The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Thamrapathrams' intact, says TTD

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 26, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Thamrapathrams' intact, says TTD

Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI: The TTD has asserted here on Sunday that the `Thamrapathrams' (copper plates) containing the compositions of the saint-poet Annamacharya are safe in the TTD's Sri Venkateswara Museum at Tirumala.

Nobody can even touch them without the prior permission of the competent authorities, it maintained and said that no `thamrapathrams' were sent anywhere and hence there is no question of their missing. The assertion comes in the wake of a report in an English daily (not The Hindu ) that some 1,500 precious `talapatrams' (palm leaf manuscripts) containing some compositions of the 15th century Telugu poet, Annamacharya have `gone missing from the Tirumala temple since they were illegally sent to the US apparently to have them digitised.

`Incorrect'

In a rejoinder the TTD not only described the report as incorrect but also clarified that what was sent to M/s Internet Archive, San Fransisco, USA, for digitising was a "non-important" palm leaf bundle containing 69 leaves. They were sent with the sole intention to conduct some R&D on evaluating scanners of suitable technology with required facilities. The bundle sent to US does not have manuscript of any rare and valuable matter and it is usually available anywhere, says the TTD in the release and pointed out that presently there was no suitable equipment, technology and know-how available for digitisation of palm leaf manuscripts which needed high resolution to capture the inscriptions on high quality basis.

Further clarifying the position the release referred to the TTD's partnership with the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pittsburgh, USA, heading the Universal Digital Library Project.

Digitising

According to the release, the project aimed at digitising the data available on philosophy, temple worship, religion, heritage, culture, literature etc and make them available online free from anywhere to anyone at anytime with no restriction.

The TTD said that it sent the bundle to the US agency as part of its programme to preserve the ancient manuscripts through appropriate technology for the benefit of our posterity.

The Internet Archive, San Francisco, the note said, is engaged in the R&D in this line.

The note said that in view of the controversy, the agency suspended its work half way through and returned the palm-leaves bundle intact to the TTD.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh