Kottarakkara: A handwritten copy of the Holy Bible prepared by Thrikkannamangal native Mathew Abraham has stunned many with its perfection. The Bible printed by Bengaluru Bible Society, which is the most circulated Bible in the country, is written in the same style in a similar sized book. The letters are written in the same font size in attractive handwriting.
Mathew was gifted a dummy Bible by a friend in 2013. When the Bible was delivered from Korea, he found that it was not printed and the pages were blank. He decided to keep the book that was mere 21 cm long and 13 cm wide. Later, he started copying the Bible into the book.
The small letters cannot be copied in the same font size using a normal pen. So, Mathew used a German pen that has a special steel nib called Rotring Isograph. Its ink does not spread even when exposed to moisture.
One page contains 52 lines and two columns. He took one hour to complete two pages. He used six pens and two bottles of ink. The writing process started in 2013 and finished in 2017. The 902-page Old Testament and the 266-page New Testament is written in the same style in the Bible.
Mathew completed writing so carefully that no spelling or grammar error occurred in it. even the pictures are copied in the same way. Not even a line or word is changed. In fact, the handwritten Bible looks more attractive than the printed one.
Mathew Abraham was a lecturer at Kottarakkara SG College and Peringalam College. He had taken voluntary retirement in 1994 to take care of his wife. The couple has three children, Anitha, Ajith and Amritha.
