ahead.
The list of voters was prepared with assistance from
the Sahitya Akademi, India International Centre and the
library's own list of users.
Bureau Report
