புதன், 24 அக்டோபர், 2018
செவ்வாய், 23 அக்டோபர், 2018
LATE DR.A.ARIVUNAMBI ACTING VICE CHANCELLOR OF PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY IS MY FOREVER FRIEND
LANGUAGE
LABOUR
N.Nandhivarman
Pondicherry University, a
Central University established the Department of Tamil in 1986, and later
upgraded to a School of Tamil. Yes, thus came the Subramania Bharathi School of
Tamil Language and Literature. “This school had produced 60 scholars who have
done their PhD’s and 28 are currently striving to become Doctors of Literature.
181 scholars obtained M.Phil degrees and currently 34 are studying. The
research culminates in presentation of scholarly thesis” states Dean of the
School Dr. A.Arivunambi. Dr.Arivunambi also functions as Acting Vice Chancellor
during the absence of the regular Vice Chancellor. As the leading beacon of
Tamil Development he states with pride that Pondicherry University is the first
and only one to have got grants for 5 years under Special Assistance Scheme
from the University Grants Commission. This recent achievement gives impetus to
draw plans for the development of Classical Tamil.
“If you want to know about the Tamil computing researchers, www.
tamilsoftware.biz lists out only 2 people from the Union territory of
Pondicherry. They are Professor Kuppusamy, who heads the Computer Sciences
Department of Pondicherry University and Prasanna Venkatesan, Lecturer of same
faculty. At one faculty two researchers exist to give impetus for promoting
Tamil in the world of web, and the other side we have a Tamil Department which
had yet to avail this talent within the campus to equip Tamil scholars and
students with adequate knowledge to handle computers and to elevate Tamil to
the reach of netizens.” opined a Tamil scholar with anguish. There seems to be
fresh plans for inter departmental coordination after such criticisms were
aired in scholarly circles.
The western experiments to open knowledge to one and all by creating
Open Access Online Libraries, from where all scholarly research papers could be
availed by anyone interested from any part of the globe is slowly spreading its
influence over Tamil scholars. Tamil lovers of Pondicherry are keen to know the
subjects of the research undertaken by various scholars in the Pondichery
University. “The practice to upload all research materials into Internet is a
must and web publishing must be given top priority so that what a researcher in
Pondicherry University does becomes known to other researchers all over the
world,” said C.P.Thirunavukkarasu, President of Anna Foundation. Though members
of the faculty have brought out many books and students too have many books and
articles to their credit, in these days of globalization, they have to market
their achievements, publicize them and bring it to public notice.
A report of the expert committee
headed by Va.Suba.Maniccam Former Vice Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University
had in the initial years suggested for creation of separate faculties for Tamil
Studies, Linguistic Studies, Fine Arts and Overseas studies. It had mooted the
suggestion that under the faculty of Tamil Studies departments of Tamil
Literature, Cultural studies, Religious and Mythological Studies, Comparative
literature and Indian folklore could be set up. The committee also had
suggested separate department for Bharathiar and Bharathidasan Studies.
The Faculty of Linguistic Studies with separate departments of Indian
Grammatical Studies, Linguistics, Translation, Dialectology and Tribal
languages and The Faculty of Fine Arts with Department of Music, dance, Drama
and Painting must have been set up, if the recommendations of the expert
committee had been taken into consideration. Much time is lost and because
these faculties and departments were not created in spite of the First Central
university being started in a Tamil language speaking region.
Dr.R.Kothandaraman of Tholkaapiyar Centre for Fundamental Research says
that “sixteen years had passed and lots of opportunities are lost. There is a
need to review the expert committee’s suggestions and to have an update on its
recommendations so that fresh initiatives to develop Tamil studies could be
explored”. Incidentally he was one of the members of that Expert committee. Due
to non allocation of funds where our representatives failed, all such new
departments could not come up till 2007, the time when next five year plan
launches. As a prelude for opening Departments of Modern Literature and
Religious Literature, two new M.Phil courses have started, thanks to the
initiatives of Dr.Ilamathi Janakiraman.
This unique Central University must be made into a global meeting place
for promoting Tamil as an international language with state-of-the-art
technology to connect to the global Tamil community via the Information Highway
feel the foreign scholars doing research in Tamil.
“To help Tamil communities living
abroad to establish a digital network for promoting the study of Tamil language
and literature, to establish a grid of learning so that Tamil communities
worldwide may exchange Web-based resources, to develop and promote Tamil in
electronic form to enable Tamil learners to experience the glory of Tamil
language and culture, to promote a sense of Tamil identity both in nations
having large Tamil populations and all former French colonies with which still
sizeable Pondicherrians are culturally and professionally interlinked,
Pondicherry University had lot to do” opines Mannar Mannan, President of
Puthuvai Tamil Sangam.
“These former French colonies have large population of Tamils who are on
the verge of forgetting their mother tongues. Hence online courses to impart
Tamil learning to geographically separate Tamil communities becomes the
historical mission of Pondicherry University and it is time it reaches out to
those who need its help” said Professor M.Lenin Thangappa.
But all scholars are hoping that
Subramania Bharathiar School of Tamil studies will surge ahead and scale great
heights in glory, since the very name of the school will be a source of
inspiration for all knowledgeable Tamils to pool their goodwill to make this
School known internationally.
Courtesy: New Indian Express-weekend: 7.05 2005
TO FACE NATURAL DISASTERS LOG IN TO NET AND BE ALERT
LOG IN, TO BE
PREPARED
N.Nandhivarman
The
internet provides a lot of information about natural disasters, and can help
people in being forearmed. For that is being forearmed.
Time
has come for including disasters management as part of our school curriculum.
As disasters have become common, the news coverage is more on the plight of the
victims but the thrust area of scientific protections and preparedness in
hazards management are ignored.
In
one way this could be explained. The question of who will bell the cat is a
major stumbling block for predictions. If a scientist forewarns, immediately
there are people to counter his views. Instead of expecting government agencies
to wake up on time, people must be prepared to rise to the occasion with help
of the media. In this field, various earthquake observatories of United States
Geological Survey and that of many universities provide information, easily
accessible to every one via internet.
Now
we can have just observed International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction on
OCTOBER 13 while we are surrounded by disasters. United Nations designated the
second Wednesday of October every year from December 22, 1989 as International
Day for Natural Disaster Reduction and called it as a vehicle to promote a
global culture of natural disaster reduction, including disaster prevention,
mitigation and preparedness.
EXPLANATION
_
Divergent plate boundaries- where now crust is generated as the plates pull
away from each other.
-Convergent plate
boundaries- where crust is consumed in the Earth’s interior as one plate dives
under another.
-Transform
plate boundaries- where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as plate’s side
horizontally past each other.
-Plate
boundary zones- Broad belts in which deformation is diffuse and boundaries are
not well defined.
Selected prominent hotspots
In
pursuance of this, we have to evaluate various measures suggested by United
Nations, scientific observatories, various countries and their experiences to
evolve right methods for facing natural hazards. It is here the lessons and play
tools crafted by the United States Geological survey assume significance. They
not only educate people about current earthquakes through animation pictures
taken from observatories but also prepare them to be mentally prepared to face calamities.
What
we now witness is quakes along the collision lines of continental plates.
Exactly what drives plate tectonics is not known. One theory’s that convection
within the Earth’s mantle pushes the plates, in much the same way that air
heated by your body rises upward and is defected sideways when it reaches the ceiling.
Another theory is that gravity is pulling the older, colder, and thus heavier,
ocean floor with more force than the newer, lighter sea floor. Whatever drives
the movement, plate tectonic activity takes place at four types of boundaries;
divergent boundaries, where new crust is formed; convergent boundaries, where
crust is consumed; collision boundaries, Where two land masses collide; and
transform boundaries, where two plate slide against each other, according to
the site www.enchantedlearning.com.
Another
truth that researchers are revealing is that the Earth’s longest mountain chain
is not the Andes in South America, or the Himalayas in Asia, or even North
America’s Rockies. It’s an underwater chain of mountain s 47,000 miles long.
The
Chain runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean [surfacing at Iceland]. AROUND
Africa, through the Indian Ocean, between Australia and Antarctica, and north
through the Pacific Ocean, Running along the top of this chain of mountains is
a deep crack, called a rift valley. It is here that new ocean floor is
continuously created. As the two sides of the mountain move quay from each
other, magma swells up from the Earth’s interior. It then solidifies into rock
as it is cooled by the sea, creating new ocean floor.
The
speed at which new ocean floor is created varies from one location on the ocean
ride to another. Between North America and Europe. The rate is about 2.2 inches
[(3.6) per year. At the East Pacific rise, which is pushing a plate into the
west coast of South America, the rate is 12.6 inches (32.2) per year. With
detailed mapping of the ocean floor came many observations that led scientists
like Howard Hess and R DEIZAto call the new theory as ‘Sea floor Spreading.’
Among
the features that supported the sea-floor spreading hypothesis were mid oceanic
ridges. deep sea trenches, island arcs, geomagnetic patterns, and fault
patterns. “The deepest waters are found in oceanic trenches, which plunge as
deep as oceanic trenches, which plague as deep as 35,000 feet below the ocean
surface. These trenches are usually long and narrow, and run parallel to and
near the oceans margins. They are often parallel to large continental mountain
ranges. Like the mid-oceanic ridges, and that the age of the ocean floor
increased in addition, it has been determined that the oldest seafloor often
ends in the deep-sea trenches.”
The Western
Pacific margin has islands such as the Aleutians, Knurliest, Japan, Ruckus,
Philippines, Marianas, Indonesia, Solomon’s, New Hebrides, and the Tonga’s,
which can be best described as ‘Island arcs’ and usually situated along deep
sea trenches situated on the continental side of the trench. All these and many
more new findings which could be read from various web sides provide A to Z
information on all natural phenomena along with projections for natural
disasters ahead.
On
hearing news about natural disasters, students could log onto these web sites
and find relevant information to forewarn the people. For instance it must be
noted that on the day of Pakistan and Kashmir Quake, there were 177 quakes all
over the world., They may be low on the Richter scale, but earth is uneasy and
if the quake is in the boundary of Indo-Australian plate as in the recent case one
can forewarn the route it may take in due course of time’s
Courtesy: New Indian Express: 15th
October 2005
LYSEE FRANCAISE PROFESSOR OF TAMIL MADANAKALYANI SHANMUGANANDAN
CHEVALIER
MADANAKALYANI
The French
Government had conferred the prestigious
title Chevalier dans L’Ordre des Palmes Acade’miques on Madanakalyani
Shanmuganandan who recently retired after 41 years of service as Professor of
Tamil in the French College called Lysee Francaise. She has a lengthy list of
publications to her credit on a variety of subjects, but she is hailed
particularly for her translations.
Translating
without losing the essence of what said in the original language is a risky
adventure. Our first President of India, Dr Rajendira Prasad, was to lay the
foundation stone for the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. For
that function the confusion created by translation is written in the book The
Constitution and Language Politics of India by Wing Commander BVR Rao. The book
narrates the incident thus;
“The authorities
got a Hindi translation from All India Radio Hindi expert. Since President
Prasad was to lay the foundation stone, they wanted to be sure of the correctness
of the translation. They asked the Government of India Hindi expert to give a translation
and they found it to be different from what was given by the AIR Hindi expert.
The officials concerned were worried since they did not want the President,
himself a Hindi expert, to criticize them for a wrong translation and therefore
decided to request the President himself to give the translation. When the
officials received it, it was different from what was given by the other two
Hindi experts.”
If translation
could cause so much confusion, one must understand the difficulties encountered
by translating poetry from Tamil to French and classics from French to Tamil.
In that difficult task Madanakalyani had scored, winning the prestigious Chevalier
award, which speaks about her efficiency.
For instance the
French college had brought out a beautiful book translated from French to Tamil
by Madanakalyani. Puthucheri: Oruvanigathala oorin varalaaru (History of
Pondicherry a Mercantile city]
It is a
remarkable book and its value is not being understood in the Library circles of
Pondicherry. “Only 27 copies of this monumental treatise have been bought.”
Madana kalyani says with anguish. If a noteworthy publication on Pondicherry
has no takers, it means, while the whole world is moving to watch History
channels, among Pondicherrians the interest in history is on the wane. She had
translated the Tamil folk songs of Pondicherry into French, a few of which had
been chosen and included among the meritorious poems in French in the year
1998.
The book
Britannicus by French dramatist Racine was translated into Tamil in 1974, titled
as Veezhchi. At the same time, Madana kalyani is to translate Tamil works into
French, out of abundant love for her mother tongue. The folk stories in
circulation in and around Pondicherry were translated into French and printed
in France titled Contes de Pondiche’ry. That book carried the Tamil version of
the folk songs too. Her remarkable popularity, we can mention with certainly is
due to her translation of La Peste written by the Nobel Laureate Albert Camus.
She had
translated Bharathiar’s poems in 1982 under the patronage of the Government of Pondicherry.
In 1988 she contributed to the translation of Siruthondar Puranam. Continuing
her efforts, by 1999 she had also been involved in translating Sakkier Puranam.
The stories of Vikramadithiya, Indian folk stories and Bharathidasan’ poems
were also rendered into French.
She had brought
into Tamil the Stories of Statues in Pondicherry, the poems of Poet Baudelaire,
Victor Hugo, La Fontaine, Apollinaire and Rimbaud. She also wrote a series in a
local Tamil daily for 80 days about simplified ways to learn French.
Prema
Nandakumar, in her commentary on the Tamil translation of Nobel Laurette Albert
Camus, says, “Let not Tamil lament over their failure to get the Nobel Prize.
Even if few books are written how it should be deeply written without deviating
from pragmatism, and how effectively it could illuminate the inner streams of
human thought must be learnt by reading the work of Albert Camus. Madanakalyani
with responsibility had done a great service.”
Such tribute to
her translation places Madanakalyani one among the top literary scholars of Pondicherry.
She is also the joint Secretary of Puthuvai Tamil Sangam, having assisted its
activities for too long a period. The title Chevalier conferred on Shivaji Ganesan
made it as popular as Padma Bhushan.”
In Pondicherry
there lives humble woman Chavalier who had not caught the due attention of
feminist writers and media. It is high time that the women litterateurs of
Tamil Nadu give due recognition for Madanakalyani,” says Tamil research scholar
in charge of Bharathiar Museum Dr N Sengamala Thayer. Let us hail the free flow
of French. Tamil literary exchanges made possible by Madanakalyani.
திங்கள், 22 அக்டோபர், 2018
FRENCH RESEARCHER ON PALLAVA ICONOLOGY
PALLAVA ICONOLOGY A
STUDY
N.Nandhivarman
The Ecole
Francaise D'Extreme Orient [EFEO] is a place where silently lot of research is
done but it is all in French. "To know about all Saiva agamas one had to
go to Paris University which had done extensive and intensive research",
says Dr.Vijayavenugopal of the Epigraphy section of this French
Institute." There are lots of Tamil scholars knowing French, but they
don’t translate all these researches into Tamil. These results he says. As I
frequent this institute I found the photographers Ravindran and Ramasamy Babu
equally knowledgeable on all Temple Art of Tamil Nadu. They were showing in
computer screen a pillar with a sculpture, and a young French lady immediately
said it is from Kailasanatha temple of Kanchipuram. I was dumbfounded. Most
Tamils may have visited temples, but just by seeing a sculpture they won’t be
in a position to recapture its identity and history.
[The narrative panel of Lord Lingodbhavar at
Kailasanathar temple in Kanchipuram]
I got introduced and enquired about her mission. She
is Valerie from Paris University who had come all the way from France and had
stayed here at Pondicherry for 8 months. Miss Valerie is doing her PhD on
Pallava iconography under the guidance of Ms.Nalini Balbir who works at
University of Paris. Ms.Nalini Balbir, her Professor is specializing in
Jainism. She had sent her two students to stay in Pondicherry to undertake
researches. That is how Valerie, a French girl had come here. Another Srilankan
Tamil girl Udaya Velupillai is doing research on Sirkazhi temple. It is
needless to say that Mr.Jean Deloche took 6 years to do a research on Gingee.
The time taken, efforts put in to make a research and the dedication of these
scholars makes them excel in their findings. In another rare feat to the team
of scholars is that the 11,000 manuscripts collected meticulously and preserved
by EFEO Pondicherry had been declared last week as world heritage having been
accepted by UNESCO.
Miss Valerie says that the “Pallavas invented new
iconography in 7 to 8 th centuries, which never existed before. According to
Miss. Valerie it is the beginning of South Indian iconography. Of particular
mention is that of Saivite iconography for which no parallels are found in the
North India. But when it comes to Vaishnavite iconography we find similar
evidences in North India. The best of Pallava iconography belongs to the period
of Rajasimha Pallaveshwaran. Kailasanatha temple of Kanchipuram is a temple
with very rich evidences of art”.
The idol of Lingodbhavar
at Kailasanathar Temple Kanchipuram may appear to be depicting a myth about ego
clashes between Hindu pantheons of gods. It shows Lord Shiva coming out of
Lingam and Lord Vishnu in Varaga form digging the Earth to trace his feet. Lord
Brahma assumes the bird form of “annaparavai”.
And goes to find Lord Shiva’s head. In midway he returns with failure, whereas
the efforts to reach his foot also did not bear fruit. Explaining the inner
meaning of this myth it is said Brahma denotes mental power and Vishnu physical
power. The message of the sculpture is that you can’t reach god by either
mental power or physical power. This narrative panel of mythology is a
remarkable piece of Pallava art.
A picture or
sculpture is worth a thousand words. Iconography is the traditional art of
portraying figures in pigment that symbolically mean more than a simple
depiction of the person involved. Icons have been used by different religions
including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. “In the case of the various
Hindu gods almost everything is considered symbolism. The figures are
blue-skinned (the color of heaven) with multiple arms holding various symbols
depicting aspects of the god (the drums of change, the flower of new life, the
fire of destruction, etc.). The many heads, eyes, feet, and arms do not have to
be taken literally” opined a scholar. Iconography had grown into a new science
called iconology.
Nowadays
study is devoted to all hidden aspects and meanings with the origins of such
art forms, hence new name of iconology gained currency.
Soviet scholar Sergei Tokorav in his History of
Religion writes “The cult of cross has nothing to do with the supposed
instrument used for Christ’s execution. The Romans did in fact crucify people
on crosses but they were in the form of letter “T”. The Christian cross was
extremely an ancient symbol that can be found in Egyptian, Cretan and other art
work. Its origin is hard to establish, but it is certain that cult of cross had
nothing to do with the legend of the crucification of Christ”. As in West in
India too nowadays scholars are looking for hidden meaning and roots of various
symbols in the art. The snake on Lord Shiva denotes the Snake cult of the early
Naga society. There is a debate among scholars about the origins of Saivism.
One school claims it emerged from the lost continent of Lemuria. Other school
argues that it came from Kashmiri Saivism.
Near Baroda
there is a place called Karom, which is shortened form of Kayaroganam. It is
from this place, a sect of Saivism Kayaroganam emerged. In Tamil Nadu
Nagapattinam is called Thirunagai Kayaroganam., indicating the spread of that
sect here. Kaya aroganam indicates we have to reach upwards to God. Kaya
avaroganam means God descending to Earth. These two sects of Saivism differ on
this point. From this sect the musical term aroganam and avaroganum came, says
Dr.Vijayavenugopal. There is also an opinion that Chola emperor Rajarajan
brought pasupatham sect of Saivism from North.
All these
researches done in French will help Miss Valerie get a doctorate from Paris
University. She refuses to talk about her research thesis, which is
justifiable. But after this thesis is submitted until it gets translated in
English and Tamil, people of Pondicherry or Tamil Nadu will have to remain in
dark about its content. The time difference will result in Tamil scholars
lagging behind in updated knowledge on iconology.
[Courtesy: New Indian Express dated: 2nd July 2005]
Prof. Susumu Ohno (23.08.1919 - 14.07.2008)
Japanese
Tamil scholar Susumu Ohno passes away
Professor Susumu Ohno, distinguished scholar of
Japanese linguistics, known for his phenomenal research of linking the origins
of Japanese language with Tamil, passed away on Monday in Tokyo at the age of
89, reported The Japan Times. He was working on the relationship between Tamil
and Japanese languages for the last 30 years and even last year came out with a
publication, reasserting to his theories. A 1999 book of him on Japanese
language sold nearly 2 million copies. Born on 23rd August 1919 and initiated
into linguistics in the late 1930s at the Tokyo University, his academic
contributions date back to the times of the Second World War. He later became a
Professor at the Gakushuin University of Tokyo.Ohno’s researches included the
study of language found in the earliest poetry of Japan, compiled in the 8th
century, and in an epic-novel of 11th century. His monumental publications
dealt with the origins, practice and usage of the Japanese language.
In the late 1970s he came out with his first writings
on the affinities between Tamil and Japanese. He was not the first to come out
with such a study, but he became the central figure in theorizing it. Ohno’s
Tamil-Japanese studies didn’t just stop at linguistics: comparing sounds,
words, grammar, and literature, but involved a wider area covering archaeology,
folklore etc. It is well known that Chinese and Japanese are fundamentally
different languages despite their geographical proximity. Linguists, account to
this difference by speculating maritime origins for the Japanese language.
Prof. Ohno, while accepting a Polynesian base for the
Japanese language in prehistoric times, put forwarded the theory of the influence
of Dravidian languages, especially Tamil shaping Japanese, along with the
introduction of agriculture in Japan in the Yayoi period between 500 BCE and
300 CE. He envisaged maritime contacts behind such developments.
To substantiate his theories he conducted research on
the comparison of the Yayoi burials of Japan with the Megalithic burials (1300
BCE – 300 CE) of South India and Sri Lanka. This study in early 1990s revealed
amazing similarities in pottery, burial habits and above all in the graffiti marks
between the two cultures.
Prof. Susumu Ohno maintained a long connection with
Tamil institutions and scholars. He encouraged many Japanese students to learn
Tamil.Sri Lankan Tamil scholars, Prof. A. Sanmugadas and Manonmani Sanmugadas
worked for a long time with Prof. Ohno and have brought out joint publications
while Dr. P. Ragupathy was associated with him in the study of Yayoi burials.
Encyclopedia of Languages & Linguistics refers to his Tamil-Japanese
studies in the following words:
"His search for the roots of Japanese language
started in 1957. He compared Japanese with Korean, Ainu, and Austronesian
languages. Unable to establish any kind of genetic kinship between them, he
turned to a branch of Dravidian. Encouraged by professors Emeneau and Kothandaraman,
Ohno pursued his Japanese-Tamil hypothesis in spite of withering criticism by
some Japanese scholars. Commenting on it, Zvelebil (1990) said: 'The
similarities between Japanese and Dravidian cannot be regarded as mere freakish
coincidence and may indeed reflect a very deep genetic kinship...' Ohno's
studies are trying to prove this kinship."
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