NLB followed Indian FT advice...

[makapaaa]

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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - NLB followed Indian FT advice...</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>

Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt22 <NOBR>

</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>12:38 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right>(1 of 4) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"></TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>19744.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>Unseemly book withdrawn, NLB to re-examine processes

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to last Wednesday's Forum Online letter by Mr S. Siddharth Sriram, 'Unseemly book in a national library'.
We thank Mr Sriram for bringing to our attention the book, Raman: Desiya Nayagana, Desiya Villana?, and apologise for the unintentional offence caused.
We have withdrawn the book from our libraries. We assure Mr Sriram we view such matters seriously and will re-examine our processes to minimise future occurrences.
We thank Mr Sriram for his feedback. We also wish to highlight that if library users come across any item they may consider inappropriate, they can contact us on 6332-3255 or e-mail [email protected]
Beh Chew Leng
Senior Director
Library and Professional Services
National Library Board


[email protected]


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[Ah Guan]

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Unseemly book in a national library

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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THOUGH the state of affairs in Singapore with regard to relationships between communities from varying cultural backgrounds is heartwarming, I remain disturbed by a book I found at Yishun Library.

Coming across the book titled Raman; Desiya Nayagana, Desiya Villana? ("Is Rama a national hero or a national villain?"), a collection of essays published in Tamil, was shocking for a Hindu like me.

Sri Rama is considered by mainstream Hindus to be an incarnation of God and is deeply revered. The Ramayana (a religious and literary poem) is one of the most sacred texts of Hinduism. Its Thai version is a national epic and its influence penetrates Indonesia.

I opened the book in the hope that it would be an unbiased, humorous and harmless character study from a literary perspective. But it was more visceral than intellectual.

What I found was a collection of extremely offensive and provocative messages which denigrated Hinduism.

Yet, the National Library Board has housed it on a shelf filled with Hindu devotional and sacred philosophical literature.

There was a poem in that book that called for the hurling of slippers on the image of Sri Rama; this, next to a book with a poem exalting the Hindu deity.

I strongly urge NLB to disclose to the public who recommended such a book and what procedure was followed, if at all. I also appeal to the Government to investigate the matter as serious oversights like this affect efforts to enhance religious harmony.

S. Siddharth Sriram

 

[Char_Azn]

Did I miss something? I can't seem to find any reference to the fact that this guy is FT? FYI we have a large LOCAL Indian community here who also have to serve NS!!!! The book is in Tamil which also happened to be the language taught in schools here. For those of you who have no idea, India uses different "languages" in different states, the most common one is probably Hindi which is widely spoken in most northern states. Indians from other parts of India who do not understand the local language actually uses English to communicate with each other

 

[saratogas]

Bloody Ah Neh - not happy can don't visit the NLB lah.

Library must have wide variety of books so that Sinkies can understand the wrong and the stupid.

Just like my favourite - The Kama Sutra: The Ancient Art of Making Love for the New Millennium. Based on that classic work of ancient Indian literature, this modernized version preserves the essence of Vatsyayana, the author and religious scholar, with clear language and vivid illustrations.

 

[johnny333]

Just like my favourite - The Kama Sutra: The Ancient Art of Making Love for the New Millennium. ....

Is that book available in the libraries

I've read the other classic "Perfumed Gardens" & I would recommend it