TAMIL SCHOLARS AND SAVANTS (by V. Sundaram, IAS)

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N. Ganesan

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Oct 29, 2016, 12:14:36 PM10/29/16
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TATTVA DARSANA Quarterly, 2011 has published this book review by SADHU prof. V. Rangarajan.
A book on Tamils scholars of the recent past in V. Sundaram's viewpoint, (Vanathi Pathippakam, 2010)
Mr. V. Sundaram was from Tiruchy, and a collector of Tirunelveli district. An article I am particularly
interested in is about K. M. Balasubramaniam.  ~NG


TAMIL SCHOLARS AND SAVANTS
“SCHOLARS AND SAVANTS (Portraits of Selected Tamil Scholars)”
by V.Sundaram, B.A.(Hons), M.A., I.A.S. (Retd.); Published by Vanathi
Pathippakam, 23, Deenadayalu Street, Thyagarayanagar, Chennai-600
017; First Edition, December 2010; Pages: xviii+168; Price: Rs. 80-00
Students of English literature are familiar with the verse of Longfellow in his
poem, A Psalm of Life:
“Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.”
When a versatile genius and a prolific writer with a computer brain, like V.
Sundaram, I.A.S. (Retd.), takes up the task of presenting pen portraits of great
men, it is certain to galvanize the souls of readers and elevate them to a
higher plane of consciousness. His latest contribution to the world of
inspiring biographies, “SCHOLARS AND SAVANTS (Portrait of Selected
Tamil Scholars)”, is A beautiful gallery of portraits in soul-stirring words, of
great scholars and savants of Tamilnadu who embellished with their unique
contributions not only the field of language and literature, but also the
spiritual and social renaissance of the Tamils.
His study of the galaxy of Tamil savants and scholars spans a vast period of
five centuries from the seventeenth to the present one, with an exception of an
enlightening piece on Vedanta Desika of 14th century. Most of them belong
to the nineteenth century. It was the inspiring autobiography of Dr. U. Ve.
Swaminatha Iyer that has induced Sri Sundaram to look at the larger literary
landscape of Tamil literature in the 19th century.
Unlike the popular biographical sketches, Sundaram has endeavoured to
capture the soul and spirit of the scholars and savants and present before a
generation which has lost its vision of the glorious past because of the
glamour of modern politics and materialistic thinking. The startling
revelations that he makes in the various articles included in the compendium
are perhaps unknown to many of the modern students of Tamil language and
literature. He reveals how “Manikkodi was indeed an avant-garde journal,
setting new trends, establishing new norms, proclaiming new values,
destroying old customs and upholding new ideals.”
He points out that Sri V.G. Suryanarayana Sastriar who assumed the Tamil
pseudonym, Parithimal Kalaignar by literally translating his Sanskrit name
into Tamil, though obtained a rank in the Madras University in Philosophy
and Tamil, declined an offer of the post of Lecturer in Philosophy and
preferred the post of Tamil Pundit which carried a lower salary and he was
the first man in the history of Tamilnadu to make such a choice.
Presenting Johann Phillip Fabricius as the Samuel Johnson of Tamil
Language, Sundaram points out that Fabricius gave the title of ‘A Malabar
and English Dictionary’ to the famous Tamil and English Dictionary in 1779,
because the Europeans called the Tamil language as Malabar Language and
the dictionary was produced to explain in detail the words and phrases of
Tamil language with reference to the context, usage, convention and custom.
Sundaram hails Bharati as eternal flame of nationalism, nay, rather
universalism, and says, “Even as Mahatma Gandhi gave moral grandeur and
greatness to our struggle for freedom, Mahakavi Bharati added poetry and
grace to it and so much so that his songs were on the lips of every
revolutionary and freedom fighter in this part of the country during those
exciting and soul-stirring times.”.
Very few people know that Bharati’s genius was discovered by a young boy
of 18 who had the opportunity of moving closely with the Mahakavi and
listen to his singing of his immortal lyrics in Sadhu Ganapathi Pantulu’s
house in Tirunelveli. At a time when Rabindranath Tagore received the Nobel
prize, and the greatness of Bharati was not equally recognized, the lad, A.V.
Subramania Iyer wrote a fine article on Bharati and it was published in ‘New
India’ founded by Annie Besant. Bharati was very much elated by the
grateful acknowledgement of his contribution to the literary world and
wanted to see the writer without realizing that he was very much present in
Pantulu’s house at the time when the poet expressed his desire to meet him.
Panthulu then pointed to A.V. Subramania Iyer, the author of that article, and
Bharati jumped up and hugged Iyer and warmly thanked him.
In the article on Damodaram Pillai, reference is made to the fact that
Virasolium of Buddamitrar, a grammatical work edited by Pillai, was a
compact and at the same time a complete Tamil Grammar which had given
full recognition to the impact of Sanskrit on Tamil. In the pen-portrait of
Arumuga Navalar, the author throws light on the fact that though Navalar,
who worked for sometime as a Tamil Pandit in the English Methodist School
in Jaffna run by Rev. Peter Percival, translated at the request of the latter the
Bible into Tamil and that translation was accepted as the best of several such
earlier translations, he equipped himself with a deep study of Tamil literature
and Saivite religious classics and published leaflets criticizing the conversion
work of the Christian missionaries which brought him into conflict with the
authorities of his Christian School and he was forced to leave the school on
the ground that it stood for religious proselytism and not liberal education.
An interesting revelation in the article on Manonmaniam Sundaram Pillai is
that for his theme of the renowned drama ‘Manonmaniam’, he went to a
Victorian English poet and novelist Lord Bulwer Lytton (1803-1873) and the
latter’s poem the Secret Way found in his Lost Tales of Miletus.
The biographical sketch of the great Marava patron of Tamil language and
literature, Pandithurai Thevar, presents him as a staunch nationalist and
patriot who gave a big helping hand to V.O. Chidamabaram Pillai when he
started his revolutionary Swadeshi Steam navigation company in 1906 and in
the founding of Madurai Tamil Sangam, he not only viewed it as a literary or
cultural academy, but also a nationalist organization, emphatically declaring
that “The love of one’s language is not only the basis of patriotism but also of
the love for one’s religion. “
Throwing elaborate light on the contribution of J.M. Nallaswami Pillai—A
Trailblazer in Saiva Siddhanta, the author points out how Pillai wrote with
great passion and conviction which should give a cultural shock to the anti-
Sanskrit and Anti-Hindu Dravidian racist scholars of today. He quotes Pillai:
“As I have already pointed out, the Tamil literature being saturated with the
Saiva Siddhanta philosophy the few European scholars like Rev. Dr.
G.U.Pope and others who laboured hard in this field have been led to think
that this philosophy is the choicest (pure) product of the Dravidians (Tamils)
and it had no relation to the ancient Sanskrit philosophy and their opinions
seem to be guiding subsequent writers like Rev. Mr. Goudie, Prof. Frazer and
others….I should like to correct the notion first that there is anything
peculiarly Tamilian in Saiva religion and philosophy; but on the other hand
almost all the terms and forms we use are derived from Sanskrit; and the bulk
of the literature in Tamil dwindles into insignificance when compared with
the vast Agama literature in Sanskrit.“ Sundaram says that Nallaswami Pillai
courageously stood for this position to the very end of his life.
The learned author pays glowing tributes to his friend and colleague, Pe. Na.
Appuswami who was undoubtedly an apostle of Tamil Scientific writing and
a renaissance man. Though a lawyer by profession, Pe. Na. Appuswami
produced several text books in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Zoology
from the High School level to the college level (B.A./B.Sc.) and authored
several popular books in Science (both in Tamil and English) for the children
and the common masses. He wrote about some of the prominent Indian
Scientists, their genius and achievements pointing out, “We do not know the
names of those most ancient men who wrested many secrets from Nature….
The early seeds of science in India lay dormant for centuries.” Sri Sundaram
recalls how the house of Pe.Na. Appuswami at Mylapore, Chennai, was a
meeting place of renowned scholars and savants of Tamil. He also tells how
he had the good fortune to help Pe. Na.. who was over 89 years old, in
translating into English some of the Sangam classics.
The article on Vedanta Desika throws light on how his Abheetisthavam
helped the devotees of Lord Ranganatha at Srirangam to withstand the
onslaughts of Muslim marauders who invaded South India under the
leadership of Malik Kafur. He rose to the status of an Acharya of
Vaishnavism by the age of 27 and because of his proficiency in Kavya, Logic
and Philosophy, earned the title of ‘Kavitarkika Simha (kesari)’He also
gained a general mastery of Tamil grammar and Poetics (Dramida).
Much light is thrown on Aadi Kumaragurupara Swamigal, a great saint who
hailed from Srivaikunatam in Tirunelveli district in Tamilnadu and moved to
Kasi in the distant north as per his guru’s command and established the Kasi
Mutt there. Legend is that Emperor Aurangazeb was overwhelmed by the
ever growing and radiating spiritual and cultural influence of the saint and
wanted to see him. The swami prayed to Goddess Saraswati by composing
his ‘Sakalakalavalli maalai’ and instantaneously by Her grace, achieved
proficiency in Hindustani. It is said he went to see the emperor riding on a
lion symbolic of courage and pride and the emperor was greatly impressed
with the Swamigal’s holiness and learning and allotted him a piece of land
near Kedar Ghat to set up Kumaraswami Matam, popularly known as Kasi
Matam.
Another scintillating biographical account in the book is on the Tamil poetsaint
Vannacharabam Thandapani Swamigal who wrote, long before
Mahakavi Bharatiyar, powerful patriotic songs in Tamil, exposing the
unbearable torture of cruelties, brutalities, banalities and corruption of the
British rule in India in his polemical and literary work called ‘Aangileyar
Andathi’. Known also as Murugadaasar, the swamigal also authored
Manuneri Tirunool, an imitation of Tiruvalluvar in 1300 couplets.
In the article titled ‘A Littérateur Par Excellence’, Sundaram pays glowing
tributes to Thiruvachakamani K.M. Balaubramaniam, whose unique
contribution to the world of Saiva Siddhanta Literature is his masterly
translation of Tiruvachakam into English which earned him the title
Tiruvachakamani from Dharmapuram Adheenam. Referring to the genius of
KMB, the author says, “Starting as a politician and as an atheist, he was the
first Tamil scholar to translate the radical writings of Robert G. Ingersoll
(1833-1899) into Tamil. In the last three decades of his life he became totally
absorbed in the spiritual treasures of Tiruvachakam and Saiva siddhanta.”
The author throws light on the patronage given to Carnatic Music by the
Maratha rulers of Tanjore and refers to Shankarabharanam Narasaiyer who
was a contemporary of Raja Sarfoji. It refers to the anecdote in which
Narasaiyer was once constrained to pledge his master-piece
Shankarabharanam raga to Ramabhadra Moopanar fro 80 sovereigns of gold
to settle a personal loan, and another great admirer of Narasaiyer, ‘Wallis’
Appuraya came forward to redeem the pledge. A repentant Moopanar handed
over the 80 sovereigns together with interest to Narasaiyer.
The article on Sekkizhar Adippodi Dr. T.N. Ramachandran narrates
eloquently how TNR joined hands with Triloka Seetaram who started a Tamil
renaissance journal, ‘Shivaji’, which was later converted into a bilingual
(English and Tamil) journal and the yeoman service of TNR in translating
into English, the Tamil poems of Triloka Seetharam. Though TNR was
shattered by the sudden demise of his colleague, Seetharam, he went ahead
with his dedicated services to the cause of Tamil. especially in translating the
poems of Mahakavi Bharatiyar into English, which now forms a wonderful
collection of books.
In two different articles, Sundaram lauds the works of two other
contemporary scholars –Tmt. Devaki Muthiah who has done a research work
on ‘Religious and Literary Dimensions and Overtones of Abhirami Andadhi’
and Sri M. Rajaram, I.A.S., whose extraordinary poetic English translation of
Thirukkural, titled “Thirukkural—Pearls of Inspiration’ carries a foreword by
no less a person than Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Sundaram points out in the
article on the work on Tirukkural that one of the least recognized glories of
British Raj in India is that many of the outstanding Civil Servants and ICS
officers engaged in literary pursuits and scholarly researches along with their
official duties and this great tradition of scholar-civil servants was given a
death blow after our independence by our political parties. He says, Dr.
Rajaram legitimately belongs to this scholar-civil servant tradition.
Last but not the least, the article titled ‘A Titan in the World of Modern Tamil
Letters’ is a soul-stirring tribute by a grateful student, V. Sundaram, to his
own Tamil teacher, Indira Parthasarathy who has created a niche for himself
in the field of modern Tamil literature. Sundaram says, when he was student
in Madrasi Higher Secondary School in New Delhi in 1958 and he was 16
years old, Sri Parthasarathi, as his Tamil teacher, gave him a feel for world
literature which has lasted for a life-time. A prolific writer, novelist and
playwright, who also ran a Tamil journal, Kanaiyaazhi from Delhi,
Parthasarathy won many awards including the Sangeeth Natak Academy,
such a great genius and writer was honoured with Padma Sri Award rather
late in his life and he deserves a Padma Vibhushan.
V. Sundaram’s masterly work, ‘Scholars and Savants (Portrait of Selected
Tamil Scholars)’ is really an eye-opener to all lovers of Tamil language and
literature to get out of the Maya of Dravidianism and Atheism that penetrated
into the modern Tamil literary world and concealed the most glorious epochs
in the history of Tamil language and literature. He has shed ample light on the
true savants and servants of Tamil culture who were driven into oblivion due
to Dravida Maya. It is time that Tamilians in Tamilnadu and outside the state
and the country go back into the true roots of our culture and heritage. This
book is a must in the libraries of all educational institutions and in every
home of the Tamil people.
—Sadhu Prof. V. Rangarajan

K R A Narasiah

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Oct 30, 2016, 1:00:41 AM10/30/16
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Sri V Sundaram himself gave me this book that is with me. A bibliophile, he had enormous collection. I used to visit him and he also used to call on me. He wrote the introduction to my book Lettered Dialogue which was released by Gopal Krishna Gandhi. A walking encyclopedia, my uncle Chitti used to call him.
Narasiah

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