On Tamil Poems and Poets (Essays and Speeches)

I started writing in English language about Tamil related subjects from the year 1977 and this effort continued fastly up to the publication of the first volume of my autobiography in Tamil in 1992. The popularity of the four volumes of my autobiography among the Tamil readers inspired me to write more and more in Tamil than in English language. Anyhow, few interesting articles have been written by me in English even from 1992 to 2005 which include a lengthy report prepared by me on behalf of the Government of Tamilnadu for the recognition of Tamil as a classical language and some other topics connected with early Christianity in the Indian soil. I had the rare opportunity to deliver few special speeches in English on Tamil related topics in various countries before the non-Tamil audience interested in Tamil studies.

The present volume is a modest collection of some of my articles written at various intervals and the speeches delivered in different occasions. Although there are some repetitions, which are inevitable in such a volume, the entire book covers a wide range of subjects pertaining to Tamilology. Few of the essays have been written by me before I founded the Institute of Asian Studies in 1982. Even though I thought of updating them, I could not do it because of my tight preoccupation with other matters of academic interest. Consequently, they are published here without any revision. In the absence of adequate reference material on Tamil studies in the international languages, I am sure this handy volume will provide rich data on Tamil culture to international scholarship.

I extend my sincere thanks to all those who helped me some way or other in my earnest efforts to understand and interpret the great heritage of the Tamils and to promote advanced research in Tamilology through the Institute of Asian Studies. I owe my heartfelt thanks to Dr. V. Murugan, Dr. T. Wignesan and Dr. Basil Davis who edited few of my articles.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages