Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) Hydrocarbon Business, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH), has secured its largest-ever contract with QatarEnergy LNG. The Ultra Mega Offshore Contract, awarded for the North Field Production Sustainability Offshore Compression Project (NFPS COMP 4), marks a significant milestone for L&T in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector.

L&T added in a release that the scope of work encompasses the engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, and commissioning of two offshore compression complexes, each comprising of large offshore platforms with compression and power generation facilities, living quarters, flare platforms, interconnected bridges, and other associated structures to be located at approximately 80 kms off the northeast coast of Qatar.

S N Subrahmanyan, Chairman & Managing Director- L&T commented, “Securing QatarEnergy LNG’s Ultra Mega Offshore Contract–the largest single order in our history, is a landmark achievement. This prestigious project strengthens our global energy portfolio while supporting Qatar’s energy security objectives. I thank QatarEnergy LNG for placing their trust in L&T to deliver this complex and strategically important project. We look forward to setting new benchmarks in project execution that will reinforce Qatar’s position as a global LNG leader.

Subramanian Sarma, Deputy Managing Director & President-L&T commented, “The award of a project of such nature is a reflection of the confidence & trust placed by QatarEnergy LNG in L&T’s expertise and its ability to deliver such large-scale projects for which L&T is very thankful. This collaboration not only strengthens our partnership but also reaffirms L&T’s commitment to supporting Qatar’s strategic energy objectives through innovative and reliable solutions.”

The Axis Capital, in its report earlier added that the contract is a part of QatarEnergy’s broader plan to expand its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production capacity from 70 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 126 MTPA. The report added that L&T has already disclosed approximately Rs 350 billion in core orders on exchanges for Q4FY25.

The company reported a strong performance in Q3FY25, with a notable core order inflow beat and a 20 per cent growth in core revenue, the report added in its analysis.

The report added that L&T’s FY26 prospect pipeline will be a key indicator of its growth potential, with an expected 8 per cent-10 per cent increase. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

source/content: theprint.in (headline edited)

Dr Merlin Rengith Ambrose has been nominated by the Pontifical Urban University in Rome to serve on the International Scientific Committee and Editorial Board of Ius Missionale, a prestigious Italian canonical journal published by the university. In this newly acquired role, he will represent Asia while also continuing his important work as a faculty member of Canon Law at St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary in Bengaluru and as the executive secretary of the Commission for Canon Law within the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).

This appointment complements his existing docens stabilis (Missio Canonica), granted by the Dicastery for Culture and Education at the Vatican in 2023. His academic contributions are well-documented through a wide array of publications, including authored books and peer-reviewed articles in both Indian and international academic journals. Additionally, he is an executive committee member of the Canon Law Society of India (CLSI).

Dr Merlin Ambrose’s profound loyalty to the Church, his committed approach to research, and his passion for teaching, coupled with a pastoral heart, are truly commendable. It is anticipated that his contributions rooted in his experience within the Indian ecclesiastical context will significantly enhance the academic standing of Ius Missionale and further advance the field of canonical studies within both the Indian Church and the universal Church.

Apart from the secular studies, Fr Merlin Ambrose has pursued his doctorate in Canon Law and post-graduate diplomain superior course on Praxis and Ecclesiastical Jurisprudence, Pontifical Urban University, Rome; He also has diploma in Canonization Processof Saints (postulator course), Dicastery for the causes of Saintswith the canonical faculty to act as postulator for the Roman phase in the same congregation; diploma in Latin, Pontificium Institutum Altioris Latinitatis, Rome; diploma in Praxis and Canonical Administrative Procedure, Dicastery for the Clergy, Vatican; Certificate Annual Course on the Ongoing Formation of Priests, at Dicastery for the Clergy, Vatican; PG diploma in Safeguarding of Minors and Vulnerable Persons at Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, diploma in Integral Ecology with an Alliance of Pontifical Universities and Athenaeum in Rome.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

India is the top producer of milk in the world and has set a target of producing 300 million metric tons (MMT) of milk in the next five years from the present 239 MMT, Union Minister of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday (March 25, 2025).

Mr. Singh also said that ever since the Modi government has launched the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) in 2014, the milk production in the country has increased by 63.5 per cent and the government is hopeful of further increasing it by 15 per cent in next three years.

“India is now the top milk producing country in the world. We have now set a target of producing 300 MMT of milk in next five years from the present 239 MMT,” he said.

Rashtriya Gokul Mission

The Minister said about 10 crore people in the country are engaged in milk production of which 75 per cent are women. He said the per person consumption of milk in India is 471 gram.

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing Rashtriya Gokul Mission. It mains objective is development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancement of milk production and productivity of bovines thereby making milk production more remunerative to the farmers.

The scheme, launched in 2014, is continued under revised realigned schemes of the Department from 2021-2022 to 2025-2026.

Its objectives are to enhance productivity of bovines and increasing milk production in a sustainable manner using advance technologies and to propagate use of high genetic merit bulls for breeding purposes.

It also aims to enhance artificial insemination coverage through strengthening breeding network and delivery of artificial insemination services at farmers’ doorstep.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The breakthrough, based on a technique called photoacoustic sensing, can change the way glucose level is monitored.

For millions of people with diabetes, checking blood glucose levels is a painful yet daily necessity as it requires pricking the skin several times a day, which is inconvenient and poses risk of infection. However, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a painless alternative, using light and sound instead of needles.

This breakthrough, based on a technique called photoacoustic sensing, can change the way glucose level is monitored.

‘Photoacoustic sensing’ is a method wherein a laser is beamed on to biological tissues. When the tissue absorbs the light, it heats up slightly – by less than 1 degree Celsius – causing it to expand and contract.

This tiny movement generates ultrasonic sound waves, which can be detected by specialised instruments. Since different molecules absorb light in unique ways, they create distinct “fingerprints” in the emitted sound waves, allowing scientists to identify and measure specific substances in the body – without ever needing to break the skin.

To make this technique work for glucose detection, the IISc team used polarised light – light waves vibrating in only one direction. This is similar to how sunglasses reduce glare by filtering out certain light waves. Glucose, like many biological molecules, is chiral – meaning it rotates polarised light when it interacts with it.

The researchers found that this rotation affected the intensity of the sound waves produced, revealing a way to measure glucose levels accurately.

“We do not know why the acoustic signal changes when we change the polarisation state. But we can establish a relationship between glucose concentration and the intensity of the acoustic signal at a particular wavelength,” Jaya Prakash, Assistant Professor at IISc’s Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, and the study’s corresponding author, explained.

As glucose concentration increases, it rotates the polarised light more, and this change is reflected in the strength of the sound waves. By analysing these signals, the researchers precisely estimated glucose levels – without needing a blood sample.

To prove the method, the team tested in different environments, starting from measuring the glucose levels in water and serum solutions, then on to slices of animal tissues, achieving near-clinical accuracy. The team could measure glucose at different depths within the tissue – a key requirement for practical medical use.

“If we know the speed of sound in the tissue, we can use the time series data to map our acoustic signals to the depth at which they are coming from,” Swathi Padmanabhan, a PhD student and first author of the study, said, adding that unlike light, which scatters inside the body, sound wave travels in a more predictable manner, allowing for clearer and more precise measurements from deeper layers of tissue.

Human trials

The researchers, following successful trials in different environments, conducted a pilot study on a healthy human participant, monitoring blood glucose level before and after meals over three days. The results showed that the technique could track glucose changes in real time.

However, researchers mentioned that scaling up the technology for widespread use comes with challenges. The current set-up requires a laser that produces extremely short nano-second pulses, which makes it bulky and expensive.

“Finding the right set-up to do this was very challenging. We need to make it more compact to put it to clinical use, and have already started work on this,” Swathi said.

The researchers believe their technique is not limited to glucose monitoring as many commonly used drugs are also chiral molecules, meaning the same method can be used to measure medication levels in the body. To test this idea, they measured the concentration of naproxen, a popular painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug, in ethanol solution, and succeeded.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

New Delhi must strengthen the foundation for meaningful and ground-level governance.

The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) is an apex regional organisation that promotes open regionalism between the countries of Asia, Africa and Australia, connected via Indian Ocean waters. As the Indian leadership prepares to step up to chair IORA from November 2025 — it is now Vice-Chair — it can bring impetus to increased resilience in its governance structure. As IORA chair for the next two years, India will have three priorities: creating funding opportunities to enlarge IORA’s budget; integrating technology for data management and policy analysis, and creating maritime-ready courses with academic and research institutions using collaborations.

The Indian Ocean Region and IORA

Geostrategically, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a subset of the Indo-Pacific, yet unique. The Indian Ocean, home to two-thirds of humanity, has a rich and diverse marine life. It also transports 75% of global trade and 50% of daily oil consumption. It produces $1 trillion in goods and services, and its intra-IORA trade was $800 billion in 2023. However, this region is also marred by poor development, troubled political systems, climate change-induced disasters, and environmental degradation. It also faces security challenges such as piracy, terrorism, and human and drug trafficking. These supranational issues compel the regional countries to cooperate and find workable solutions.

Therefore, as one of the oldest regional inter-governmental organisations, IORA has been working to further cooperation among its members by facilitating dialogue on cultural and academic exchanges and crucial issues such as disaster risk management. While the United States, China and the European Union are IORA’s dialogue partners, it is mainly driven by only middle and small powers and, therefore, requires a tour de force to become more relevant.

Issues faced by IORA

The Indian Ocean region is relatively free of the great power competition yet has its own set of challenges, including funding. IORA’s annual budget is member-dependent. Barring Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and France, the member-states are developing Asian and African economies. The budget is indicated to be just a few million. Incidentally, the Indian Ocean Commission, which has only five IO countries, has a $1.3 billion budget for the 2020-25 time frame. Thus, the funds generated fall short of achieving IORA’s growing areas of engagement such as maritime safety and security, fisheries management, disaster risk management, technology and innovation, and the blue economy.

Notably, each of these pillars is resource-intensive and requires constant engagement. One way to generate more funds would be to include private players as consultative partners as they are some of the biggest players in the maritime domain. From shipping companies to marine-related industries such as oil and gas, and marine tourism, these industries are relevant to the blue economy. These industries can be involved in maritime policy-making and also contribute to the IORA fund. The IORA has a small Secretariat with limited staff based in Mauritius. Since government-based structures and institutions have limited bandwidth for data processing, technology can be a big help in improving governance. Accounting for data is laborious with a large margin of error, and quick and efficient policy analysis would be made easier with digitised record keeping.

Other suggestions for India

India’s Security and Growth for All (SAGAR) vision complements IORA’s objectives and must leverage its excellent relations with IORA member-states to develop workable solutions. IORA members, such as Australia, have made significant contributions to research in marine science and technology. France and Singapore, have their strength in marine-related technologies, and the UAE and Oman can contribute through investments in sectors where IORA seeks help. Traditional knowledge that exists in coastal and small island nations (Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius) should be mainstreamed for developing sustainable methods of marine governance. To further productive outcomes, IORA needs sustained and improved collaborative avenues.

Lastly, as marine and maritime-related employment opportunities will only multiply, industrial leaders should collaborate with educational and research institutions to provide problem statements and seek solutions, and to create newer, industry-related courses. Marine accounting is an interdisciplinary course that could help create a base for a blue economy. With the available talent in the region, scholars and practitioners are most likely to work out solutions.

IORA holds immense promise for regional prosperity and India must use its leadership to overcome the existing issues at the institutional level.

Pooja Bhatt is an Associate Professor at O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat and teaches maritime geopolitics and regional institutions

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Previously, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 oil-on-canvas painting ‘The Story Teller’ in 2023, sold for $7.4 million.

Art collector and philanthropist Kiran Nadar has acquired legendary painter MF Husain’s untitled masterpiece, ‘Gram Yatra’, for a staggering Rs 119 crore.

RPG Chairman Harsh Goenka on the X platform wrote, “MF Husain’s Gram Yatra (1954) breaks the Rs 100 crore barrier, selling for $13.8 million to Kiran Nadar”.

https://twitter.com/hvgoenka/status/1902683129867022773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1902683129867022773%7Ctwgr%5E769c7842b6514b7b52140184a23341388d399ade%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.storyboard18.com%2Fspecial-coverage%2Fkiran-nadar-adds-mf-husains-gram-yatra-to-her-collection-for-rs-199-crore-report-59866.htm

According to a report by The Economic Times, Goenka expressed his delight, stating, “Great maestro of Indian art, MF Husain, who has broken this price ceiling, and that the artwork has gone to a great collector, one of India’s largest”.

Previously, Amrita Sher-Gil’s 1937 oil-on-canvas painting ‘The Story Teller’ in 2023, sold for $7.4 million.

Nadar, one of the foremost collectors of Indian art founded her first museum in Delhi a decade ago. She owns a number of MF Husain artworks.

Nadar has been consistently recognized for her contributions to Art and Philanthropy. Recently, she was honored with the prestigious Padma Shri in the Art category. Additionally, in 2023, Nadar was bestowed with the title of “Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur” (Knight of the Legion of Honour), the highest French civilian award.

source/content: storyboard18.com (headline edited)

Speaking about SKOCH, the minister said it is an independent and renowned organisation that evaluates government initiatives of different states.

The Tripura Biotechnology Department has bagged the SKOCH award for its college biotech club project, Science, Technology and Environment Minister Animesh Debbarma said in Agartala on Thursday.

“Nearly 400 projects from 27 different states were submitted for the award. The final results were announced after the evaluation of these projects at different levels. The award will be given at Habitat Centre in New Delhi on March 29,” Debbarma told reporters.

Speaking about SKOCH, the minister said it is an independent and renowned organisation that evaluates government initiatives of different states.

In 2022, the Biotechnology Department bagged the SKOCH silver award for its bio-village 2.0 project.

While highlighting different initiatives undertaken by the department, the minister stated they have fixed a target of implementing the bio-village 2.0 project in six additional villages in the 2025-26 financial year.

Likewise, the department has set up biotech clubs in 17 government degree colleges and will start them in another four colleges in the upcoming financial year.

“The biotech clubs were limited to government degree colleges till this year but have been expanded to professional and technical colleges, like medical, veterinary, agriculture and fishery colleges. The financial grant has been increased to Rs 2.5 lakh for this,” he said.

He further informed that 172 higher secondary schools in the state have DNA clubs that enable students to learn about 80 different science-related tasks including identification of blood groups, production of herbal colours, cultivation of mushrooms, extraction of DNA from fruits, recycling of waste papers, etc.

“Another 50 new schools have been targeted to be brought under the DNA club project in the 2025-26 financial year,” he said.

Besides, the Tripura Biotechnology Council is also working to upgrade Barabhaiya Orchard into a Plant Bank Orchard to pave the way for the germplasm of valuable plants.

Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, DNA sequences, and tissues, needed for plant and animal breeding and conservation

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

This is the first such project by an Indian startup with a U.S. company, the companies said in a statement.

Following on the joint U.S.-India Roadmap for defence industrial cooperation, Liquid Robotics, a Boeing company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd, an Indian startup working on unmanned systems, announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to co-develop and co-produce Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASV).

“This partnership aims to enhance undersea domain awareness through manufacturing, system of systems interoperability, ocean testing, and the establishment of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capacity for the Wave Glider ASV platform,” a statement from the companies said. The MoU supports the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) that was announced during te visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the U.S. aimed at expanding industry partnerships and strengthening production capabilities across the Indo-Pacific region, it stated.

“The U.S.-India relationship continues to strengthen, and we see immense potential in deepening our collaboration,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India and South Asia. “This partnership with Sagar Defence Engineering underscores our commitment to co-developing and co-producing critical systems in India, fully aligning with the collaborative vision of both the U.S. and Indian governments outlined in the U.S. – India Joint Leaders Statement last month.”

The Wave Glider is a key platform for U.S.-India collaboration, strengthening tactical readiness in the Indo-Pacific, said Shane Goodenough, CEO of Liquid Robotics. “Partnering with Sagar Defence advances bilateral defense cooperation and supports the ASIA initiative to expand industry partnerships and production across the region.”

As the first such project by a U.S. company in partnership with an Indian startup, this collaboration marks a milestone in U.S.-India defence industrial cooperation, with undersea domain awareness as a key focus, the statement said. “This strategic partnership brings together the best of U.S. and Indian defence capabilities by co-developing advanced technologies like the Wave Glider, our aim to contribute towards fostering innovation within India’s defence ecosystem strengthens,” Capt. Nikunj Parashar (Retd), Founder, Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd.

As reported by The Hindu earlier, India and U.S. are scaling up their cooperation in Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA), a key focus for both countries with a new ASIA initiative aimed to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific and has identified a range of UDA technologies identified for co-production in India.

In addition to the Wave Glider, the other technologies identified include Sea Picket autonomous surveillance system with sonar acoustic array produced by Thayer Mahan; Low Frequency Active Towed Sonar; Multi-Static Active (MSA) sonobuoys; Large Diameter Autonomous Undersea Vehicles produced by Andruil; and Triton autonomous underwater and surface vehicle produced by Ocean Aero. Among these, for the MSA Sonobuoys in January, the two countries announced the “first-of-its-kind partnership on co-production” of these high-end technology that allows, tracking submarines in the deep seas and oceans. As part of this Sonobuoys of Ultra Maritime (UM) will be co-produced in India in partnership with defence public sector undertaking Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The celebrations began after the successful splashdown of the Dragon spacecraft, which brought Sunita Williams back to Earth along with Crew-9 members Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Residents of NASA astronaut Sunita Willaims’ ancestral village in Gujarat’s Mehsana district burst into celebrations on Wednesday (March 19, 2025) morning as a SpaceX capsule carrying her and her colleague Butch Wilmore splashed down off the Florida coast.

All eyes were on Ms. Willaims’s safe return as those in Jhulasan gathered at a village temple to view the event live on a television screen. As soon as she landed, residents celebrated the moment by bursting firecrackers, dancing and chanting ‘Har Har Mahadev’.

SpaceX crew Dragon splashdown updates: March 19, 2025

Ms. Williams has been in the thoughts and prayers of the villagers, who were eagerly awaiting her safe return.

Even as Ms. Willaims was on her way back, the villagers gathered at the temple performed ‘yagna’ and offered prayers. They said they have been performing yagna and have lit up ‘Akhand Jyot’ (eternal flame) on the premises for her safe return.

Jhulasan, known as the ancestral home of Ms. Williams’ father Deepak Pandya, was alive with excitement ever since the news of her proposed return, after a delayed stay at the International Space Station (ISS) around nine months ago, trickled in.

Navin Pandya, her cousin, said that the villagers have been praying for her safety, taking care of the ‘Akhand Jyot,’ the eternal flame that was lit up for her safe return soon after she went to space over nine months ago.

He said the villagers have planned a grand procession in her honour, accompanied by prayer chanting and fireworks to create a festive atmosphere similar to Diwali and Holi.

A procession will be taken out from the village school to the temple where the ‘Akhand Jyot’ has been kept, with students joining the celebrations, he said. The ‘Akhand Jyot’ will be immersed after the procession reaches the temple, he said.

“We have organised a procession with Sunita Williams’ photograph and will perform a dhun (prayer chanting) at the temple,” said Mr. Navin Pandya Pandya.

He said the villagers are looking forward to inviting Williams to visit Jhulasan.

Ms. Williams has visited India at least thrice, including in 2007 and 2013, soon after her space missions and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2008.

Her father, originally from Jhulasan, migrated to the United States in 1957.

Vishal Panchal, principal of Jhulasan primary school, said elaborate arrangements have been made for Wednesday’s (March 19, 2025) celebrations.

Ms. Williams’ space mission was initially scheduled to last seven days but got extended due to a technical glitch. Her SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, just hours after departing the ISS.

Ms. Williams, who has completed 62 hours over nine spacewalks, holds the record for the most time spent spacewalking by a female astronaut.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Panchanan Karmakar’s creation led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, and his legacy will soon be showcased to Kolkata.

Hidden inside the labyrinthine lanes of Serampore is a 200-year-old legacy associated with the creation of the first Bengali type face, which led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, A Grammar of the Bengal Language in 1778.

The Vidyasagar, Panchanan and Carey Bhavans are located on a narrow lane diverting from GT Road in Serampore’s Battala area. Neither of them are historical buildings but rather modern day apartments, named such on the insistence of the landowners, who were related to Panchanan Karmakar. While the name Vidyasagar needs no introduction, Carey refers to William Carey, the Christian missionary who lived in Serampore and translated the Bible into Bengali. Panchannan is perhaps the least known of the three names and refers to Panchanan Karmakar, who is considered as the father of Bengali typography.

The creation of the Bengali typeface

The story begins in the late 18th century with the East India Company and a family of blacksmiths — the Karmakars — based in Tribeni in Hooghly. The Karmakars specialised in calligraphy and were known for inscribing names and decorations on copper plates, weapons, metal pots, etc. One of Panchanan Karmakar’s ancestors was known for carving designs on swords, shields and armours for one of the nawabs of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, who awarded him the title Mullick.

Hidden inside the labyrinthine lanes of Serampore is a 200-year-old legacy associated with the creation of the first Bengali type face, which led to the printing of the first Bengali language book, A Grammar of the Bengal Language in 1778.

The creation of the Bengali typeface

The story begins in the late 18th century with the East India Company and a family of blacksmiths — the Karmakars — based in Tribeni in Hooghly. The Karmakars specialised in calligraphy and were known for inscribing names and decorations on copper plates, weapons, metal pots, etc. One of Panchanan Karmakar’s ancestors was known for carving designs on swords, shields and armours for one of the nawabs of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, who awarded him the title Mullick.

In the late 18th century when the British were making inroads in India, they felt the need to master local languages including Bengali. Few East India Company officials like English Orientalist and philologist Nathaniel Brassey Halhedhad already mastered the language, but there was a need for books to teach Bengali grammar to the masses. Halhed came up with a book on Bengali grammar, but it could not be printed since the Bengali typeface was not available.

Enter Charles Wilkins, English typographer, Orientalist, and a founding member of the Asiatic Society. He initially took the initiative of making the Bengali typeface in England, but the endeavour proved too expensive and the end result was not up to the mark.

After a long search he got in touch with Panchanan Karmakar, the blacksmith who has already mastered the art of Bengali calligraphy on metal. Panchanan created the Bengali typeface for the presses, which finally resulted in the printing of Halhead’s book A Grammar of the Bengal Language.

Later, Panchanan also helped William Carey with printing the Bengali translation of the Bible from Serampore. He also went on to develop the typeface for several other Indian and foreign languages.

The continuing legacy of the Karmakars

Panchanan was assisted in his work by his brother Gadadhar Karmakar. After Panchanan’s death in 1804, his son-in-law Monohar Karmakar (Mullick) and Gadadhar’s son Adhar Chandra Karmakar (Mullick) continued their legacy. Adhar later joined Vidyasagar in developing a simplified typeface of Bengali alphabets.

According to Gadadhar’s descendent Priyanka Mullick, the family press remained operational till the early 1990s and followed a traditional method of printing. “My father Biman Mullick was forced to discontinue due to the advent of new technology,” she said, adding, “Today, only the mansion constructed by Adhar Chandra Mullick survives. The adjoining land was sold on the condition that the apartments coming up in the plot will be named after Vidyasagar, Carey and Panchanan.”

Priyanka’s family inherited the printing machines along with a large collection of typefaces, which after her father’s passing in 2022 were passed on to her.

Gutenberg and the Bengali typeface

German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer and publisher Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press and mechanical movable type printing in 1439 played an important role in the European Renaissance.

The Gutenberg process involved creating the typeface for a language by making a hard metal punch known as a mother type. The alphabets created on the mother type, which were mirror images of the original lettering, were then hammered into a soft copper bar creating an imprint of the actual alphabet. This is known as a matrix, which operates as a mould for the final typeface, known as movable type, which is made with a lighter alloy.

A single matrix can be used to make thousands of movable types, which in turn are arranged in the required sequence, inked, and printed on paper.

The English language follows a fixed set of 26 alphabets, but on the other hand, Indian languages like Bengali have a combination of alphabets that can run into thousands making the job of creating a matrix extremely difficult. Moreover, Bengali alphabets have more intricacies and carving them out of hard metal is a challenge. This is where the skill and artistry of Panchanan Karmakar came in. More than 200 years ago he accomplished an almost impossible task.

Showcasing a legacy to Kolkata

Today, Priyanka Mullick shuttles between Mumbai and Serampore to maintain her professional commitments, and while the family is no longer in the printing business, a part of the two-century history lives with Priyanka through the large collection of Bengali and other language typeface and several typing machines. She wants to showcase this legacy to Kolkata now.

“These have been out of reach of the general public and we are planning an exhibition at Khelat Ghosh house in north Kolkata in mid-April,” she said, adding that these kinds of exhibitions help create awareness about forgotten legacies in Bengal’s history.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)