Adilabad : Manuscript survey unearths rare Telugu works

S. Harpal Singh

• Surveyors collect material from houses, old mosques and other areas in the district
• Surveyors have conducted a preliminary survey of manuscripts across the district
• మహాయంత్రం (Mahayantram), చిందు భగవతం (Chindu Bhagvatam) among others discovered
• Local versions of రామాయణ (Ramayana) and భారతం (Bharatam) found at homes in Mamda and Nirmal

ADILABAD: Among other properties, `archaic' objects have the nature to `sensitise' as is being made out by the teachers involved in survey of manuscripts in Adilabad district.

`Enriching experience'

"When we saw the Vashikarana mantram (spell casting chants) on the 300-year-old Korutla bond paper we were sort of spell bound. The old manuscript fuelled a urge within us to unearth more of such writings," disclosed the teacher duo of Pathi Shiva Prasad and Tummala Devaram from Nirmal town.

They belong to the handful of district surveyors of manuscripts busy in cataloguing and creating awareness about manuscripts under the National Manuscript Survey Mission.

"Yeh maqtoolat dekh ke mereku ek naya ehsas hua. Hamari tareeq ke bare mein ane vali nasl ku ham is zariye se bata sakte hain and batana zaroori hai (On seeing the palm leaf writings I felt a new awakening. Coming generations should be made familiar with our history and culture through manuscripts)" observed Md. Khaleeluddin of Sirpur-T. The district surveyors have conducted a preliminary survey of manuscripts across the district and have come up with some rare material from private repositories.

Khaleeluddin says he has visited a few homes and places like old mosques in Sirpur-T, Koutala and Bejjur mandals inquiring about the manuscripts.

He found many of those in the form of letters and even wills. He also found a `Maha yantram' which is an old type of horoscope telling.

Discoveries

The famous `Chindu Bhagvatam' of the legendary Pantulu Dharmaiah was discovered by Devaram from Ola village in Kuntala mandal. Similarly, manuscripts of local versions of Bharatam and Ramayana were found at homes in Mamda and Nirmal.

Chalukya period tablets

Tablets from the period of Chalukyas were found in Lolam mandal during the preliminary survey. These tablets were adorning the walls of the home.

Courtesy: The Hindu
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