pic courtesy : Biswaranjan Rout of The Hindu
In 2002, in Chennai, Siddhartha Mohanty had found a miniature Bhagavad Gita that piqued his interest. The production quality of the book was impressive. Mohanty, based in Bhubaneswar, has been collecting miniature books ever since. He now has the largest collection of miniature books in English in Asia and features in the list of the the most well-known private miniature collectors of the world.
Mohanty has nearly 4,000 miniature books from more than 40 countries. These books are not more than three inches in height, width and thickness. The first miniature copies to be printed in Europe were prayer books. They were produced in the Middle Ages: the size meant they could be concealed from prying eyes. The oldest book in Mohanty’s collection dates back to the 16th century.