New CSMC preservation project in partnership with the Book and the Silk Roads / Old Books New Science Lab, and École Française d’Extrême-Orient

1 February 2021, by Webmaster

Photo: Hugo David

The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures is excited to partner with the Book and the Silk Roads / Old Books New Science Lab (University of Toronto, Canada) and the EFEO (École Française d’Extrême-Orient, Pondicherry, India) to support the preservation and study of palm-leaf manuscripts in Central Kerala, India. Starting in February 2021, Malayalam and Sanskrit research scholar Dr M. Muralikrishnan and photographer / videographer Mr. Rinni K. Jayan will survey, catalogue, and digitize the library collections of the Vadakke Madham Brahmaswan (Vedic Research Centre, Thrissur) as well as private collections in the Thrissur district, especially those related to the unique Vedic traditions.

These are the first steps towards a perennial cooperation between EFEO in Pondicherry, local owners and library curators, the University of Toronto, and CSMC aiming at the establishment of a Kerala Manuscript Preservation Centre based in Thrissur with an open archive for palm-leaf manuscripts from that region at its core.