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Book Review
TAMIL
Sangam age polity
S.N. KANDASWAMY
SANGA ILAKKIYA ARASIYAL: R. Narayanan; Kavya, 16, II Cross street, Trustpuram, Kodambakkam, Chennai 600024. Rs. 125.
THE SUPER eight anthologies and 10 idylls constitute the main corpus of the Sangam classics. They contain 2381 poems of different dimensions composed by about 475 poets who lived roughly during 500 B.C. to 300 A.D. Love and war are their dominant themes. They shed light on the social, cultural and political life of the ancient Tamils.
The present book is an attempt to project the multifaceted studies, carried out by many scholars of different ideologies, and political movements.
The reputed historians K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, S. Krishnaswami Iyengar, V.R.R. Dikshitar and others brought to limelight that more glorious and stronger government than that of the British existed in the Sangam period, thus stimulating the readers to develop patriotic fervour during the freedom struggle.
The contributions of the scholars who professed allegiance to the Justice party and the Dravidian movement to the popularisation of the Sangam poems inspiring the people to imbibe their cultural heritage are assessed. The dedicated services of U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, C.V. Damodharam Pillai and others to retrieve the Sangam classics from the palm leaf manuscripts in bringing out standard editions are mentioned.
The various commentaries and interpretations in the light of traditional as well as modern principles of literary criticism are adequately explicated. The author deserves all appreciation on this well documented book.
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