Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 1: The rare and unique historical documents, stone and rock inscription, different signature styles of the Sharada Alphabets, almanacs, horoscopes decorative block seals, coins, birch and Kashmiri paper documents, illustrated scrolls and the likes will be exhibited in Saradaksarani – the first ever National Exhibition of the Sharada Alphabets opening in Srinagar on Saturday.
The exhibition also features Alphabets’ history and their development.
Saradaksarani means letters sacred to Goddess Sharada i.e Saraswati, or letter which are Saraswati, the visible speech. The exhibition, is being jointly organized by the National Book Trust, India; Nityanand Shastri Kashmir Research Institute, New Delhi; Paannyaar Kashmir Research Foundation, NCR and Ansh Publications and Distributors, New Delhi. And, it is the result of dedicated archival research, curated by a team of experts from the participating institutions.
The exhibition is a culmination of years of research and curating work – mainly put in by the joint team of C.L. Kaul, Ramesh Manvati and Dr. S.N.Pandita. The exhibits on the show include
Speaking about the exhibition, the curators informed that it aims to revive, across the country, the appreciation of Kashmir’s oldest script and need for preservation of this great cultural heritage and legacy of the Kashmiri Pandit community.
While the inaugural display of the exhibition begins from Srinagar, the land of Sharada, the exhibition is expected to travel to many major cities of India in coming months, including, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Pune etc., where there is a sizeable population of the Kashmiri Pandits now living in exile away from their homeland. The national level exhibition being the first of its kind on the indigenous Kashmiri script is being inaugurated by the Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan and LG of J& K Manoj Sinha on August 2,.
The exhibition is a part of the second annual edition of Chinar Book Festival (2025) being mainly hosted by National Book Trust, New Delhi at the iconic Sheri Kashmir International Convention Centre,. Among the important historical documents on display are those of the Rajatarangini. Lokaprakasa, Lal Vakh, Mahabharata, Gilgit Manuscripts etc. The highlight of the exhibition is a Panel Discussion: ‘Sharada Alphabet: A Unique Linguistic Heritage of Kashmir’. Among the panellists, include well known writer, researcher and author Dr. S.N.Pandita, Curator’ archivist Dhruv Kotru, besides experts from Kashmir University. The entry to the exhibition is free and will remain open till August 10, 2025.
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