The first etymological dictionary of the Assamese language, the bilingual dictionary ‘Hemkosh’, has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the world’s largest bilingual Braille dictionary. The Braille version of the dictionary contains a total of 90,640 words, and the process of creating the record began on April 20, 2023, and concluded on April 22, 2023, at the Government of Assam Braille Press at Latakata in Guwahati’s Basistha area.
The idea to create a Braille version of Hemkosh was initiated by Sadin-Pratidin Group proprietor Jayanta Baruah, who wanted to carry forward his family’s legacy and make it inclusive for visually impaired people. The Guinness World Record was attempted on two fronts – the dimensions, including length, breadth, and height, and the combined weight of all volumes and parts of the Braille dictionary, along with the word count.
The word count was done manually with the participation of visually impaired people. They expertly ran their fingers over each page and noted down the number of words while another person sitting beside them noted the number down in digits for general understanding. The efforts were vindicated on Monday evening when Guinness World Records recognized the Braille version of Hemkosh as the ‘Largest bilingual Braille dictionary’ in the world.
Hemkosh became Southeast Asia’s first Braille version of a dictionary following its publication last year. The former Assam Governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi officially inaugurated it in Guwahati on September 16, 2022. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi also received a copy of the Braille Hemkosh for his esteemed office later that year.
Twitter is abuzz with people commenting on the achievement, and many prominent figures, including former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam cabinet minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass, All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) Chief Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya, and Assam Jatiya Parishad Chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi, have shared their pride at the achievement.
