Excerpts from books written on Lord Ram in Urdu and Persian have been compiled in one book by a Prayagraj-based academician Ajay Malviya.

The book is published by Hindustani Academy is a compilation of references from several texts about the Hindu deity.

Malviya, a teacher of Urdu at Anglo Bengali Intermediate College, has been researching for the book for the past 28 years.

He has compiled every genre of Ram Katha written in Urdu. It contains references from books written by Talib Allahabadi, Asad Raza, Tahira Bano Saeed, Zafar Ali Khan, Hanif Zaidi, Mir Taki Mir, Akhtar Hussain, Saheb Akhtar, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Allama Iqbal, Nazir Akbarabadi, Shankar Dayal Fahrat, Braj Narayan Chakbast, Sahir Dehalvi and others.

Moreover, Malviya's book of Ram Katha includes different writing styles like manuscripts, prose, novels, drama, stories, ghazals and rubaiya as he wanted to unify various themes in a single composition.

According to the chairman of Hindustani Academy, Uday Pratap: "The book has about 350 pages and gives an insight into the work and life of Ram. It also focuses on his deeds as a son, husband, protector of sages and a common man and how his principles have been inspiring several generations irrespective of religion and location."

Malviya, who is conversant with Hindi, Bengali, English, Sanskrit, Urdu and Persian, has written 10 books in Urdu and has also been awarded by the Urdu Academy in UP and Bihar.

"Earlier students used to study Urdu along with Sanskrit because of which many Urdu and Persian writers wrote about Lord Ram and his life. However, things have changed since independence. Now, language is associated with a particular religion which pains me," said Malviya.
(IANS)