710318 - Letter to Advaita written from Bombay

Letters by Date, 1971

Letter to Advaita (Page 1 of 2)

Letter to Advaita (Page 2 of 2)

Tridandi Goswami
A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami

CAMP: ISKCON; Akash-Ganga Bldg, 7th Floor; 89 Warden Road
Bombay-26, INDIA
March 18th, 1971

My Dear Advaita,

Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letters dated 12th and 25th February as well as enclosed ISKCON Press Newsletter dated 22nd January, 1971. Also I have received all our new publications and I am very much pleased with them. I can see from "Purusa-sukta Confirmed" that our printing has very much improved, especially the color cover, and if it continues to improve in this way it will be a great credit for our Press. The membership receipt book is also quite satisfactory.
So far as reprinting of N.O.D., for the time being this printing may not be taken up if it hasn't already begun because until now we have had nobody fixed up for the responsibility of binding. Until now we could not fix up our own place, neither there is any responsible men who can be entrusted with this work. But very recently we have sent some men to Delhi and as soon as the Delhi branch is fixed up, I shall write to you in this connection.
So far as T.L.C., in India we have got sufficient stock of this book, but if there is a demand in U.S.A. or if the stock of TLC is already finished, then you can print one book, not five small books. Another suggestion is if this can be reduced to small pages like penguin books and printed at very cheap price. What will be the cost for such a book? If you reduce the size of the page, then it has to be photographed. So there would be no need of recomposing.
The new BTG logo is very nice. It is accepted. The original idea is improved in this logo. I am very glad. So far as the new BTGs sent by you, all of them are very nice.
Regarding Bhagavad Gita As It Is, this book is very urgently required. You had previously quoted a price of $17,000. So why print in Dai Nippon for $20,000 and lose $3,000? If it is possible to print on our press, that is better, but if not then Dai Nippon may do the printing. It is understood that BTG department has become debtor to Dai Nippon by $52,000 and they wanted to stop printing on BTG. I have therefore immediately paid them $20,000 out of my book fund so that BTG may not be stopped. I think that there is a lack of management in realizing the return on BTG. The idea is like this: If you print 200,000 BTG and collect at least 25￠ per copy, the collection is $50,000. Out of that, $14,000 is paid to Dai Nippon. So why there should be scarcity of money? It is simply mismanagement.
Hoping this will meet you in good health.

Yours sincerely,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami

ACBS/adb

Sriman Advaita Das Adhikary
38-40 North Baecon Street
Boston, Mass. 02134
U.S.A.