/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-INDIA: Repository of Knowledge in Perilous State

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Soma Basu

THANJAVUR, India, Feb 8 2005 (IPS) - Dubbed as one of the most ancient libraries in India – the 400-year-old Sarasvati Mahal Library in this south Indian town in Tamil Nadu state is badly in need of patronage.

From library users to avid book readers, borrowers and collectors; from Vedic scholars to artists; from Indologists to historians; from specialists in philosophy to library science masters, this Indian icon needs to be saved in order to avoid being ”lost forever”.

Built during the reign of the Nayaks from 1535 to 1675, the library was initially developed as Sarasvati Bhandar.

The Maratha kings or Serfojis who later ruled Thanjavur from 1676 to 1832 patronised and developed it. The main impetus to its growth came during the time of Raja Serfoji II (1798 -1832), who being an eminent scholar took special interest in enrichment of the library.

Today, it survives as the country’s oldest existing library as most of the palace libraries in India were destroyed in numerous ancient wars.

This one, however, escaped the wrath of war and retains its origins – boasting of a veritable collection of books on India and Indian art, culture, religion and literature that go as far back as the second century.

The Sarasvati Mahal Library is also one of the few libraries in the world with texts of the medieval period. It contains 46,000 rare and old manuscripts and another 60,000 rare books, maps, atlases, lithographic engravings, drawings and paintings. There are also 5,000-odd foreign language books including ones in Greek, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch and English.

This treasure house of knowledge was carefully fostered and nurtured by successive dynasties who ruled Thanjavur. Such is the value and enormity of wealth inside this fading pink coloured, not-so-well maintained building that the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’ in its survey of libraries describes it as ”one of the most remarkable libraries in India and the world.”

But over the years, degeneration has set in. The tropical climate is taking its toll on the enviable collection. The organic material – the palm leaf manuscripts – are the main victims given the lack of funds to preserve them and also lack of expertise in doing so.

The library is also fighting a dearth of scholars and translators who are able to systematically decipher the old and rare manuscripts in 11 different languages including Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Sanskrit. As it is right now, the library is hardly put to its optimum use.

There were times when hordes of people used to turn up on a single day, but they were mostly fleeting tourists. Nonetheless, the 500 visitors daily puts pressure on the dwindling infrastructure.

But more often than not, tourists and visitors to Thanjavur are so much taken in by the awesome Brahadeeshwarar Temple that they are either left with no time or unintentionally overlook other landmarks in town, which bask in similar regal glory and cultural heritage.

The truth is, visiting this historic city – ruled by the Cholas, the Nayaks and the Marathas – is actually like visiting a live museum. Every road and corner breathes in history and heritage.

No doubt the Big Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and built by the Chola King Raja Raja between 985 to 1012 A.D. is a piece of architectural marvel that hogs all limelight. This rare monument has received international recognition and declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

The palace like architecture of this building is unique in its variation from the usual temple building style of South India where the temple gates (Gopurams) are very tall. But here, the tower over the sanctum sanctorum is imposingly taller than the temple Gopuram at 64.8 meters. As one of the outstanding temples in the region, it is considered to be the Chola dynasty’s finest contribution to Dravidian temple architecture.

The place invites over 50,000 foreign tourists each year who can walk right up to the sanctum sanctorum unlike other Hindu Temples.

Thanjavur is best compared with Rome in Europe and Egypt in Africa, note Tourism Department officials with pride.

The Sarasvati Mahal Library is located barely one kilometer from the Big Temple. It is housed in a non-descript corner of the king’s palace and its exterior does not give any indication of the repository of knowledge inside.

The library is woefully understaffed and its 14 members feel proud to be associated with this unique institution but at the same time are dismayed at the lack of patronage.

Says the chief conservator and libarian P.Perumal, though the usual conservation techniques are followed, the books are so old that many are lying damaged by insects (despite the use of repellants) or the pages have become too brittle to handle. The manuscripts are also suffering from overexposure to heat, light and humidity.

”We are not able to keep them in dust-free air-conditioned atmosphere as done abroad. The manuscripts owing to porosity absorb moisture and expand. The climate change causes expansion and contraction affecting the stability of the item,” he tells IPS.

”Only very few libraries in India are fully air-conditioned but there too, the system is switched off during non-working hours,” points out Perumal.

Adds the chief conservator: ”All material cannot be blindly treated the same way in all places.”

”But since we have a uniform system for everything everywhere, to preserve such treasures for long becomes a difficult task.”

While manuscripts bundled in red cloth inside glass-cased wooden cupboards at the library date back to centuries, the earliest printed book here is a World Atlas printed in France in 1692. It also has some rare and first editions of highly valued books on medical sciences, astronomy, geography, explorations and voyages, English language almanacs, periodicals and encyclopedias.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who visited the library in 1965 as information and broadcasting minister, was so overwhelmed by its collection and antiquity that she wanted to declare it as a national institution.

Following Gandhi’s visit, a committee was constituted and funds sanctioned by New Delhi and Tamil Nadu state for its maintenance. But over a period of time, both human and financial resources for upkeep have been on the decline.

Earlier, the library was mired in controversy because one of the Serfoji’s sons, who ruled Thanjavur till 1855 had 14 wives. In 1912, all 14 wives and their families went to court and the library along with other royal properties got entangled in an embarrassing litigation matter. Finally, some prestige was salvaged when the court declared the Sarasvati Mahal Library as common public property and from 1918 onwards, King Serfoji’s private collection was converted into a public library.

”Today again, it’s crying for help and each of us is duty-bound to preserve it for our future generations,” says Perumal.