question_answer

How were ideas and information written before the age of print in India? How did the printing technique begin in India? Explain.                                                                                                                       [AI 2008]

Answer:

(a) Before printing, started ideas and information were written by hand in the form of manuscripts. Manuscripts were copied on palm leaves or hand­made paper pages were often beautifully illustrated.

(b) Printing press first came to Goa with Portuguese missionaries in the mid-sixteenth century. By 1674 about 50 books had been printed in Konkani and Kanara languages. The English language press did not grow in India till quite late even though the English East India company began to import press from late 17th century.