Old Manuscripts rot in Ayurveda College in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ancient manuscripts in possession of Government Ayurveda College are in danger of being lost to posterity. These manuscripts, said to contain hoary medical secrets not yet known to the modern world, are kept in conditions not ideal for their preservation. They manuscripts, most of them in Sanskrit, are dumped virtually in the open and are exposed to  insect attack, microbiological attack, dust, environmental pollution and light, fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity.

The shoddy preservation was earlier revealed in an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The National Mission for Manuscripts had stipulated Basic Minimum Standards for conservation of manuscripts such as protection from fire, water and other calamities. A top AYUSH official said that many instances of non-compliance with guidelines in conservation of these invaluable assets have been identified.

One, quarantine room or any procedure for checking the newly acquired manuscripts for insect or fungus attacks was not in place. Two, the manuscripts are dumped in a cupboard and no methods were adopted for the scientific preservation of these manuscripts. Three, index register is not maintained to show the provenance of these manuscripts.

Four, training is not being imparted to the staff of the Publication Division on safe handling of the manuscripts.  “Non-compliance of guidelines laid down by the National Mission for Manuscripts for conservation of the invaluable manuscripts may result in future risks of deterioration of manuscripts,” the senior official said.

Interestingly, the head of Publication Division on September, 2014, admitted about the shortcoming to the CAG audit team. In fact, the Ayurveda College had started a Patent Cell to decipher the manuscripts, test them and eventually apply for patents. The Publication Division of Government Ayurveda College has a collection of 224 manuscripts out of which 99 were deciphered as on September 2014.