Lucknow, October 29: 'Bye Bye Corona', world's first scientoon book on coronavirus (COVID-19), was released at a function held at Raj Bhawan in Lucknow today by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. 'Bye Bye Corona' is written by "scientoonist" Dr Pradeep Srivastava who is a former Senior Principal Scientist of CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI). The book is published by Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous agency under the central government's Department of Science and Technology (DST). COVID-19 Vaccine: India Has Reserved Nearly Rs 51,000 Crore to Vaccinate All Citizens, Says Report.

'Bye Bye Corona' has 220 pages and contains comprehensive information on the coronavirus pandemic, its symptoms and its prevention through precautions. The book also has a very interesting chapter on the "Art of Living with Coronavirus" highlighting the methods to deal with the virus in day to day life if it is here to stay for a longer time. It offers a perspective insight into the intricacies of the deadly pandemic without scaring the reader. COVID-19 Vaccine in India: 30 Million, Including Frontline Health Workers, to be Vaccinated in First Phase.

"The basic purpose of this book is to make people aware of COVID-19 in an engaging way. I drew few scientoons and posted them on my Facebook. Dr Nakul Parashar (Director, Vigyan Prasar) noticed them and tossed the idea of developing a book of scientoon on coronavirus. I planned for a 50 pages book initially, as I was working single-handedly on the project. After having realized the vastness of the subject, I decided to seek toon contribution from more people. The final version of the book has 220 pages," said Dr Pradeep Srivastava.

Other than him, seven students scientoonists namely Lakiesha Inacia Coehlho E Costa, Da Costa Maria Scimran Blossom, Priyanka Shanke, Samaradini Paigankar, Selcea Savia Da Costa and Prathamesh P. Shetgaonkar from Parvati Bai Chowgule College, Madgaon, Goa, also contributed to the book. Another contributor is Vishal Mulia, a school teacher in Gujarat.

"Post its launch in India, the book would soon be released in Brazil under Brazil-India Network program and would possibly be translated into the Portuguese language," informed Dr Srivastava. Vigyan Prasar has further planned to make a 3D version of this book, so as to facilitate its multilingual adaptation across India and abroad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 29, 2020 08:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).