Gift Siromoney was the Socrates of Tamil-Brahmi studies. He took nothing for granted, held no authority in reverence and went on relentlessly asking searching questions which in my view have shed more light than the
ex-cathedra pronouncements by eminent professional epigraphists. I have been greatly influenced by the questions raised by him on
the origin of the Brahmi script (1977),
the origin of the Tamil Script (1982)
and
the orthographical evolution and chronological classification of the Tamil-Brahmi script (1983).
I have already attempted to answer some of his
questions in my recent papers (1985,1990) and, in the course of doing so,
modified some of my earlier suggestions.
In the present paper, which I affectionately dedicate to his memory,
I propose to deal with the occurrence of the
Pulli in the Tamil-Brahmi script in response to his questions on this
problem (1978 a,1978 b)
- Iravatham Mahadevan, "Occurrence of the pulli in the Tamil-Brahmi
script",
Indological Essays Commemorative Volume II For Gift
Siromoney, edited by Michael Lockwood, Madras Christian College, 1992, p.141.
Reminiscences of how my interest in epigraphy was kindled by Dr. Gift
Siromoney
Emmanuel Jebarajan, Department of Mathematics, American College, Madurai.
I never knew Dr.Gift Siromoney's interest in epigraphy until I saw one of his cyclostyled books on epigraphy. It was a new learning
experience
to learn the old Tamil writings as he and his team meticulously wrote the whole of
Tirukkural as it would have been written through the centuries. Later it came
out as a book. When I joined the American College, I took a group of undergraduate students to see the inscriptions at Yanai Malai, and we copied the inscriptions as
they appeared on the rough rock and sent to Dr. Siromoney. One of the letters had a
'pulli'
the consonant marker in Tamil
and we did not know that it was a great discovery
which made us great
pullis (that's how another great epigraphist called us when we presented this discovery in an epigraphical conference). It was Dr.Siromoney who recognized this new find, and our joy knew no bounds, when he caught the next train to Madurai to see
it himsel !. This small finding helped many epigraphists to search for 'pulli' in Brahmi inscriptions in other sites in Tamil Nadu, and many new inscriptions with
'pulli' were found, hitherto unnoticed and it settled the debate about
the time of the writing of the Tamil grammar text 'Tolkappiam'. Our enthusiasm grew because of this find, and it paved the way for us to search for new Brahmi inscriptions. We are proud that we had the distinction of finding three new sites, which threw more light on these inscriptions, and related areas of interest. Every time we found a new inscription, we used to give a telegram to Dr.Siromoney, and he would immediately arrive
at Madurai, we would visit the site with lot of enthusiasm, and then would present a paper in an epigraphical conference. This sequence went on for years, and we still cherish this academic pursuit, which started in a simple way!
-Emmanuel Jebarajan
Publications
- New inscriptions from the Tambaram area
The Sunday
Standard, Madras, February 4, 1973 (with Lockwood, M.)
READ - Newly
discovered Tamil inscriptions from the Tambaram area
MCC Mag, Vol. XLII,
1973
READ - More inscriptions from the Tambaram
area
MCC Mag,
Vol XLIV, 1975
READ - Pandya epigraphs near Tambaram
Indian
Express, March 21, 1975
READ - Computer
techniques of image enhancement in the study of a Pallava Grantha
Inscription
Studies in Indian Epigraphy, Journal of the Epigraphical Society of
India, Vol 2, pp. 55-56, 1975, STAT-22/75, September 1975 READ - Kalvettu Ezhuthukkalil
Thirukkural, October
1975
(with Chandrasekaran, M., Govindaraju S, and Chandrasekaran, R.)
- Vattezhuthil
Thirukkural
(mimeo), 1976 (with Govindaraju, S. Chandrasekaran, M.
and Chandrasekaran, R.)
- Computer methods of
dating medieval Tamil inscriptions
STAT-26/76,
paper presented at
the Third Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India at Udupi, March
1978 (with Chandrasekaran, M. and Chandrasekaran, R.)
- The invention of the Brahmi script
MCC Mag.,Vol. XLVI, 1977, pp.31-33, STAT- 30/77,
also in,
Souvenir of the Fourth Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India,
1977, pp.42 - 50, also in, Indological Essays, Commemorative Volume II for Gift
Siromoney, edited by Michael Lockwood, Madras Christian College, 1992,
pp.219-223 READ - Computer
recognition of an ancient common Indian Script
Paper
presented at the Symposium on the use of Indian Languages in Computer based Information
Systems, New Delhi, April 1978, STAT-36/78, March 1978 - The pulli in early Tamil epigraphs
The Sunday
Standard, Madras, February 19,
1978 READ - On the occurrence of the pulli in the Tamil-Brahmi inscription of
Anaimalai
New dimensions in the study of Tamil
Culture, 60th Birthday Felicitation Volume of Prof. V. Vanamamalai,
Palayamkottai, 1978, pp.7-12,
STAT-34/78, January 1978
A paper presented at the Fourth Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India
at Madras, January
1978.
(with Emmanuel Jebarajan) READ - A new Tamil-Brahmi inscription from Vikramangalam
STAT 37/78, July 1978;
also, The Sunday Standard, Madras, August 13, 1978 (with Emmanuel Jebarajan)
READ
- Computer recognition of
an ancient Tamil script of the Chola period
Journal of the
Epigraphical Society of India, Vo. 6, pp 18-19, 1978, (with Chandrasekaran, M.
and Chandrasekaran, R.) READ - Another new Tamil-Brahmi inscription
The Sunday
Standard, Madras, March 11, 1979 (with Emmanuel Jebarajan)
READ - A
new Tamil-Brahmi inscription
Manuscript (with Emmanuel Jebarajan)
READ - A Tamil-Brahmi inscription from Madurai region
STAT-44/80, also in, Indological
Essays Commemorative Volume II for Gift
Siromoney, edited by Michael Lockwood, Madras Christian College,
1992, pp. 228-235 (with Emmanuel Jebarajan)
READ - A Learner's Guide to Ancient Scripts
Department of Statistics, Madras Christian College,
Tambaram, 1980 (with Govindaraju, S. and Chandrasekaran, M.)
- Computer methods of
dating Tamil inscriptions
STAT-43/80, also,
Proceedings of Fifth
International Tamil Conference held at Madurai, January 1981, pp.
2.7-2.13, and The
Hindu, Friday, January 9, 1981 (with Chandrasekaran, M. and Chandrasekaran, R.)
- The origin of the Tamil script
Tamil
Studies, Vol.2, pp. 8-23, 1982, also, manuscript
READ - Origin of the Tamil-Brahmi script
In
'Origin Evolution and Reform of the Tamil Script', The Institute of
Traditional Cultures, Madras University, 1983
also, manuscript READ -
Reform of the Tamil Script
The Institute of Traditional Cultures, Madras
University, 1983 READ
- Sangakala kathai sollum vandalur kalvattangal
Dinamalar,
January 27, 1983 READ
- Computer dating of medieval inscriptions: South Indian Tamil
Computer and the
Humanities, Vol. 17, 1983, pp. 199-208 (with Chandrasekaran, M. and Chandrasekaran, R.) READ
- Developing an expert system for Indian Epigraphy
(with
Chandrasekaran R and Suresh D) 1985
READ
- A new Chola inscription from Pammal near Madras
The
Hindu, Friday, May 15, 1987 READ - A new Chola inscription from Pammal near Madras
A
paper presented at the Thirteenth Annual Congress of the Epigraphical
Society of India held at Patna in April, 1987 STAT 63/87, May 1987
(mimeo).
- An outline of
Tamil orthography.
Madras Christian College (Manuscript).
- Inscription
copying by photo flash.
Madras Christian College (Manuscript) (with Michael Lockwood).
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