KOTTAYAM: The Tubingen University, Germany, has started the digitisation of the earliest Malayalam manuscripts of literary works presented to it by Dr Herman Gundert (1814- 1893), author of the first Malayalam-English dictionary.
Dr Gundert had stayed in Kerala for 20 years from 1839 to 1859 for his missionary work as well as research activities. The manuscripts include ‘Payyannur Pattu’( a historical ballet of Malabar), ‘Thalassery Rekhakal,’ ( collections of documents which discuss the effects of western colonisation in the last half of 18th century), ‘Thacholiy Pattukal,’ ‘Jnanapana,’ ‘Ona Pattu,’ ‘Rama Charitham,’ ‘Krishnagadha’ and ‘Mahabharatham Kilipattu.’
“Most of the manuscripts were handed over by Dr Gundert himself to the university library and the rest by his relatives. The Tubingen University was engaged in studying India-related issues in Germany,” Prof Scaria Zacharia, Herman Gundert Chair at the university, told DC. The digitisation will be an asset to those who want to know the history and the intellectual legacy of the state, he said.
The collection of manuscripts was first identified by Dr Zacharia in 1986. The India studies department of the university will assist in the digitisation which is funded by the European Union to facilitate cultural exchanges between the two countries. The university has over one lakh manuscripts belonging to languages and literature other than Malayalam. It has instituted a research chair for studying Kerala-related studies, which conducts classes in Malayalam.
