11-24-2005, 07:07 AM
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A mission to know India's rich past
Alladi Jayasri
30,000 people have fanned out in nine States for the first ever survey of manuscripts
BANGALORE: Eighth century India was quite close to cracking the mysteries of mathematics that have been unravelled by modern European experts. Nearly everything, from rocket science to astronomy to aerodynamics, from plastic surgery to transplants to cures for diabetes and hypertension have answers that go deep into India's 5,000-year history.
Today India, though considered a civilisation without much written history, boast a stupendous five million ancient manuscripts that open a window to ancient knowledge systems, religion, astronomy, astrology, art, architecture, science, literature, philosophy and mathematics, all held in trust by individuals and families, institutions and temples.
Worth
Some whose worth is unknown to their owners, some in such serious state of decay as to crumble when handled.
On Monday, 30,000 people fanned out across the hinterland in nine States, including Karnataka, to begin the first ever survey of manuscripts that are being held by many families and individuals, cherished as precious pieces of inheritance handed down through the generations.
Five-day exercise
The five-day exercise, launched by the National Mission for Manuscripts, will locate the scattered treasure trove of manuscripts, estimated at over five million. Mission's Director Sudha Gopalakrishnan told The Hindu on the sidelines of the nine-day Mahabharata Utsav that concluded here on Monday, "we will create a manuscript map of India and piece together the country's unknown, inaccessible and fragmented intellectual heritage."
Pilot survey
The mission, set up two years ago, first had to contend with the possibility of general ignorance about India's written tradition. A pilot survey in December last in Orissa, 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 10 districts of Bihar threw up results that could not be ignored, a massive campaign was launched to create awareness about manuscripts in preparation for the survey. About 2,700 people fanned out in 53 districts.
Orissa, known as a repository of palm leaf manuscripts, yielded 2.9 lakh manuscripts. Bihar was a neat harvest of 1.5 lakhs, and the12 districts of Uttar Pradesh gave two lakhs. Of this, 1.8 lakh came from Varanasi.
Handwritten documents with knowledge content over 75 years old are qualified to be declared a part of India's heritage. The pilot survey threw up documents dating to 14th century.
At Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, the mission found Mahabharata writings weighing one quintal.
But manuscripts are being lost at an alarming speed, due to ignorance. The people owning manuscripts often find them to be white elephants, as they do not know how to preserve and conserve them. But now there is technology available, and the mission, which comes under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, trains students, librarians and private collectors in conservation.
A manuscript conservator with the project stumbled on a 400-year-old Arabic text on ancient Islamic healing procedures in a dusty college library. The mission staff have come across people who have thrown away powdery palm leaves and paper since it could not be retrieved.
On Monday, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam released an edited version of a 500-year-old Vadiraja Tirtha's text on the Mahabharata, a treasure that was recently discovered by scholars in Karnataka.
A mission to know India's rich past
Alladi Jayasri
30,000 people have fanned out in nine States for the first ever survey of manuscripts
BANGALORE: Eighth century India was quite close to cracking the mysteries of mathematics that have been unravelled by modern European experts. Nearly everything, from rocket science to astronomy to aerodynamics, from plastic surgery to transplants to cures for diabetes and hypertension have answers that go deep into India's 5,000-year history.
Today India, though considered a civilisation without much written history, boast a stupendous five million ancient manuscripts that open a window to ancient knowledge systems, religion, astronomy, astrology, art, architecture, science, literature, philosophy and mathematics, all held in trust by individuals and families, institutions and temples.
Worth
Some whose worth is unknown to their owners, some in such serious state of decay as to crumble when handled.
On Monday, 30,000 people fanned out across the hinterland in nine States, including Karnataka, to begin the first ever survey of manuscripts that are being held by many families and individuals, cherished as precious pieces of inheritance handed down through the generations.
Five-day exercise
The five-day exercise, launched by the National Mission for Manuscripts, will locate the scattered treasure trove of manuscripts, estimated at over five million. Mission's Director Sudha Gopalakrishnan told The Hindu on the sidelines of the nine-day Mahabharata Utsav that concluded here on Monday, "we will create a manuscript map of India and piece together the country's unknown, inaccessible and fragmented intellectual heritage."
Pilot survey
The mission, set up two years ago, first had to contend with the possibility of general ignorance about India's written tradition. A pilot survey in December last in Orissa, 12 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 10 districts of Bihar threw up results that could not be ignored, a massive campaign was launched to create awareness about manuscripts in preparation for the survey. About 2,700 people fanned out in 53 districts.
Orissa, known as a repository of palm leaf manuscripts, yielded 2.9 lakh manuscripts. Bihar was a neat harvest of 1.5 lakhs, and the12 districts of Uttar Pradesh gave two lakhs. Of this, 1.8 lakh came from Varanasi.
Handwritten documents with knowledge content over 75 years old are qualified to be declared a part of India's heritage. The pilot survey threw up documents dating to 14th century.
At Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, the mission found Mahabharata writings weighing one quintal.
But manuscripts are being lost at an alarming speed, due to ignorance. The people owning manuscripts often find them to be white elephants, as they do not know how to preserve and conserve them. But now there is technology available, and the mission, which comes under the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, trains students, librarians and private collectors in conservation.
A manuscript conservator with the project stumbled on a 400-year-old Arabic text on ancient Islamic healing procedures in a dusty college library. The mission staff have come across people who have thrown away powdery palm leaves and paper since it could not be retrieved.
On Monday, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam released an edited version of a 500-year-old Vadiraja Tirtha's text on the Mahabharata, a treasure that was recently discovered by scholars in Karnataka.