In Black and White

From ancient manuscripts which date back to 3000 years to rare scripts like Modi,the quest to unravel the tales behind these has not been taken up much. Talking about the courses offered in this field,Shailaja Katre,head of the department,Sanskrit- Pali Bhasha,University of Pune says,“This is not a regular course. Though the scope in studying manuscripts is great,not many students take it up. Be it a student of history or archeology or Buddhist studies,studying the original works and the written records for research adds a whole new perspective to their work. That is why it is important to go take up this course and study the manuscripts.”

In Pune University,the Centre for Advanced Studies in Sanskrit offers a certificate and diploma course in manuscriptology. While the certificate course is a one year course,the diploma takes two years and needs the certificate course as the qualifying factor. Apart from this,institutes like the National Manuscripts Mission,Indira Gandhi National Open University,Bharat Ithihaas Sanshodhan Mandal and Vedic Sanshodan Mandal regularly offer workshops in study of different manuscripts. Bhandarkar Institute of Oriental Research and Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth also offer similar workshops and courses.

In fact,the Pune University has over 4,500 handwritten manuscripts stocked at the Jayakar Library. They have copies of Rig Veda Asamhita Astaka,Samveda,Ayurveda,Gita and others in hand-written format all from the 15th and 16th centuries. A lot of students are going in for these courses to understand the context behind their academics . Research scholars are not the only ones who can benefit from this course – librarians,linguists,historians and students interested in archival science can also benefit from such courses.