May 14th, 2008 
krishna In Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, there is one place where printing press works overtime. The only task this press does is to roil Hindu spiritual literature. From Ramayan to Mahabharata, SrimadBhagwat Geeta to Puranas coupled with children books like panchtantra and Badon ke jeevan se shiksha. Yes, we are talking about GEETA PRESS- country’s most trusted and authentic source for ancient scriptures.
This press was set up almost 90 years back. Till date it has produced more than 6.5 crore copies of GITA and RAMCHARITMANAS. Surprisingly, it is still not able to meet the demand from readers. This press runs its monthly magazine KALYAN which was started in 1927. It is a platform to promote moral and social values of Hindu society. This magazine is famous for its special issues which publishes original Hindu Scriptures along with a Hindi translation.
This press is responsible for evolving a completely new book culture in the world. Its popularity spans the entire country. You often might have come across one of its stalls if you have ever travelled through Indian Railways. On every big station, Geeta press has its stall. The maximum price it charges for the book is Rs 1350 where as the cheapest book it sell is that of Rs 1.00.
It also has given faces to Indian deities. Though some critics do not agree with what it has presented in its illustrations, however one may not deny the fact that there are more than 2500 such illustrations which are now considered as holy by a common man. It was Gita press which for the first time translated the Puranas like Garun, Koorm, Waman and Vishnu and circulated them through its magazine.In the year 1920, followers of Seth Jai Dayal Goyandka, a Geeta preacher, suggested the publication of his interpretations. The Vanik Press in Kolkata did so however the version was full of mistakes. Goyandka was dismayed and started thinking about setting up his own press. Ghan Shayam Jalan, one of his pupils suggested setting one in Gorakhpur itself, which is where Gita press was first set up on April 29, 1923.
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