Manish Rajoria, the director of Aadarsh Publishers, is full of statistics about the sorry state of education in the country. Like, “India has 35 per cent of the world's illiterate population. This can cross 50 per cent by 2020.” That “UNICEF reports our education system is plagued by shortages — teachers, resources, schools and classrooms.”
What this Bhopal-based publisher is trying to establish through this data-driven conversation is that, we need to think of ways — innovative ones at that — to address this lacunae. And he has a direct reason for it — a tool to sell, a tool he is convinced, “can bridge this gap.”
In New Delhi to be a part of the ongoing 19th Delhi World Book Fair, Rajoria talks of a talking pen, “India's first”. He has unveiled it at the Fair. The pen is basically a multimedia print reader with an in-built speaker and can store audio files. It can run non-stop on battery for about seven hours.
“When the pen is positioned over a book with MPR codes, it activates the pre-loaded audio files, enabling the reader to hear the text,” explains Rajoria. So far, Aadarsh Publishers have 50 books ranging from children's books to religious titles with MPR codes. Rajoria says, “We plan to have 1000 titles with MPR codes this year, it may be more. Besides our books, we are tying up with different publishers to make their books MPR enabled. By the end of the year, we hope to have tie-ups with 100 publishers.”
MPR can be of help to many, from the visually-impaired to the illiterate, to the semi-literate to a weak student. “It is useful for all students from KG to PG,” says Rajoria. The advantage with MPR is, “any book can be printed in multiple languages.”
It can help in learning new languages. It can also help students to pick the right pronunciation. Rajoria says, “There is an option in the pen to record your voice too, in case you want to check your pronunciation.” It can also facilitate those elderly who want to listen to religious books but can't read it due to poor vision. For such readers, Aadarsh Publishers has just launched MPR enabled Gita (in Sanskrit) and Quran (in Arabic).
Those who can't read can also feel the satisfaction of reading a book by listening to it. This quality of the pen can help the visually impaired too. People pursuing distance education and vocational courses can benefit from it too.
“Say in Afghanistan, many locals are being taught skills like car repairing, etc. to earn a living. Not too many trainers are interested in going to that strife-torn country. The pen can be the answer, it can teach people skills in their local language,” says Rajoria. Also, such books can help in curbing piracy “as they can't be photocopied or scanned.”
Rajoria says it is the next big thing in publishing industry. “The talking pen is being used in many countries. As and when the technology grows, we have a tie-up with the manufacturers (Hong Kong-based) to upgrade the product.”
The pen comes for Rs.7000. It will be distributed through Aadarsh's usual network of book distribution, says the director. Those visiting the Fair can buy it at 20 per cent discount from the publishing house's stall at hall no 14 of Pragati Maidan.
