MLBD in Media

	Hinduism Today May, 1998
WORLD RENOWED Motilal Banarsidass India's religiously rooted book-making magnate
Through the past thirty years we monks at HINDUISM TODAY in Hawaii have amassed so many books that we recently had to buy a used 40-foot shipping container to serve as a library annex. Browsing there in preparation for this article, no name flashed before our vision more often than Motilal Banrsidass, the largest publishers, serving up the creme de la creme of Indian wisdom, especially scripture, through the world's widest distribution of Indian books. Printing in India is an arduous process, done mostly by hand. So each volume is a treasure, and in this case, one of love. ....Motilal was founded in 1903 by Mr. Motilal and son Banarsidass in Lahore. At Motilal's transition at an early age, his younger brother, Lal Sunderlal Jain stepped in. Later, Mr. Shantilal Jain joined the effort. After partition, the Punjabi family started fresh in Varnasi, then moved headquarters to Delhi in 1958. Shantilal's five sons now each handle different aspects of the business, with the youngest looking after exports. Senior son and head of the firm, Rajeev Prakash Jain, says, "Our mottos are 'Do not diversify' and 'Do not spoil the long established reputation.' Commercial viability is not our primary concern. The company has firm policy: if we think a book should be published, we do not worry about the cost. The company is able to absorb the extra expense". ....Publishing, Rajeev affirms, is "in our blood. It's in our genes."It's a family effort. "We all live under one roof and eat from one kitchen. From behind his desk amidst stacks of books, Rajeev told HINDUISM TODAY, "We distribute in the US, South Asia and the UK. There is a Motilal Books Ltd. In Oxford to whom we have given full autonomy. For the last 25 years we have had Indian shops operating in Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai, in addition to our branch offices at Patna and Varnasi."
	Bombay First May, 1998
THE ORIGINAL INDOLOGY PUBLISHERS
...Ever heard of Motilal Banarsidass? They're the original publishers of literature in indology, i.e all things intrinsically to do with the religions, history, culture, psychology, and whatever else of this sub-continent. Actually, Motilal Banarsidass opened its outlet only on October 20, 1996, but it has been attracting much interest amongst indophiles, both of Indian and foreign origin in the city. ...These publishers whose history goes right back to Lahore in the pre-partition days, have possibly been doing more than anybody else to do indological literature proud. One round of the bookshop and one is amused to learn how many foreign writers there are who are studying and writing on subjects we thought only Indians are experts on. ....Today there are five outlets, in Varnasi, Calcutta, Pune and Madras, with the Bombay shop being the lastest outlet which is taken care of by Rajendra P. Jain, who may live in Delhi but visits Mumbai every month. Motilal Banarsidass publishes books in English, Sanskrit, Pali (yes, the language the Buddha spoke in, it's still spoken and read in Bihar), and Hindi. ..If you're looking for titles such as 'The Devotional Poems of Mirabai' (by A.J. Alston), or 'Devotional songs of Narsi Mehta' (by Swami Mahadevananda), or 'The Bowl of Saki' by the famous Sufi musician Hazrat Inayat Khan (who spread the Sufi message of love in the West and whose Dargah in Delhi attracts music lovers) or the various versions of the 'Bhagavad Gita', your best bet is Motilal Banarsidass.
	The Weekend Observer March, 1992
IN THE CAUSE OF INDOLOGY
"What does India have to give to the world ? She cannot give science and technology. She cannot give capital, because she is herself seeking from outside. The only thing she can give to others with pride is her cultural, arts, spiritual knowledge and, of course, Sanskrit. And that is what we have been doing for the past nearly hundred years by publishing and selling books abroad on India's inexhaustible religious, cultural and spiritual heritage. "Although a businessman, Rajendra Prakash Jain spoke with conviction and sicerity. For a young marketing director, he displayed an uncharacteristically keen interest in and knowledge of the various branches of Indology. Which, as I soon learnt, was not surprising. Just as a nation passes on its heritage from one generation to another - a process that defines the distinctive traits of its people - a family too does so. And often a family's tradition, skills and expertise cannot be destroyed even by fire - something that literally true in the case of the house of Motilal Banarsidass. In the communal frenzy of Partition years, their house, office and bookstore in Lahore were reduced to ashes and the family had to flee empty-handed to Patna before shifting to Delhi. But through the entire ordeal, one thing survived: The family's determination to server, against all odds, the cause of Indology, for which Lala Motilal had set up the publishing firm in 1903. Soon, under the leadership of Shantilal of Shantilal Jain (Rajendra Prasad's father) and his uncle Late Sunderlal Jain, and with the help of eminent scholars like Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, it rose like phoenix to emerge as India's Premier Indological publisher with the most cogent, comprehensive and prestigious list of titles. Today it puts more than 200 titles on Indology every year. ...Some of MLBD's prestigious publications are : Sacred Books of the East, by Max Muller, 50 volumes volumes: Linguistic Survey of India by George Grierson, 11 volumes; Kathasaritasagara by Somadeva, 10 volumes; Indian Kavya Literature by A.K. Warder, 10 volumes: Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology, 100 volumes (39 already published);Buddhist Traditions, 7 volumes; and Relgions of Asia, edited by Lewis Lancaster, 5 volumes. The company has international mailing list of over 15,000 customers to whom it send a monthly newsletter giving information on important on publications and events in the field of Indology.

Motilal Banarsidass
41-U.A. Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar
Delhi-110 007 (INDIA)
Tel: (91-11) 23851985, 23858335, 23854826, 23852747
Fax: (91-11) 23850689, 25797221
Email : mlbd@vsnl.com