The upturned tree on the cover of the first volume draws attention. ‘Samsara Vriksham,’ says the flap quoting from Mundakopanishad. “The books needed something striking to attract the reader and we thought this concept would be apt for the cover of Volume 1,” explains Dr. V. Sundaram, one of the authors of “Saints and Sages of India,” the four-volume saga. A retired professor of chemistry from Vivekananda College, Mylapore, he traces the marathon effort that took more than 15 years to bear fruit.
Dr. Subramaniam, co-author and senior of the two, stresses that it was a service. The duo did not aim for fame or profit. The intention was to provide authentic and comprehensive information on the extraordinary people, who walked the earth. Both live in Chromepet and this brought them together on a few occasions. A common topic of conversation was spiritualism. Talking about saints and sages, the two often wondered why the information available was sketchy and inconsistent. Says Sundaram, “There are as many versions as there are books. Even biographical details are contradictory. So we thought we would compile a list of these divine people and collect information.”
“It was not at all an easy task,” supplies Dr. Subramaniam, who retired as Joint Director of Medical Services (Thoracic Medicine), Tamil Nadu Government. “We often wondered whether we had bitten off more than we could chew. But how could we abandon the project?” So the duo proceeded patiently, gathering nuggets by travelling the length and breadth of the country, visiting and revisiting places for information.
Their mission also faced hostility. “We received more brickbats than bouquets,” they chuckle. “There is already a book on our guru. What more can you add,” asked one. “You want to publish facts about our math and make money for yourself,” accused another. “We are happy with whatever information is available. Why this new initiative,” asked a sceptic.
“I’m a Vaishnavite and Dr. Subramaniam is a Saivite. Some thought we shouldn’t be working together,” says Dr. Sundaram. “The remarkable personalities we have written about don’t belong to the same age and their philosophies may be different but the message is the same — it underlines love. To me that is the best takeaway from the project. Finding the common ground for humanity,” he reveals. Much thought went into designing the wrapper for each volume.
“Remember, the subjects are far apart —geographically, linguistically and chronologically,” says Dr. Sundaram. Information in other languages had to be translated and pieced together. With the passage of time, facts changed too. For instance, when there is a change of guard in a religious institution, the entire text had to be revised and the search for fresh inputs started all over again. So much so that at one point, the authors decided to draw a line.
“Finding publishers was not easy either,” says Dr. Subramaniam. We are not computer literate. Everything was handwritten and we got it set up on the computer. From that stage to uploading the volumes on a compact disc was our task. We were new writers and publishers were wary. A retired professor of Jain College came forward to print the matter and finally our dream came true,” he adds.
Published by Vidyuth Publications, Chromepet, a set of four volumes is priced at Rs. 3,000.
