Journalism of Courage
A course in manuscriptology gives you that extra perk of understanding in fields like history,archeology,archival sciences and linguistics
Decoding the past is considered a field of interest by many. Whether it is a history graduate trying to sift through the facts and the stories of the past or the archeology student trying to build dreams from monuments in ruins – all of them require the inherent benefit that the written word has. In a country known for the first university and some of the oldest written texts,manuscriptology is a course with a great potential to explore.
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.
