The Manipal University Press (MUP) will celebrate its 100th publication on Wednesday with the release of four books, including Ayurvedic Inheritance: A Reader’s Companion by M.S. Valiathan, National Research Professor at the Gangubai Hangal Auditorium on Manipal Centre for Philosophy and Humanities (MCPH) campus, here at 4 p.m.
The other books being released are: “If We Meet Again, We Shall Smile” by Anushua Chakrabarti; “Performing Self, Performing Gender” by Sheetala Bhat; and “Sumi and the Dance of the Dark Spirits” by Toinali Sema. The book by Dr. Valiathan will be the 100th book.
It all began with its first publication, “The Path of Proofs – Pramana Paddhati of Jayatirtha” by Srinivasa Varakhedi in November 2011.
‘A matter of pride’
“It is a matter of pride that MUP touched the 100 mark in its sixth year. It has been a fascinating journey publishing books from different disciplines, also venturing into fictions and many more. Several universities from across the world have publication divisions. However, very few from private universities in India have established publication divisions and that makes Manipal University proud to have been a torchbearer in this direction,” said Vice-Chancellor, H. Vinod Bhat, whose brainchild MUP is.
As a university press, MUP offers a platform for academic publishing as well as for popular publishing. The scholarly publications include books, journals, textbooks, monographs, edited volumes, lecture notes, conference proceedings and reference works across disciplines.
The other set of publications include general interests such as biographies, memoirs and others that comprise books in English, Kannada and other Indian languages — fiction and non-fiction.
‘Delight in diversity’
Emphasising on the types of publications under the MUP, Neeta Inamdar, Chief Editor, has said, “We take delight in diversity. We believe in versatility and endorse a plethora of publications and do not compromise on what makes a university press rich. MUP makes it a point to maintain uncompromised quality with quantity and aims to reach out to different sections of society. The books are priced such that they reach the maximum number of target readers.”
