The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rare manuscripts on display at museum

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Sunday, Jun 28, 2009
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Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rare manuscripts on display at museum

Staff Reporter

Some of the materials are 400 years old

— PHOTO: R.SHIVAJI RAO

TREASURE TROVES: School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu takes a look at the manuscripts displayed at the Government Museum in Chennai on Friday. Commissioner of Museums T.S. Sridhar (second from right) is in the picture.

CHENNAI: A week-long exhibition of rare manuscripts got under way at the Centenary Exhibition Hall of the Government Museum, Egmore, on Friday. It is being organised by the museum in association with the National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi.

A neat, artistic handwriting on an old, yellow-brown bundle of palm leaves attracts attention almost instantly. This fascinating English-to-Tamil dictionary is bound to impress visitors. Other texts on palm leaves and different traditional material include the Ramayana and Tholkappiam.

The items on display include Sivalingam-shaped palm leaf manuscripts, an illustrated manuscript of the Gita Govindham, painted planks and carved, ivory manuscripts.

Officials at the museum said some of the materials were 400 years old. The exhibits were contributed by the Department of Museums, Government Museum, Chennai; the Department of State Archaeology, Chennai; the Saraswati Mahal Library and Research Centre, Thanjavur; Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Maha Vidyalaya, Kancheepuram and the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Chennai.

Inaugurating the exhibition, School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu said it was a very rare and special collection of manuscripts. “They give us an idea of some of our traditional cultural and literary symbols. It is very interesting,” he said. The exhibition will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. till July 2.

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