APPEAL
The Kuppuswamy Sastry Research Institute
History: The history of this institution weaves itself seamlessly into the ancestry and history of this notable city of India Chennai. It was born during the second world war and like the world after the war, been through a mixture of some troubled and otherwise a heart warming and soul fulfilling roller coast run through the times. Like many other historical and seminal institutions.
· The institution has completed more than 60 years since inception 1944;
· One of the three in India and the only in South India that fosters Sanskrit and Indological studies;
· One of the integrated language study institution that combines teaching, research, curatory, vedic training and publishing;
· Home to some of the finest scholars and leaders in literature, philosophy and language;
· Revered and respected institution globally for the repository of rare and sacred books, magazines and works and lineage of outstanding guides and research coordinators.
· A recognized center for the Foreign Students for the Doctoral and Post Doctoral studies through USEFI and AIIS.
· Affiliated to the University of Madras for M.Phil and Ph.D. in Sanskrit and Indological studies.
Library: There is a sweeping and refreshing wave that is breezing through India in the form of our youngsters’ keenness and endeavour to explore, unravel and understand our glorious past and reinterpret their relevance and validity to the current. Much of the celebrated writings that provide authentic historical and invigorating facts and perspectives are in Sanskrit. The institution can proudly claim availability of most of the books, records, research papers and documents.
The prestigious collection of the Institute includes many rare books that proclaim the wisdom of our ancient in all branches of learning. Some of them rich in content and elegant in print are very old and deserve adequate care in preserving them for posterity.
The uniqueness of the Institute’s library is that it preserves the precious personal collections of great savants such as Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, Prof. Hiriyanna, Dr.V.Raghavan and others which are hardly available elsewhere. The Library is comprised of nearly 60,000 books authored by great and popular writers on variety of Sanskrit and Indological subjects like Anthropology, Epigraphy, Ethics, Law, Language and Literature, Philosophy and Ayurveda. These books are in varied languages like in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, English, German and French. Besides books the library has journals and back volumes. The collection has received and continues generous donations of books.
Similarly, the Institute also has a large collection of noteworthy palm-leaf Manuscripts written in Grantha, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Nandinagari scripts. These manuscripts contain material related to Vedas, Epics, Srauta, Dharmasutras, Philosophy, Literature etc., special mention may be made of Manuscripts written in Manipravala style. The Library also holds the Xerox copies of the Manuscripts on Tala presented by Dr.Robert E. Brown, San Diego State University, USA.
The Library’s staff having been well trained have adopted the latest library techniques for conservation and preservation.
Requirement:
1. Preservation of books & Manuscripts: In spite of our efforts in preserving and maintaining these valuable collections, lack of adequate funds to procure and provide the necessary infrastructure facilities poses a hardship in up keeping these old and rare books which are considered authentic sources of information to researchers in the respective field.
The present problem is to preserve these books in proper condition since they have become unbound and in bad condition in the process of handling them for digitalization. The books being more than 70 years old, some even 120 years old ordinary binding cannot be carried out to preserve them in proper condition. We have been advised by the officials of the Tamilnadu Archives and Govt. Museum to adopt a new system called Photolam System. Preserving a book pf 200 pages by this method needs a minimum of Rs.1500/-.
2. Staff Salary: At present the Institute has three staff on the academic side including the Director, two for the Administrative side and three to maintain the library with very mimimum Salary. At the same time we are proud to say that there are eight Ph.D. scholars and four M.Phil scholars working for their degrees.
The Institute being an internationally reputed Institution where foreign scholars get affiliated for their doctoral and post-doctoral research it maintains its high standard of academic achievement through its research work, publications and holding seminars and lectures.
Such a special Institute of good repute also suffers from the fact that there is no younger generation of academic staff to further carry out the research work in the same line of thought as envisaged by our seniors. To recruit new scholars as research assistants next to the existing three Professors involves financial commitment.
3. Corpus Fund: At present we have about 20 lakhs as our Corpus fund. We need to increase the corpus fund to a minimum of 5 crores so that we can raise the salary of the staff, maintain the library in good condition and carry out the research work in a good manner so that our ancient knowledge is preserved and passed on to the future generation.
Fortunately, the Institute is enjoying 100% income-tax exemption under 35(1)(iii) of the Income Tax Act. Individuals can claim 100% tax exemption under 800GGA and professionals and corporate bodies can avail the advantage of 125% weighted exemption under Sec.35(1)(iii) for their donations to the Institute. Contributiosns to the Institute should be made in the form of Cheque/DD favouring “The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute”, Chennai.
Postal Address: The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute
84, Thiru vi ka Road
Mylapore, Chennai 600 004.
Cheque/DD in favour of The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Chennai.
Contact Person: Mr.B.Madhavan, Secretary
Dr.V.Kameswari, Director.
Emal Address: ksri@satyam.net.in
Website: www.ksrisanskrit.in
By-
Raj Varadarajan