The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : `Manuscripts survey to help preserve nation's heritage'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 16, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

`Manuscripts survey to help preserve nation's heritage'

Staff Reporter

Governor inaugurates State-level survey of manuscripts

WRITING FROM THE PAST: Governor R.L. Bhatia watches his name being written on a palm leaf by a traditional manuscript writer at the inauguration of the State-level survey of manuscripts of Kerala organised by the Department of Archives in the city on on Thursday. — Photo: S. Gopakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The elaborate survey of manuscripts undertaken by the State Department of Archives is sure to go a long way in the intricate process of preserving the nation's precious scripts for posterity, Governor R. L. Bhatia has said.

He was speaking after inaugurating the State-level survey of manuscripts of Kerala organised by the department.

Mr. Bhatia said, ever since the dawn of independence there has been focussed efforts to gauge the depth and dimensions of the nation's heritage. A sizeable part of material related to Indian antiquity is yet to be unearthed from its hidden havens. One of the main objectives of the National Mission for Manuscripts is to document and catalogue the missing ones, retrieving them from private and public repositories across the country. "It is highly commendable that a national database is to be compiled so as to facilitate conservation and preservation of manuscripts. Another major step is the development of a software named `e-grandhavali' through which each and every detail is made available online. Such far-sighted efforts, I am sure, will bear fruit in the near future," Mr. Bhatia said.

It is a matter of joy and pride that the Kerala State Archives Department has the largest collection of palm-leaf manuscripts in the world. It has also a large collection of paper manuscripts throwing light on the cultural legacy of the State. However, a lot remains to be traced out and catalogued. Scattered over the entire land there are so many such treasure troves mostly under private possession. As in the case of the Kerala State Literacy Mission a network of specialist educators, promotion workers and volunteers have to be involved in carrying out the task, he added.

Education Minister M. A. Baby was also present.

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