History finds a future

S Narendra Prasad traces the past, present and future potential of Mysuru’s Oriental Research Institute

The team working on preserving manuscripts at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru. Photos by Rohit Eswar

The team working on preserving manuscripts at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru. Photos by Rohit Eswar

The team working on preserving manuscripts at the Oriental Research Institute, Mysuru. Photos by Rohit Eswar

During the reign of Chamaraja Wadiyar X, the province of Mysore achieved progress in diverse fields. The fields of education and literature received much royal patronage, particularly the field of archaeology. The survey conducted by the archaeology department in nine taluks during 1887-88 brought into light more than 1,000 inscriptions along with ancient manuscripts in Kannada and Sanskrit.

It was during this period that the government of the Maharaja of Mysore laid the foundation stone to construct a building on June 20, 1887. After nearly four years, it was completed. It was inaugurated and named the Victoria Jubilee Institute to commemorate fifty years of Queen Victoria’s rule.

John Watts Brassington, the consulting architect to the Government of Madras designed the building, which was a combination of Greek and Victorian styles. It was proposed to utilise the space to set up a Hall of Inscriptions to showcase artefacts procured during surveys conducted by the department of archaeology. The idea was to provide an opportunity to study these artefacts and arrange them systematically. Very soon, it became a library and knowledge centre.

By the end of 1893, it had a collection of 1,055 printed volumes and around 309 manuscripts. In the beginning, it lent books to readers. After some time, it started printing rare manuscripts with editorial remarks which became popular as the ‘Government Oriental Library series’, both in Kannada and Sanskrit. Soon, these attained the attention of scholars across British India.

In 1916, when the University of Mysore was established, the administration of the Oriental Library was transferred to the university. By this time, it had published 50 Sanskrit and seven Kannada works. After the library was taken over by the University, A Mahadeva Sastry was appointed as its curator. In 1918, R Shama Shastry succeeded him.

In 1943, on the recommendations made by the Professor B M Srikantaiah Committee, it was named as Oriental Research Institute (ORI) which came to effect in 1946.

After 8 years, microfilm readers were procured to read palm leaf and paper manuscripts. The institute with little know-how, limited technology and equipment continued its work of preservation of manuscripts which was time-consuming. It also started publishing the annual research journal ‘Mysore Orientalist’ to share its findings. This became a high-standard journal among scholars and students of oriental studies.

Modern revival

To upgrade its activities, the University of Mysore recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mythic Society, Bengaluru. The latter was established in 1909. Its objectives include the study of ancient history and culture.

With several aims and objectives highlighted in the memorandum, the work has commenced. One can smell the aroma of citronella oil, used by the team for the treatment of manuscripts. The team has undergone meticulous training in different methods like the digitisation of catalogues and preserving palm-leaf manuscripts. A key objective is to collect palm leaves from different locations and create awareness about them. These manuscripts are important literary sources for the study of history.

When the project began, the Oriental Research Institute had approximately 70,000 palm-leaf and paper manuscripts. There were 41,666 printed works. It is quite interesting to note that both scientific and traditional methods of conservation are put to work.

A separate chamber has been made for fumigation as well as an exclusive space for conservation.

The expert team from Mythic Society, along with dedicated staff from the nearby Maharajas College are involved in this herculean task. Interestingly, more women are enrolled in the project, and with their rich knowledge, they are doing the work meticulously.

It is at the right time that the University of Mysore tied up with Mythic Society in preservation and conservation. The future of historical research is bright.