Essays of U Ve Sa: The Man Who Revived Ancient Tamil Literature

Tamil today is a language spoken by more than 80 million people across the world. It is also a classical language since it has a rich literature, at least 2000 years old—much older than most other languages. Today, the ‘classical’ literature of Tamil Nadu, especially the Sangam poems, Silapadikaram and Civaka Cintamani, are well known and have been translated into English and other languages. The credit for rediscovering them, collating the multiple editions from palm leaf manuscripts, weeding out errors, reconstructing them and publishing them into books in the late 19th and early 20th centuries goes solely to U.Ve. Sa. If it weren’t for him, this corpus of classical Tamil literature that has opened new doors to lovers of literature and students of history would have rotted with the palm leaves on which they were written. It was in this context that he is affectionately and reverentially remembered as the ‘Grandfather of Tamil’. His essays, lectures and speeches open a window into the life and times of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They are a treasure trove that reveal his persistence, commitment and dedication to Tamil. This book, in translation, provides an insight into the mind of an inspirational scholar and a raconteur. The topics will be of interest to anyone with a connection to literature, culture and history, especially that of the Tamil country.

Pradeep Chakravarthy has spent most of his summers in Kodaikanal. He lives in Chennai, India, and is now a part time resident of Kodaikanal.