V. Prakash, a post-doctoral fellow of Contemporary Tamil Studies in Indology Department of the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP), has been selected for the Presidential Awards for Young Scholars in Classical Tamil for the year 2015-16.
A native of Pudukottai, Mr. Prakash has been recognised for his works on ‘textual criticism’ and Tinai – Unarvum Porulum . Pursuing research in classical Tamil literature in the Contemporary Tamil Studies, he has adopted an inter-disciplinary approach to his work in classical Tamil literature.
Speaking about the relevance of classical Tamil literature in the contemporary period, he says: “Classical and contemporary Tamil literature are strongly linked and cannot be read in isolation. One has to know classical Tamil to understand the contemporary literature. Contemporary culture and research methods and language structure helps for an in-depth understanding of classical Tamil.”
He joined the IFP to pursue research under the guidance of Professor Y. Subbarayulu and Researcher M. Kannan at the Contemporary Tamil Studies in Indology Department in 2013.
Mr. Prakash states the research in Tamil literature is in want of more support. “The government has to extend more support for research in Tamil literature. Encouraging different approaches to the research in language and making it more relevant to the lives of people would help in enriching the language,” he noted.
His current research on hunger is a testimony to his research on studying language through different disciplines. The Contemporary Tamil Studies of the IFP, along with the Department of Study of Religion and Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies in Toronto University, are working on the project ‘Pasi Pini’. “I am working with Associate Professor Srilata Raman from Toronto University to conduct research on hunger and famine as documented in Tamil literature,” he said.
This research work tries to look into the phenomenon of hunger and famine in Tamil history through the prism of Tamil literature during the 18th and 19th century.
