A calendar issued by a socially-minded organisation in Tiruchi with pictures of the city’s inter-caste married couples is just one among the many unusual pieces of printed material awaiting the connoisseur’s eye at S. Muruganantham’s house in Woraiyur.
“This was printed regularly in the 1930s by Neelavathi Ramasubramaniam, a follower of E V Ramasamy (Periyar), who worked tirelessly for the Self-Respect Movement,” says Murugananthan, 76, a former farmer and businessman who has been collecting rare and arcane samples of books, newspapers and magazines since his college days in 1969.
“I have always been a voracious reader, and have the habit of setting aside interesting books for my personal library. Having been associated with former Chief Minister, K Kamaraj, through the Youth Congress, I also have a big collection of political literature,” he says.
The septuagenarian recently exhibited samples from his collection at the District Central Library’s World Book Day celebration, with other bibliophiles from in and around Tiruchi.
A copy of ‘Tamil Harijan’ in Muruganantham’s collection. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
A book from 1936 where the handwritten script of Ramalinga Swamigal (1823-1874), also known as Vallalar, can be seen alongside annotations on the facing side. | Photo Credit: M. MOORTHY
Rare books
Once an avid hunter of old manuscripts in Chennai’s old Moore Market and antiquarian shops, Muruganantham has curbed his enthusiasm slightly as he is unsure of how to preserve his beloved collection.
“It is difficult to read some of the older Tamil literature, because the alphabet and style of writing has changed. And with the reading habit on the decline anyway, I often wonder what will happen to my treasure,” he says with a rueful smile.
He brightens up, however, when he talks of personal favourites in his collection. “This is a book from 1936 where the handwritten script of Ramalinga Swamigal (1823-1874), also known as Vallalar, can be seen alongside annotations on the facing side. I also have a reprinted version of the handwritten journal of E V Ramasamy (Periyar) written when he visited the Soviet Union in 1932.”
He also an 1890 copy of a book that details the life and songs written by Tamil philosopher Thayumanavar Swamigal.
Muruganantham says many old books are sold cheap, despite their literary value. “I haven’t paid more than ₹50 for a manuscript, even though the bookseller may have bought it from a wholesaler for a much lower price. My interest in buying the book makes it costlier,” he laughs.
Literary activities
In 2002, he published Nandanthai Vaazhi Tiruchirappalli, a compendium of articles from various sources to mark the city’s historic achievements over a century. Besides this, Muruganantham has also been actively engaged in promoting the knowledge of Thirukkural through Ulaga Thirukkural Peravai, and has been a close associate of orator and writer Kundrakudi Adigal.
A love for factual information seems to punctuate Muruganantham’s rare book selections. He produces a voluminous and slightly battered Tamil-Tamil ‘agarathi’ (dictionary) published by Ananda Vikatan, and follows it up with The Pudukottai Gazetteer from the 1920s. A copy of Tamil Harijan, the Tamil version of Mahatma Gandhi’s weekly English newspaper Harijan published in 1942, slips out from a bunch of papers.
The collector is quite happy to share his books with the public, if they promise to return them. “I have lost too many documents by sharing them in good faith. Now I usually note the borrower’s address and ensure that the manuscripts are back with me.”
