literature review in tamil

Vistas of Bharat : Indian Culture

Exploring the golden age of tamil literature: the sangam period.

Sangam Literature is the oldest form extant Indian Literature. It shapes the rich Indian cultures and society present today.

The vast Indian literature marks Indian history. When we think about literature, what inherently comes to our attention is English and its various literary eras. In this bias, what we’ve left behind is the richness of Indian literature and its historical descent. This literature is the leading force of the evolved Indian society today. 

Tamil, one of the oldest languages to exist today, has vast literature dating back to the 3rd century BC. The Sangam period spanned 600 years from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. Historians and scholars regard it as the golden period of Tamil literature. 

Sangam Literature

Literally, “ Sangam ” means confluence. In Tamil literature, the term “Sangam” refers to a school of arts and letters. It was founded and patronized by Pandya, Chola and Chera, the three crowned monarchs of the Tamil land. The Pandyan monarchs, who had a deep appreciation for literature and the arts, specifically fostered this. Both history and Tamil traditions recognize The Pandyan capitals as the academy’s permanent home.

The Sangam academy was pivotal in defining the Tamil people’s literary environment throughout the Sangam period. The academy had a unique role as an educated community of literary critics. The critics mandated that any new literary work, regardless of the author’s social rank—prince or peasant— be subject to clearance before publication. The academy enforced stringent rules and guidelines, requiring every book to obtain approval before publication and ensuring that only highly regarded works received acknowledgment as authoritative. Due to this meticulous procedure, the academy was able to reject subpar works and instead provide the public with literary masterpieces of the greatest kind. 

These writings which were considered the first examples of Dravidian literature, not only reflected the rich cultural diversity of the era but also laid the groundwork for the long history of Tamil literature. According to Tamil legends, the Sangam initially acquired members through co-option. However, thereafter, Lord Siva accomplished membership through a miraculous scheme.

The Three Sangams

Tamil tradition states that three Sangams, known as Muchchangam, joined together in ancient South India to mark the beginning of the Sangam period. According to the ancient stories presented in Iraiyanar Ahapporul, there were three Sangams that existed for an amazing 9990 years at different times, with participation from 8598 academics. The sage Agastyar is considered the literary tradition’s founder.

The Pandya capital hosted all three Sangams, with Old Madurai functioning as the first Sangam’s centre. A gathering of ancient sages and gods is said to have taken place in Old Madurai during the First Sangam. However, no works of literature from this Sangam survived.

Kapatapuram hosted the second Sangam. The only surviving work from this era that deals with Tamil grammar is Tolkappiyam . Unfortunately, both the first and second Sangams were drowned by seawater during repeated deluges.

There is a more material legacy of the third Sangam, which is located in present-day Madurai. Several Tamil literary works from this era have survived and are important resources for piecing together the Sangam era’s history. The Sangam poetry, the oldest collection of Tamil poetry to exist, is said to have started during the third Sangam.

Given the circumstances, it is more probable to determine the date of the third Sangam. According to scholars, it happened somewhere in the first two centuries of the Christian era—possibly even the century before. This period corresponds to both the trade with the Indo-Roman world and the modern Imperial Rome. Greek writers at the time offered proof of offshore commercial activity between the Mediterranean area and the Tamil peninsula. This is also documented in Sangam literature. Consequently, the third Sangam era saw the prolific production of a great number of works that are still in existence. This exhibited a literary and cultural shine amid a time that witnessed significant political and commercial exchanges.

Tolkappiyam: The Second Sangam

Tolkappiyar’s Tolkappiyam is the first known literary classic and a seminal work in Tamil literature. Tolkappiyam is mostly a work on Tamil grammar, but it also provides insightful information on the social and political climate of the period. The Royal Academy’s careful study of this highly regarded work serves to highlight its relevance. Adangodu Brahman was sent by King Nilandaru Tiruvira Pandya to evaluate the work, according to the introduction of Tolkappiyam. However, Tolkappiyar showed his expertise by emphasizing the significance and relevance of the works contained in the Tamil Sangam.

Literature In Verses: The Third Sangam

As we go into the present day, academics refer to the poetry included in the Ettutogai (eight collections), Pattupattu (ten songs), and Patinenkilkanakku (the eighteen minor works) as Sangam Literature. According to historians, these pieces date back to a time between 150 and 250 A.D. The poem’s duration served as a critical foundation for its categorization into three major categories. The lengths of the poems in the “Eight Collections” vary from three to thirty-one lines, and the poems in the “Ten Songs” range from 103 to 782 lines. The ‘Eighteen Minor Works’ comprise didactic and ethical literature, such as the well-known Tirukkural , which is mostly arranged in stanzas with two to five lines each.

The ‘Five Epics’— Jivakachintamani , Silappadikaram , Manimekalai , Valayapathi , and Kundalakesi —have an established place in Sangam literature. Sathanar and Ilango Adigal’s Silappadikaram and Manimekalai, are notably referred to as the “twin epics”. This is because they narrate the continuous story of Kovalan, Kannagi, and Madhavi. With an emphasis on Madurai, Puhar, Vanji, and Kanchi, Silappadikaram , a poem written by Ilango Adigal, and other poetry works depict the social, religious, political, and economic circumstances of Tamilakam. These literary works capture the spirit of the Sangam age and present Tamil history and culture.

Sangam Literature Vs. Sanskrit Literature Vs. Tamil Literature

Academics find the Sangam period controversial due to its historical significance, primarily because the dating of the Sangam works’ writing remains unclear. Establishing a consensus on the age of these works is a challenge since they are essential to understanding the Sangam era. Various scholars have presented opposing viewpoints. 

While some suggest the influence of Sanskrit grammarians on Tolkappiyar, others contend that Tolkappiyam was influenced by Katantra , a Sanskrit grammar work written by Sharvavarman under the Satavahana dynasty. Due to the lack of conclusive proof, many scholars also suggest that the similarities between Katantra and Tolkappiyam may indicate mutual influences between Sangam and Sanskrit writers.

The term “Sangam” originates from the Tamil translation of the Sanskrit word “Sangha.” The term “Sangha” refers to any kind of organization or group that adheres to a shared interest, but the Tamil Sangam has a particular purpose. The religious connotation connected to Buddhism and Jaina Sanghas is completely different from Sanghata, a kind of poetical production by a single author on a certain selected theme. 

The aim of the Tamil. Sangattamil, a unique compositional style distinguishes Sangam Literature from Tamil Literature. This style has its derivation, interpretation, and distinctive syntax, meter, and grammar. As a result, it is regarded as a classic.

Contemporary Relevance of Sangam Literature

There are 2279 poems in the present Sangam collections, ranging in length from 3 lines to over 800 lines. Some poets have contributed to certain works, like the Naladiyar , while a single author has written other works. 473 poets—about half of them women—wrote more than 30,000 lines of Sangam poetry, along with 102 anonymous authors. As an example of the Sangam period’s historical impact and cultural significance, the Sangams are comparable to contemporary European establishments. This includes the French Academy as they both share a dedication to upholding language purity and literary standards.

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Kinnera – a musical instrument from Telangana is a symbol of the rich culture of the state. Dive deeper into its beats with us.

Kinnera – an instrument buzzing with surs and taals of the south Indian state of Telangana, is a stringed Veena like instrument carved out of bamboo and dried bottle gourd. With twelve steps mounted with strings producing sounds of different frequencies, this instrument has an intriguing physicality. With different variations, a kinnera can have seven, nine, twelve or thirteen frets. It is curated using organic materials – the body is made with bamboo and sun-dried and hollowed bottle gourds form the resonators. The larger instruments come with three resonators while the smaller ones come with just two. The frets are generally made up of pangolin scales and honey wax is used to bind them. Earlier, the strings were made out of women’s hair, animal nerves and horses’ tail hair, but now metallic strings have replaced them. 

Origin of Kinnera 

As per legends and beliefs of scholars and poets like Jayadhir Tirumala Rao, the origin of Kinnera dates back to around 4th century AD. It is native to the tribes residing in the Deccan Plateau. It is believed that the members of the Chenchu tribe who lived in the Nallamalla Forest would play the instrument alongside singing and narrating ballads. Another belief that is considered to hold true for the origin of Kinnera is the Dakkali tribe of Mahbubnagar performed it around the start of the 12th century. 

The tribes that played the instrument also used to recite ballads and folk tales along with it. These accompanying ballads would be generally derived from historical incidents, heroic stories of warriors, lives of local heroes and songs from the Jamba Puranam. The Jamba Puranam is one amongst the 40 Puranas in Telugu and it is different from the Sanskrit Puranas. The Telugu Puranas contain content that is specific to a local community of the south Indian regions. Simple, short and often dramatic monologues would also form a part of the ballads recited while playing kinnera. The variations in the mood of the song would drive a change in the tone of the voice, facial expressions and body language of the players. 

Maestros of the Instrument

Dakkali Balamma

She was the only woman performer of Kinnera until her death at the age of ninety in December 2018. During her early age, she would ride around on a horse and sing. At that time, her voice had a vigour, it was powerful and impressive. Her performances on the instrument were kindly received by people. She would be showered with love, appreciation and money. The Madigas, who were the patron class of Kinnera, would provide her with food and clothes as a reward for her performance. But the good times did not last long, misfortune knocked at her door as the instrument faced a drastic decline in its popularity. The result was such that when Balamma died in December 2018, she was penniless. The villagers cremated her by pooling in money for her rites. 

She is still remembered for her last performance at the age of 86 years, when she had sat down with her Kinnera on the ground outside her home in Mambapur village of Telangana. Though her voice had turned hoarse with age, her knowledge of pitch, laya and beat was strong. And she was bestowed with a rich applause by her audience. 

Darshanam Mogilaiah

The only living Kinnera maestro, the Padma Shri awardee, now fondly known as Kinnera Mogilaiah is one amongst the ones who are still making people hum to the beats of their Kinnera. Born in 1951, he is an artist from the Nagakurnool district of Telangana who learned the art of playing the instrument from his father Yellaiah. Living a life full of instability and hardships, he has worked as a construction site worker and labourer for more than 14 years in cities like Mumbai, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal. He belongs to a family of pioneers of Kinnera as an instrument. Mogilaiah is also appreciated for being the first man to create a twelv- stair kinnera. Consequently, he has been conferred with the Padma Shri Award by the Government of India. 

But the deeply saddening ground reality is triggering. These honors and awards do not make any significant difference to the lives of these maestros. They are forced to survive on the bare minimum. Remunerations are not stable, performances are reducing and they are surviving only on the doles of the Madigas tribe. 

Decline of Kinnera 

There are many significant reasons for the decline of the patronage of this instrument. One narrative is that the tribals believe that once a woman was so engrossed in the music of Kinnera that she accidentally cut her baby along with the vegetables she was cutting. Another reason and the likelier one, is the lack of raw materials. With mass deforestation and forest fires, it has become difficult for the tribals to obtain the right variety of gourds and pangolins. Thirdly, the dwindling remuneration and declining patronage of the instrument is another reason that follows. Most importantly, the technicalities of making and playing the instrument are very special. Thus its non-mainstream nature has led to its decline. 

Revival of Kinnera

The government of Telangana has been making significant revival attempts to protect the heritage and culture of the state. The state is organising festivals and encouraging performances of Kinnera artists. They also plan to introduce the instrument as a part of the curriculum at music colleges and universities. Specialised faculty for the same would be appointed but this move is solely dependent on the response of the students towards learning the art form. A documentary film on the life of Darshanam Mogulaiah has also been made to let his story reach the masses. 

The remuneration, pension and living conditions of the artists is also being keenly taken care of. Also the Dakkalis are being made familiar with their lost culture and heritage once again. The state of Telangana is all set to revive the art form and bring back kinnera as a mainstream musical instrument with Ballama smiling from heaven.

Glove Puppetry: The Simple Art of Puppetry In India

Glove puppetry is an art form that holds significant cultural value to Indian culture. Let’s dive deeper into this art form.

The art of puppetry is very old and rich. But what’s more fascinating is the regional connotations attached to it. Glove puppetry is probably one of the oldest and simplest forms of puppetry that has existed. Given its simplicity, its prevalence in various states of India is highly out of the ordinary. However, the way each region has its own version of glove puppetry and glove puppets is what makes this form of art all the more interesting . Do you remember waking up at 6-7 in the morning to catch the latest episode of Gali Gali Sim Sim or Sesame Street as a kid? That is a perfect example of the use of glove puppets, as it uses a mix of glove puppetry and rod puppetry in popular media.  Let’s dive deeper into the world of glove puppets and glove puppetry in India.

Sakhi Kundhei Nach: Odisha

The glove puppet form popular in Odisha is called Sakhi Kundhei Nach. Although it is spread out across the art majority of the puppeteers are concentrated in Cuttack. The puppeteers hold the belief that they used to belong to the warrior caste (rajputs) and used to live in Vrindavan (the birthplace of the Hindu god Krishna) before they migrated to Odisha almost two centuries ago. The puppetry acts that they execute using the glove puppets highlight this past as most of the act centres around the many adventures of Lord Krishna.

The characters that the glove puppets represent include Krishna, Radha, and the cow herder girls or gopis . Further, the puppet representing Radha is also called Chandra Badani (Face-like-the-moon) with little circlets of bells under her skirt and around her wrist that ring as she moves. All the puppets are lavishly dressed and the puppeteer operates them manually with one hand and plays an instrument such as dhol with the other hand. As the puppets enact the adventures of Krishna, the puppeteer sings Odia songs that are derived from medieval poetry to complement the episode that is being enacted. Today, there are troupes and traditional families who have mastered this form of glove puppetry and are recognised for their talent locally and nationally.

Benir Putul: West Bengal

The glove puppet form popular in West Bengal is called Benir Putul. The name “Benir Putul” also refers to the “braiding of the hair” in the Bengali language which symbolises the twist and turn of the puppet that is similar to the movement of braiding hair. The puppeteers who practice this form of glove puppetry belong to the lower caste and are often palanquin porters, hand-rickshaw pullers, cycle-rickshaw drivers or landless villagers.

Measuring up to 25 centimetres with baked clay heads and wooden arms the puppets are dressed in long cotton skirts. The glove puppeteers expertly make use of their hand dexterity to convey the conversation between the two puppets. The theme of most of the puppet shows is based on the jatra (popular Bengali legends) and the main characters in the puppet shows are majorly Krishna and Radha (used mostly in Bhakti songs) or Madan and Puti, a husband and wife pair who are constantly fighting with each other. Today, there are troupes and traditional families who have mastered this form of glove puppetry and are recognised for their talent locally and nationally.

Gulabo Sitabo: Uttar Pradesh

The glove puppetry form popular in Uttar Pradesh, this form of glove puppetry derives its name from the two main characters of the play; i.e., Sitabo, the over-worked spouse and Gulabo, the bright mistress of the same man. Most of the puppet show is semi-improvised, wherein the puppeteer makes use of acapella narration to accompany the act with salacious jokes, local humour and songs that befit the situation the characters or puppets are facing. During festivals, few puppeteers travel from place to place performing this form of glove puppetry in Lucknow but this form of art has been on the decline.    

Pavakathakali: Kerala

The glove puppetry form popular in Kerala, Pavakathakali is a glove puppet form that came into existence after the birth of the dance form Kathakali . Majorly popularised by the Andipandaram community, which lives in Paruthippuly village in the Palghat region of Kerala, this form of puppetry involves the puppets being dressed in lavish kathakali costumes. The size of the puppet is around 40-60 centimetres in height and they are manipulated by the puppeteer by his/her/their fingers. The index finger manipulated the head and the thumb and middle finger manipulated the arms, this form of puppetry requires the puppeteer to be highly dextrous. The puppets are adorned with various accessories like small metallic golden ornaments, cowrie shells, etc. 

The minimum number of people required to put up this form of glove puppet show is around six as it involves musical instruments used in kathakali such as chenda (drum), chengila (gong), illetalam (cymbals) and shankh (mother of pearl conch shell), and one or two singers to bring the show to live. In the past, no special stage or podium was constructed for the puppet show and the puppeteers would enact it in the courtyard of the house and get paid for their performance. The major themes it covered are from the extracts of Mahabharata . Since the 1940s the art form was in decline but was revived by the director of Sangeet Natak Akademi, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay in 1981 and today has received global recognition.

Chinni Patti: Karnataka

The form of glove puppetry popular in Karnataka is known as Chinni Patti. This art form derives its name from the dolls that are used for the puppet show which are called Chinni Patti or “little doll” made out of wood and rice straw. Mostly practised by beggars who put these small puppet shows on the streets accompanied by small cymbals, this art form can be traced back to the aborigines of the Karnataka social system which used similar dolls for tribal rituals. The major theme of this art form includes the daily adventures of tradesmen who have been fooled, of worthies taken for a ride, and of cuckolded husbands.

Pava Koothu: Tamil Nadu

Popular in Tamil Nadu, Pava Koothu is majorly performed during festivals, and the major theme of the puppet show is demonstrating the victory dance of goddess Lakshmi after her victory over the demons. The puppets are small in size and made out of rice straw and paper, and they require simple manipulation and musical instruments to go with them. This art form was in decline until recently when it was brought to life by Tamil intellectuals.  

Glove puppetry is an art form that holds significant cultural value in Indian culture. And hence, efforts must be made to preserve the same.  From ancient times to today’s contemporary, puppet shows and the art of puppetry highlight the evolution of storytelling that is deeply ingrained in our culture. The few ways in which we can ensure the preservation of this art form include educating ourselves and others about the same and its significance.

Rod Puppetry: A Dying Art

Let’s dive deep into the world of rod puppetry to find out what makes it so unique and why is it slowly dying out.

Different kinds of puppetry have taken over different parts of India. In fact, many of these kinds of puppetry such as glove and shadow puppetry are still very much famous among the masses as puppeteers find it easy to recreate. But one such puppetry exists which despite having a rich history and being pretty distinct, is showing a decline. And that is rod puppetry. Practised mainly in West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar this form of puppetry is slowly getting erased from the mind of the people. Let’s dive deep into rod puppetry and rod puppets to discover what makes it so unique and why it is slowly dying out.

How Does Rod Puppetry Work?

Rod puppetry is considered an extension of glove puppetry but the key difference is the usage of rods over gloves. Normally three rods are used to manipulate these rod puppets. The main rod which balances the head is attached at the neck and the two other rods that manipulate the hands are attached to the main rod at the shoulder joints. The legs or the lower body of the puppets are hidden with the clothes of the puppet. Depending on the region in India they are based on they can be huge in size or small. The three states of India in which this form of puppetry is famous include; West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar.

West Bengal

Known as Putul Nach which literally translates to “Dancing Dolls”, rod puppetry takes the form of a huge human-like structure going as tall as 3-4 feet in certain regions. These huge rod puppets are dressed like the actors in Jatra . What’s interesting about the rod puppetry form in West Bengal is how the puppeteers manipulate them. Unlike traditional puppets where the puppeteers stay in one place and manipulate the puppets, here the puppeteers are hidden behind a head-high curtain and dance or move along the huge rod puppets to impart the same moves to the puppet. The entire process that the puppeteers follow is pretty theatrical. Normally it’s the puppeteers who voice out the dialogue and sing for the puppet but sometimes they are accompanied by a group of musicians who sit on the side of the stage.

The rod puppetry form in Odisha is a bit different from its Bengali counterpart just like its Rasgullas. The rod puppets in Odisha are not as big as the ones found in West Bengal they range from 12-18 inches. The shoulders of these rod puppets are connected to the main body with the help of strings, not rods. Thus, this form of rod puppetry uses a mix of strings and rods, giving a different dimension to their rod puppets. The puppeteers in this case squat on the ground and behind a scene to manipulate the rod puppets. Most of the dialogues are sung to tunes of classical Odissi music. Rod puppetry is also known as Kathi Kandhe in Odisha.

Known as Yampuri, the rod puppetry form in Bihar has its own uniqueness. For starters unlike its Odia and Bengali counterparts, these rod puppets are made out of wood and don’t have joints. Hence, it requires the puppeteer to be very flexible in their approach and be highly dexterous when handling these rod puppets.

How Can We Conserve Rod Puppetry?

Living in the era of the 5G internet it’s not surprising that why these traditional art forms such as puppetry are dying out. Rod puppetry being a tough speciality in the world puppetry makes it even more susceptible to cultural extinction. Plus the added burden of creating these huge rod puppets and having barely any audience to cheer them on due to the rise of electronic media also contributes to its low popularity. One way to conserve this beautiful art form is by incorporating it in electronic media such as broadcasting it on YouTube to help increase its reach and ensure that it continues to entertain and teach the future generation.

The foreign travelers who documented Indian history also delved into the analysis of Indian cultures and traditions in their works, providing valuable insights into the intricacies of this ancient land.

India has long been a center of exploration for various foreign travellers, leading to the creation of a vast body of travel literature that we are familiar with today. These literary works, often considered factual accounts of Indian history and culture, have been written in numerous European and Asian languages, reflecting diverse perspectives on India’s rich heritage. The foreign travellers who documented Indian history also delved into the analysis of Indian cultures and traditions in their works, providing valuable insights into the intricacies of this ancient land.

Persian travellers made significant contributions to the understanding of Medieval Indian history and offered unique socio-cultural perspectives during their extended stays in the country. The medieval period in India witnessed remarkable developments in cultures, languages, religion and art. A large number of Persian records of the medieval period also contain varieties of information on economic development, agricultural production, trade and commerce, etc. Two renowned Persian travellers played a pivotal role in contributing to the understanding of the flourishing of Indian history during this era.

Al Beruni (1024-1030 A.D.)

Al Beruni was born in 973 AD in the Khwarezm region, which is located in Kath, the capital of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm in Central Asia (present-day Uzbekistan). He dedicated twenty-five years to studying and excelling in astronomy, mathematics, chronology, physics, medicine, mineralogy and history. Additionally, he was proficient in several languages including Turkish, Persian, Sanskrit, Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic. In AD 1017 Mahmud of Ghazni traveled to India with a group of scholars. This group included Al Beruni when he was forty-four years old. During his thirteen-year stay in India, during this time, Al Beruni devoted himself to observing, questioning and conducting detailed studies about Indian culture and science.

During his time in India, he produced the monumental commentary on Indian philosophy and culture known as Kitab fi tahqiq ma li’l-hind . He read the major Indian religious and astronomical texts, highlighting parts of the Gita, the Upanishads, Patanjali, Puranas and the Vedas, as well as scientific texts by Nagarjuna and Aryabhata. Additionally, he documented some of Mahmud of Ghazni’s most egregious plundering incidents at Mathura and Somnath. While he couldn’t explicitly denounce these actions in his text, a definite sense of lament is evident. He wrote that Mahmud “utterly ruined the prosperity of the country…”. 

Beruni’s Kitab al –Hind

Beruni’s Kitab al-Hind is a respectable and valuable source of Indian culture even today. Although the data provided is generally accurate, the compilation data of his work from around 1030 A.D. is still subject to doubt. This is because Beruni rarely makes mention of where his visits took place or when they did and secondly his book, Kitab al-Hind is lacking in positive evidence. Moreover, due to the insurmountable texts written on this figure and his life, difficulty arises in distinguishing the historical events from the legendary ones.

In his book, Al-Beruni mentioned several obstacles that he incurred while understanding India. The language was the one of the most important of these. He found Sanskrit highly different from Arabic and Persian so much so that the ideas and cultural aspects of each could not be inter-translated. He also found religious beliefs and practices to be different from what he was familiar with. The third challenge he faced was the local community’s self-centeredness, which resulted in isolation. Knowing these challenges, Al Beruni derived his knowledge from the Brahmanical works such as Vedas, Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali, Manusmriti, etc. to understand Indian society as a whole.

Al Beruni’s Views on Hindu Lifestyle 

Beruni’s book is an in-depth exploration of Hindu religion, science, literature, philosophy, social organization, geography, astronomy, life, customs, festivals, etc. He touched on almost all the aspects of Hinduism. Based on his studies and observations in India between 1017 and 1030, his book provides a comprehensive survey of Indian life. It can also be said that his work was perhaps the first major exposition of Hindu thought and life by an Islamic scholar. 

It also sheds ample light on the Hindu society which was otherwise facing an existential challenge from Muslim invaders. Al Beruni was also aware of the deep differences between Hindu and Islamic lifestyles. These differences were all over the languages, manners and customs. In his work, he also defended the natural aversion Hindus had against Muslims due to the atrocious activities of Mahmud.

However, Beruni also wrote about how Hindus were narcissistic in many ways. They believed that “there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs.” He also stated that Hindus were so arrogant that they simply considered foreign scientists and scholars liars if they were to excel better than Hindus in any way. Although he critiqued the arrogance of Hindus, he also mentioned that this could be improved if Hindus started intermingling with people from foreign lands. He believed that this would change their perspective.

Issues In Indian Society

During his time in India, Al Biruni extensively studied the caste system or varnas . He concluded that the Brahmana were the highest caste, followed by the Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra. Al-Biruni sought to explain the caste system by identifying parallels in other societies. However, he also observed that within Islam all men were considered equal, differing only in their observance of piety. Despite accepting the Brahmanical description of the caste system, Al-Biruni disapproved of the concept of pollution. Moreover, only the Brahmans had the right to attain salvation. Al Biruni found the Brahmanical system highly misleading. He believed that Indians possessed rich knowledge but succumbed to superstitions within this system, thus diluting their wisdom. 

He also criticized various harmful practices in Hindu society. These were child marriage, prohibition of widow marriage, ‘Sati’ and ‘Jauhar’. Additionally, although he did not mention the dowry system specifically, he wrote about Stree Dhan . Stree Dhan was similar to dowry which was presented by the relatives of the girls to her in-laws. Furthermore, Al Biruni observed how the entire country was divided into small states that frequently quarrelled among themselves with jealousy and constant fighting. Prominent states like Malwa, Sindh, Kannauj and Kashmir engaged in regular conflicts. Overall, there was a notable absence of nationalism among Indians at that time

Abdur Razzak (1443-1444 A.D.)

Abdur Razzak, born on November 7, 1412 in Herat (Afghanistan) to Jalaj-ud-Din Ishaq was another important Persian traveler in medieval India. His father, Jalal-ud-din Ishaq was the qazi and imam of Shah Rukh’s court who was the ruler of Persia. After his father’s death, Abdur was appointed as the new qazi of the court. During his tenure as the Qazi, he prospered as a legal courtier, trustee and ambassador. His ambassadorial missions brought him to various places across Asia, including his most important mission in India.

Abdur Razzak’s Observations of India

Upon arriving in the Indian subcontinent, Razzak’s first stop was the court of the Zamorin of Calicut in southwest India. His initial encounters with the natives of Calicut left him unimpressed, as he found them to be scantily clad and practising polyandry, which differed from his own customs. Later on, he received an invitation from the Vijayanagar King to visit his kingdom. To reach Vijayanagara, Razzak passed through Mangalore and Belur before finally reaching his destination.

During his time in the court of King Deva Raya II, Abdur Razzak’s accounts provide a grand and opulent depiction of India. He describes the vast reach of Deva Raya II’s dominion, stretching from the shores of Ceylon to Gulbarga and from Orissa to Malabar. Additionally, he mentions the monarch’s majestic attire and lavish aesthetics. Razzak himself was also graciously accommodated with lavishly provided amenities by the king’s court, highlighting the grandeur of India. Furthermore, he notes that Vijayanagara was a prosperous land with significant military strength. This was evident through bustling markets, fortified walls and a formidable force comprising thousands of warriors.

Hampi Through The Lenses of Abdur Razzak 

Razzak was truly impressed by the Royal Center of Hampi. He especially found the network of rivulets and streams flowing through channels of cut stone remarkable. He considered it a true testament to the engineering skills and architectural genius of that time. Despite all this grandeur, Razzak’s journey was also quite risky and challenging. After a whole year of adventure, going from Mangalore to Kalahat in India and facing a tough seventy-five-day journey by sea, Razzak had to leave India. However, his trip was full of amazing experiences and difficulties he had to overcome. It was a fitting conclusion to an adventurous year.

Issues Faced By Abdur Razzak During His Travel

Razzak’s journey was filled with wonderful sights, but it also had its share of perilous moments. After a year-long travel from Mangalore to Kalahat in India, he embarked on a challenging 75-day sea voyage across the Arabian Sea. Unfortunately, personal tragedy and political upheaval cut short his exploration aspirations. His brother passed away at sea due to an illness, and he narrowly avoided getting entangled in political turmoil sparked by local unrest. These events led him to make a solemn vow never to embark on another trip again. This highlighted the risks associated with venturing into new territories.

Cultural Outlook of Medieval Indian Society

The presence of Turkish rulers and Sufi saints in India brought about significant cultural and socio-economic changes. New establishments like madrasas , karkhanas , dar al shifas and thānās played a crucial role in shaping medieval Indian society. This information is extensively recorded in Persian sources from the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire.

Along with political accounts, there are non-political literary works such as poetry, mystic records, geographical accounts and autobiographies that provide insight into this period. The Persian archives contain a wide range of documents including royal orders ( farmans ), imperial decrees ( parwanas ), deeds related to personal property, hortation, wakf properties/live stocks/produce, gift etc., commands nishans that are well-maintained across various archives in the country.

Economic Condition of Medieval Bengal

A wealth of historical texts written in Persian is a lasting legacy of Muslim rule in India. Over three centuries, Muslim power extended across Bengal. The port towns of Satgāon , Sunārgāon and Chittagong were pivotal in connecting Bengal to distant parts of the world through sea trade. During this time, these ports were bustling centers for maritime trade with several parts of the world. These included China, Sumatra, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Middle East and East Africa. They traded primarily in pearls, silk, muslin, rice, bullion and horses. 

Bengal was self-sufficient in agricultural produce and also rich in non-agricultural products manufactured to meet local needs. Some surplus items were exported. Contemporary literature, both Persian and Bengali, as well as accounts of foreign travellers, shed light on the quality and demand for non-agricultural products within India and abroad. Bengal had a long tradition of textile manufacturing, with Persian chroniclers and foreign travellers praising the quality and quantity of cloth produced there. During the Sultanate period, Bengal was one of the three major textile-producing regions along with Coromandel and Gujarat.

Other prominent occupations in the region were centered around metal works, including blacksmiths and goldsmiths. These occupations had a long-standing tradition and high regard. Abul Fazl noted that iron-miners were located in the sarkār of Bazuhā . The goldsmiths of Bengal were renowned for crafting various utensils, jewelry and ornaments from gold and silver. These were highly sought after in both local and foreign markets. Pre-Mughal times saw Bengali ships playing a crucial role as a mode of communication and transportation. They carried out trade activities with distant lands as well as within Bengal itself.

This prosperous province maintained strong economic and cultural ties with other parts of the world through its flourishing maritime trade. Agriculture was not only essential for livelihood but also supported industries rooted in agricultural practices during this period.

Exploring Medieval Indian history through the Persian lenses offers a multifaceted perspective on the rich Indian history and culture . Their accounts provide insights into various aspects of Indian society. These include religion, philosophy, socio-political structures and architecture and enrich our history. Despite facing linguistic and cultural challenges, these travellers meticulously documented their observations. These allow us to gain a deeper understanding of India as a whole. Their writings enhance our appreciation for India’s diverse heritage. Additionally, they highlight the lasting impact of cross-cultural encounters in shaping historical narratives.

Puppetry art is a canvas of culture for Indian artists. Dive deep into the origin and intricacies of the art.

From narrating folktales and dancing on Nimbuda Nimbuda to grooving to Shakira’s Waka Waka , puppets in India have done it all. Puppetry, a unique art form, is an inherent part of Indian culture. Its presence dates back thousands of years. As an art form, puppetry holds a certain level of philosophical essence as well. Legend has it that God has been depicted as a puppeteer in the Bhagavad Gita. He is shown controlling the entire universe with three strings namely Satta, Raja and Tama. Today, as we celebrate World Puppetry Day, it’s time for us to dive back into the history and significance of Indian puppetry.

Origin of Puppetry

Puppets are dolls or figures that are controlled by a person and they appear to move on their own. Puppetry is believed to have developed more than 3,000 years ago. Egypt is considered to be the cradle of the earliest puppets. Archaeologists have discovered puppets made of ivory and clay in tombs. Ancient Greek scholars like Aristotle and Plato also mentioned them as early as 422 BC. 

In the excavation sites of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, puppets with sockets have been unearthed which indicates that puppetry was a popular art form at that time. One can also find mentions of puppetry in the great Indian epic The Mahabharata and the Tamil classic Silappadikaram written in the first and second centuries BC. ‘ Sutradhar ’ which means ‘string bearer’ is referred to as the storyteller in Indian theatre. 

Types of Puppets used in India

Glove puppets.

Also known as hand puppets, sleeve puppets and palm puppets, they are popular in Indian states like Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Sakhi Kundhei Neta is the glove puppetry popular in Odisha. Stories of Radha Krishna formed the basis of the stories. It is mostly popular in the districts of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. Beni Putul, popular in East Midnapur, Murshidabad and 24 Parganas districts refers to the dolls used for commercial purposes. It was used as a tool against the oppression of the British. Pavakoothu, another type of glove puppet that is popular in Kerala depicts the themes based on The Mahabharata and The Ramayana .   

Shadow Puppets

They are generally popular in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu and have six types. They are flat and transparent leather or paper cut-outs that are fastened to a supporting stick and moved by at least two other thin sticks or rods. Ravan Chhaya from Odisha and Tholpavai Koothu from Kerala are the two most prominent shadow puppet theatre traditions in India. 

String Puppets

Also called marionettes, string puppets have spread throughout the continent of Asia. This is generally popular in the states of Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. These puppets are made out of wood and the long flowing decorative skirts hide the legs. Strings attached to a triangular wooden control manipulate the puppets. In Odisha, the ends of the strings are tied to a triangular wooden frame to a horizontal bar while in Rajasthan, puppets are simply looped around the puppeteer’s fingers. String puppets are believed to dominate the Indian classical theatre and they find their first mentions in the Mahabharata of the 4th century BC.

Rod Puppets

They are an extension of the glove puppets but are larger than them and are supported and manipulated by rods or sticks of different sizes. They are generally famous in the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha and they are generally made of three joints. This technique is also used for the round or doll-type puppets. The trunk is formed by a stick, the lower extension of which is the handle for its manipulation. Daanger Putul Nach is the traditional rod puppet performance of Bengal. The Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranas and the Jatras form the themes of this performance.

Here are some flawless puppetry performances that are a visual treat to your life :

Bengal’s Glove Puppetry Performance

Reciting the story of a wedding without dowry, the artist in his performance uses gloves to move the puppets. He simultaneously sings a song to which the puppets dance creating a theatre-like experience.

A Rajasthani String Puppet Performance

This puppetry performance by a Rajasthani artist shows string puppets grooving to the desi Bollywood music of today’s time. The art has now evolved beyond folk songs and ballads. It has reached the horizons of trending songs and pop tadka .

Kerala’s Shadow Puppetry Performance

Narrating the traditional folktales and legends of Kerala, this style of puppetry dwells deep in the culture of the state. This performance also presents a story by way of shadow puppets which is indeed a wholesome and enchanting experience.

Rod Puppet Performance by Bengali artists

Beginning with a mandatory concert to invite people from afar, these performances include announcements being made in the traditional ‘ jatra ’ style. This show by Bengali artists depicts an episode from the Indian epic Ramayana being enacted by rod puppets.

The prominence of puppetry art is diminishing gradually due to a lack of patronage in the modern era and the confinement of the art to mythological stories. Puppetry art remains one of the most pleasant and worthy experiences of one’s life. The artists are immensely skilled and carry a knack in their field. The World Puppetry Day is a beautiful reminder to delve back into the art, the artists and the magical aura it carries. 

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Book Review: Translation initiative takes Tamil literature to the world

An eclectic, equal-opportunity offering of fiction, poetry and literary non-fiction marks the second phase of the tamil nadu textbook and educational services corporation’s translation initiative titled ‘taking tamil to the world’..

Published : Apr 18, 2022 06:00 IST

‘In Defiance, Our Stories: Short Fiction By Dalit Writers’ translated by Malini Seshadri and V. Ramakrishnan (Vitasta, 2022)

S ince 2017, the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation (TNTB&ESC) has established itself as an enabler in India’s publishing landscape with the express aim of “promoting the literature and culture of Tamil Nadu”. Its co-publishing initiative, ‘Taking Tamil to the World’, was launched in 2021 with the publication of six award-winning Tamil texts in English translation. Recently, six more titles were published as part of this collaboration between the TNTB&ESC and some of India’s leading publishers.

The titles are: ‘In Defiance, Our Stories: Short Fiction by Dalit Writers’ translated by Malini Seshadri and V. Ramakrishnan (Vitasta Publishing, 2022); Hephzibah Jesudasan’s novel ‘Putham Veedu’ translated by G. Geetha as ‘Putham House’ (Rupa, 2021); Thoppil Mohamed Meeran’s short fiction translated by Prabha Sridevan as ‘Meeran’s Stories’(Ratna Books, 2022 ; S. Ramakrishnan’s popular column of literary criticism for the Tamil magazine ‘Ananda Vikatan’, translated by P.C. Ramakrishna and Malini Seshadri as ‘Katha Vilasam: The Story Within’ (Routledge, 2022); select writings from Tamil scholar U. Ve. Saminatha Iyer’s ‘Kandathum Kettathum’, translated by Prabha Sridevan and Pradeep Chakravarthy as ‘Essays of U.Ve.Sa: The man who revived ancient Tamil literature’ (Niyogi Books, 2022); and a Penguin Classics reprint of R. Parthasarathy’s translation in verse of the Tamil epic Cilappatikaram, subtitled ‘The Tale of an Anklet’.

The TNTB&ESC’s mission statement says its objective in presenting fiction and non-fiction from “one of the world’s oldest literary traditions, which includes one of the most sophisticated pre-modern poetic theories” is not only to make Tamil writing accessible in translation to a global readership but also to acquaint a generation of Tamils, who may not read or write the language, with “Tamil antiquity, tradition and contemporaneity”.

As a government organisation, the TNTB&ESC has the vantage to actively promote these titles in public libraries, book fairs and other events organised by the government. It also hopes that these translations will find their niche in university syllabi and academic research in comparative literature and cultural studies.

The strikingly titled ‘In Defiance, Our Stories’ is an anthology of 14 short stories, the majority of which were first published in Tamil as ‘Dalit Sirukathai Thoguppu’ by the Sahitya Akademi. In her Introduction, the writer and activist P. Sivakami, who curated the Tamil original, writes: “Until recently, Tamil writers had mainly portrayed Dalits as servants, minions or ignorant simpletons mired in poverty. Even in Marxist writings, Dalits were subsumed under the general umbrella of the ‘poor’. In this scenario, it was Dalit writing that first depicted Dalits as respectable protagonists in their stories, men and women with their own valid opinions and views. It gave them an identity as those who had been unjustly relegated to a backward status in society, and united them as a community of like-minded people.”

Indeed, the characters that inhabit these stories—single mothers, factory workers, koothu artists—are refreshingly unmeek and resolutely straight of spine. Each one of these stories, perfectly crafted and expertly translated, demands the reader’s admiration, and not mere empathy, as it confronts caste pride and prejudice in daily life head-on.

Sivakami also acknowledges that while “Dalit writing” has itself seen an exponential growth and visibility in Indian publishing in recent times, “the number of women [writers] among them is still low. This reflects the reality that literacy levels among Dalit women remain poor”. ‘In Defiance’ features the distinct voices of Theynmozhi and Pratibha Jeyachandran, apart from Sivakami herself and Bama, as well as Cho Dharuman, Imayam, Abimani, Ravikumar, Azhagiya Periyavan and Gowthama Sannah, among others.

Hephzibah Jesudasan (1925-2012) famously put the Christian Nadars of Nanjil Nadu, located at the cusp of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, on the Tamil literary map. Her novel ‘Putham Veedu’ (literally, ‘new house’) is both the bildungsroman of young Lizzy, who comes up against patriarchy at every turn in a household that clings to past glory, and a chronicle of the community of toddy tappers “whose lives are as precarious as their perch on the tall swaying palms”. Hephzibah Jesudasan’s was among the first Tamil novels of literary realism, and she shines a spotlight on lives in the margins in their own distinctive dialect, which the translator G. Geetha has, in turn, reflected most evocatively in English.

Like Hephzibah Jesudasan, Thoppil Mohamed Meeran (1944-2019), too, wrote in a singular Tamil, the Tamil-flecked-with-Malayalam spoken by the Muslims of Kanyakumari district. He tells the truth and tells it slant in this delightful dialect, bringing us closer to lives on the edge of the ocean, as it were, while Prabha Sridevan’s translation coasts the stories home, complete with all their cadences of caste and community. As Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s blurb sums it up: “Meeran’s Stories give us a glimpse, at once, of the inner life of two entities, two identities. First, of South India. Second of Muslim South India. They are about a particular people but more, they are about people. They are about a particular place but more, about the place of feeling in the desert of custom.”

When the writer S. Ramakrishnan began a new series following the success of his column ‘Thunai ezhuthu’ in the magazine Ananda Vikatan, he intended it to “introduce readers to important short story writers in Tamil”. The series, titled ‘Katha Vilasam’ (literally, ‘the abode of stories’), grew into a grand hall of mirrors, of stories nested within stories, like in the best oral traditions from all over the world.

To quote from the blurb: “In each unit, [Ramakrishnan] describes an incident from his own experience and relates it to a short story he has read by a particular eminent Tamil writer. He paraphrases/summarises the writer’s story, melds it into his own reminiscence, and allows the two to resonate and create a musical signature in the reader’s mind.”

Translated seamlessly and with detailed chapter-wise glossaries by P.C. Ramakrishna and Malini Seshadri, ‘Katha Vilasam: The Story Within’ showcases for a wider readership the 50 Tamil writers whose short stories Ramakrishnan has suffused with his own special brand of storytelling.

Tamil scholar Thiru.Vi. Kalyanasundaranar once declared that if the publication of ancient Tamil classics were to be compared to the construction of a house, it was Arumuga Navalar who laid the foundation, C.W. Thamotharampillai who built the walls, and U.Ve. Saminatha Iyer who thatched the roof and completed the house.

While all three scholars were instrumental in tracing and restoring works of Sangam literature in the early twentieth century, it was Saminatha Iyer, or U.Ve.Sa, as he was known, who made it his life’s mission to retrieve sheaves of palm-leaf manuscripts lying scattered and moth-eaten in temples, monasteries and the puja rooms of village homes across the Madras Presidency. With the exacting zeal of an evangelist, U.Ve.Sa traced down, collated and compiled three of the ‘ Aimperumkappiyangal’ (literally, ‘five great epics’): ‘Civaka Chintamani’, ‘Cilappatikaram’ and ’Manimekalai’, and restored them to the world through his precise, erudite printed editions.

‘Essays of U.Ve.Sa: The man who revived ancient Tamil literature’, translated by Prabha Sridevan and Pradeep Chakravarthy, and with a Foreword by Perumal Murugan, is a cross section of U.Ve.Sa’s anecdotal writings, and includes “oral tales, autobiographical sketches, histories of places, life-stories and the author’s encounters with music and poetry”.

Offering posterity these glimpses into the mind of a grand old man of letters who was not only an editor but also a biographer and historian, and who the writer Kalki christened “Tamil thatha” (literally, patriarch/grandfather of Tamil), is perhaps the best poetic justice to him.

Arguably, ‘Cilappatikaram’, one of the 6th century epics attributed to Prince Ilango Adigal and rescued from oblivion and printed by U.Ve.Sa in 1892, is to the secular Tamil psyche what the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are to the rest of India. Time and again, the story of its protagonist Kannagi has been taught to schoolchildren, performed as dance and drama, seen on the silver screen, discussed and deliberated threadbare at public debates and study circles in Tamil Nadu. Kannagi, immortalised in the Tamil imagination as a crusader holding aloft an anklet and about to avenge her partner Kovalan’s institutional murder, is a symbol of strength and empowerment; ‘Cilappatikaram’ is the saga of a lone woman’s fight for justice.

Winner of the 1995 Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation, the 1994 PEN/Book of the Month Club Translation Citation of the PEN American Center and the 1996 Association for Asian Studies A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize for Translation, R. Parthasarathy’s translation titled ‘Cilappatikaram: The Tale of an Anklet’ is a pleasure to read both as a poem and as a gripping, if black-and-white, tale of crime and punishment.

The second phase of the TNTB&ESC’s translation initiative underscores how relevant it still is to build bridges and foster connections between languages and readers in today’s glocal village riven by ideas and languages. As Mini Krishnan, Co-ordinating Editor, TNTB&ESC, puts it, it is a coming together of “the creative potential and the special understanding of the world the Tamil language has, and, consequently, the distinctive way Tamil carries the memories and histories of those who use it and live in it”.

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Tamil literature

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• Indianetzone - Medieval Tamil Literature
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Tamil literature , body of writings in Tamil, a Dravidian language of India and Sri Lanka . Apart from literature written in classical (Indo-Aryan) Sanskrit, Tamil is the oldest literature in India. Some inscriptions on stone have been dated to the 3rd century bc , but Tamil literature proper begins around the 1st century ad . Much early poetry was religious or epic; an exception was the secular court poetry written by members of the śaṅgam , or literary academy ( see Śaṅgam literature ).

Notable works of the 4th–6th centuries include the twin epics Cilappatikāram (“The Lay of the Anklet”) and Maṇi mēkalai (“The Girdle of Gems,” the only extant Tamil Buddhist work) and the Tirukkuraḷ , a collection of aphorisms on such matters as love, kingship, and ethics . The 6th–9th centuries saw the emergence of bhakti , the poetry and religion of personal devotion, which began in the Tamil region with the hymns of the Āḻvār s and the Nāyaṉār s ( qq.v. ) in honour of the Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva saints. From the 12th to the 16th century many philosophical treatises and anthologies of religious legends were composed, as well as the classic writings of the poet Kampan . From the 19th century, Tamil literature was increasingly influenced by Western forms and ideas. See also Indian literature .

Center for Tamil Natural Language Processing Research

A Taxonomy of Tamil NLP Research

Tags: Human-Machine Interface · Language Parsing, Resolution & Modelling · Machine Translation & Transliteration · Resolution & Modelling

Summary : T he Center for Tamil NLP research conducts a thorough literature review on the existing methodologies, prior work and language resources regarding the research topics identified. The literature review would aim to identify gaps in current knowledge, avoid reinventing the wheel and allows to show that we build on a foundation of existing knowledge and ideas. It identifies other people working in the same field. Knowing who’s already working in the area and getting in touch with them can be an invaluable source of knowledge and support.  A literature review shows in-depth grasp of the subject; understands where the research fits into and adds to an existing body of agreed knowledge. 

This would be conducted by following a taxonomy which is a popular approach in conducting literature reviews in a very structured and detailed way. We intend to develop a taxonomy which would characterize all aspects of Tamil NLP research and provide a comprehensive analysis of the current approaches in this field. This would help us to identify gaps in the techniques which could be very useful to identify directions of future research. A taxonomy consists of several dimensions of interest to the research area and it could be adopted and modified further by adding sub-dimensions according to the project area being studied.

© 2024 Center for Tamil Natural Language Processing Research — All Rights Reserved.

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The tamil renaissance and the beginnings of the tamil novel 1.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Tamil literature, particularly the earliest writing, is notoriously difficult to date. The body of factors influencing a decision in the matter is complex, and the degree of parochialism of the writer is not always the least important. Age is often assumed to be a synonym of quality, and it therefore appears desirable to push the beginnings as far back in time as possible if quality is to be proved. Without such efforts, however, an objective observer can safely say that Tamil contains literary works of a high standard dating from a period much further back in time than any other Indian language apart from Sanskrit. How far back is another question.

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2 Compare the notion, based on the forgeries of Annius of Viterbo and current in 16th-century France, of the advanced civilization, with its great poets, musicians, and architects, flourishing under the ancient kings of Gaul as early as 3000 b.c. See Gillot , H. , La Querelle des anciens et des modernes en France , Paris , 1914 , 125 – 155 Google Scholar .

3 Varadarajan , M. , “Tamil”, in Indian literature [Short cultural surveys of 12 major Indian languages and literatures] , ed. Dr. Nagendra , , Agra , 1959 , 13 . Google Scholar

4 E.g. Pillai , S. Vaiyapuri , History of Tamil language and literature (beginning to 1000 A.D.) , Madras , 1956 , 22 . Google Scholar

5 There are numerous English translations. The best-known is Pope's , G. U. : The “sacred” Kurral of Tiruvaḷḷuva-nâyanâr , 1886 . Google Scholar

6 Pillai , M. S. Purnalingam , Tamil literature ( Revised edition ), Munnirpallam , 1930 . Google Scholar

7 See Besse , L. , S.J. , , Father Beschi of the Society of Jesus: his times and writings , Trichinopoly , 1918 . Google Scholar

8 Tēmpāvaṇi . An abridged edition was published very recently: Beschi , C. G. E. , Tēmpavāṇi curukkam , edited with commentary by Anthony , V. Mariya , Tuticorin , 1960 . Google Scholar

9 Caldwell , Robert , A comparative grammar of the Dravidian or South Indian family of languages , 3rd ed. , University of Madras , 1956 (Revised centenary edition). Google Scholar

10 See Hooper , J. S. M. , The Bible in India , Oxford U.P. , 1938 , 46 – 55 Google Scholar . A modest amount of printing in Tamil was done before this date, even as early as 1578: see Nayagam , Xavier S. Thani , “ The first books printed in Tamil ”, Tamil Culture , VII , 3 , Madras, 07 , 1958 , 288 – 308 . Google Scholar

11 It is worthy of note that more than one publisher expressed the hope at the beginning of a novel that the work would be found suitable as a set text for an examination (as a number indeed were). See e.g. the introduction to Piḷḷai , T. M. Poṉṉucāmi , Vijayacuntaram , Madras , 1910 , 10 . Google Scholar

12 Cilappatikāram , mentioned above, p. 14, is a rare exception in that with the verse are mingled passages of rhetorical prose.

13 Paramārtta kuruviṉ katai (“The story of the Guru Paramartta”). English (by B. G. Babington), French, and German versions were published during the 19th century. The Tamil text, based on a MS in Beschi's own hand in the library of the British Museum, was recently republished by Dr. Rama Subbiah, with a brief introduction on Beschi's orthography. See Tamil Oli: Journal of the Tamil Language Society , University of Malaya , No. 5, 1965 – 1966 , 105 – 127 . Google Scholar

14 There is a valuable list in Murdoch , John , Classified catalogue of Tamil printed books , Madras , 1865 . Google Scholar

15 Moodelair , T. Vytheanatha (Vaityanāta Mutaliyār), The Looking-glass for the mind; … stories … from … L'Aim [sic] des Enfans. With analysis & close translation in Tamil , Madras , 1838 Google Scholar . It appears to have been popular in other parts of India. See Raeside , I. M. P. , “ Early prose fiction in Marathi, 1828–1885 ”, JAS , XXVII , 4 , 1968 , 793 – 794 . Google Scholar

16 Piratāpa Mutaliyār carittiram . The English title is that given by the author. A difficulty arises with the transcription of Tamil into roman, in that an exact transliteration is often a poor guide to the pronunciation. When books have an English title (as most of the early novels do), this title will be used in the body of the paper, and a transliteration of the Tamil title will be given in a footnote. A similar compromise will be adopted with the names of authors. Thus a transliteration of the name of this government official turned novelist would be Vētanāyakam Piḷḷai.

17 Seshaiyangar , D. V. (Cēṣaiyaṅkār), Athiyuravadhani, or the Self-made man. An original Tamil novel, delineating pictures modern Hindu life , Madras , 1875 Google Scholar . ( Ātiyūr avatāṉi caritam. )

18 For a rather more detailed account of his life and his other writings see Morais , Francis , “Vedanayagam Pillai”, Tamil Culture , Madras , X , 2, 04 – 06 1963 , 30 – 41 . Google Scholar

19 The purpose of this section is explained in the Preface: “By a fortuitous combination of circumstances over which she has no control, Gnanambal rises to sovereign power in the disguise of a man, and administers the Government with great wisdom and ability. She is raised to the highest pinnacle of human greatness, with a view to meet the taste of the Hindu readers, who are very fond of kings and queens.”

20 Piratāpa Mutaliyār , 160–1. (Reference will be made to the 1952 edition published in Madras by the South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society.)

21 Ibid. , 77–8.

22 An interesting study of those current in various parts of Great Britain is contained in Iona , and Opie , Peter , The lore and language of schoolchildren , Oxford , 1959 . Google Scholar

23 Piratāpa Mutaliyār , 10.

24 Cukaṇacuntari carittiram , Madras , 1887 . Google Scholar

25 He was also the main contributor, using a large number of pseudonyms. The bulk of these writings were reproduced in book form as Rambles in Vedanta , Madras , 1905 Google Scholar . This contains a brief sketch of his life (pp. xxxii–xxxix). The only biography appears to be Kastūriraṅka Ayyar , A. S. , Rājam Ayyar caritai , Madras , 1909 . Google Scholar

26 True greatness, or Vasudeva Sastri (in Rambles in Vedanta , 617–734).

27 Ayyar , B. R. Irājam , Āpattukkiṭamāṉa apavātam, allatu Kamalāmpāḷ carittiram , 7th ed. , ed. Iyer , C. V. Swaminatha , Madras , 1947 Google Scholar . The first reprint in book form came out in 1896.

28 A free translation. The Tamil has, “If he began to sing yamakam and tiripu ”. Yamakam is “Repetition, in a stanza, with changes of meaning sometimes effected by changes in the division of words”. Tiripu is a “Stanza whose initial letters excepting the first are identical in each line” ( Tamil lexicon , University of Madras , 1924 – 1939 ). Google Scholar

29 Kamalāmpāl , 48–9.

30 There is a wide difference, as regards the phonetic and grammatical structure, between “spoken” Tamil (as used in conversation) and “written” Tamil (which is also the standard style for public speaking and broadcasting), and it is difficult to give an accurate representation of the colloquial in terms of the Tamil script. A number of writers have attempted it (e.g. P. Sambanda Mudaliyar in his farce Sabapathy and other plays), but most still give up the task as hopeless—just as Shaw did the representation of Cockney in Pygmalion .

31 Kamalāmpāl , 1947, 309.

32 A. Mātavaiyā (1874–1926).

33 Preface to Patmāvati carittiram, oru tamil nūṭṭuk katai (Padmavati charitram. A story of the Tamil country ), 2 vols., Palghat, 1898 – 1900 . ( 7th ed. , Madras , 1958 Google Scholar .)

34 Thillai Govindan: a posthumous autobiography , London , 1903 Google Scholar . Using the pen-name “Kusika”, Madhaviah also wrote a number of short stories in English with a reformist bias. Collections appeared in book form in Madras in 1916 and 1924.

35 Vijayamārttāṇṭam , 2nd ed. , Madras , 1922 Google Scholar . (1st ed. 1902?)

36 Muttumīṉakṣi, oru pirāmaṇappeṇ cuvacaritai , Madras , 1903 . Google Scholar

37 Muthumeenakshi. The autobiography of a Brahmin girl , Madras , 1915 , 3 – 4 Google Scholar . First published in the Social Reform Advocate . A Telugu version appeared soon afterwards, first in the Hindu Sundari in the course of 1915 and then in book form (Kākināḍa, 1916).

38 Muthumeenakshi , 104–6.

39 “Savitri. An autobiographical sketch (Cāvittiri carittiram)”, Viveka Chintamani , Madras , I , Nos. 2–7, 07 – 11 . 1892 . Google Scholar

40 Patmāvati , Madras , 1958 , 42 . Google Scholar

41 “ Cāvittiri ”, Viveka Chintamani , I , No. 2 , p. 54 . Google Scholar

42 The plots of many South Indian novels are still woven round this question of woman's place in society. In the neighbouring Malabar (now Kerala) it was the theme of the first significant novel to be written in Malayalam, Menon's , O. Chandu Indulēkha ( 1889 . English tr. by Dumergue , W. , Madras , 1890 ). Google Scholar

43 C. M. Naṭēca Cāstiri (1859–1906).

44 Tiṉatayāḷu , 2nd ed. Madras , 1902 Google Scholar . Introduction. The pun inherent in the word appealed to Vētanāyakam Piḷḷai too; “I crave the indulgence of the public for any shortcomings I might have been guilty of in a novel attempt of this kind” (Preface to 1st ed. of Piratāpa Mutaliyār ).

45 The second edition of Tiṉatayāḷu and the first editions of five others came out in the space of two years. Kōmalam kumariyāṉatu , Madras , 1902 Google Scholar ; Tikkaṟṟa iru kulantaikaḷ (The two orphans), 1902; Matikeṭṭa maṉaivi (A wife condoned), 1903; Śri māmi koluvirukkai (The mother-in-law in council), 1903; Talaiyaṇai mantirōpatēcam , 1903.

46 First published 1903; 3rd ed., 1907. English title: Curtain lectures .

47 Tāṉavaṉ eṉra pōlīsnipuṇan kaṇṭupiṭitta atputa kuṟṟaṅkaḷ , Madras , 1894 ; 2nd ed. , 1914 . Google Scholar

48 There are at least six: Kamalākṣi , Madras , 1903 Google Scholar ; Vijacuntaram , Madras , 1910 Google Scholar ; Ñāṉacampantam , 1913; Ñāṉāmpikai , 1913; Ñāṉappirakācam , 1920; Civañāṉam , 1920.

49 Rajam Aiyar, Madhaviah, and Natesa Sastri had all made occasional use of this way of presenting dialogue, in order to surmount the difficulty caused by the fact that the normal position of a verb of saying in Tamil is after what is said; but they used it sparingly.

50 Kamalākṣi , 2nd ed. , Madras , 1910 , 7 . Google Scholar

51 Ibid. , 11.

52 By way of exception the plot of Ñāṉāmpikai is relatively simple.

53 Most of the novels of Reynolds (1814–1879), a prolific writer, were first published in the 1840's and 1850's. A number of translations into Tamil have appeared over the last 70 years, including one adaptation by N. Nacciyappan in 1959. A translation of Leila into Malayalam by C. Mādhavan Piḷḷa was published in 1960. It is not easy for the modern English reader to understand why anyone should still want to read his works in any language.

54 Thillai Govindan , 16.

55 R. Kriṣṇamūrtti (1899–1954).

56 For a discussion of the reasons for a similar “fallow period” in the history of the English novel, see Allen , Walter , The English novel , Penguin Books , 1958 , 80 – 81 Google Scholar . Cf. also Watt , Ian , The rise of the novel , Penguin Books , 1963 , 302 . Google Scholar

57 See his article “The Tamil novel: symptoms of a stalemate”, Quest , Bombay , III , 1, 08 – 09 1957 , 33 – 37 Google Scholar . Since the first draft of the present paper was written, K. N. Subramanyam has also published a short study of “The first three novels in the Tamil language” ( Prathapa Mudaliar, Kamalambal , and Padmavati charitram ). See Quest , 30, 1961 , 29 – 32 . Google Scholar

58 Some of the tendencies in the writing of those successfully continuing this work of consolidation since Indian independence are discussed in an account of the novels of Professor M. Varadarajan, justifiably admired both as a scholar and a writer. See Nayagam , Xavier S. Thani , “The novelist of the city of Madras”, Tamil Culture , Madras , X , 2, 04 – 06 1963 , 1 – 18 . Google Scholar

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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

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See an example

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

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McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved July 4, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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