An awareness program on the relevance of manuscripts, which was jointly organized by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Mysuru campus, and the Oriental Research Institute (ORI), University of Mysore, was held at the campus on April 24, 2018.
Prof. B. Sheikh Ali, former Vice-Chancellor of the Universities of Goa and Mangalore, during his inaugural address said, “Only by combining Hindu humanism, Buddhist compassion, Jain non-violence, Christian love and Islamic equality, can India become a superpower and establish world peace.” He also spoke eloquently and animatedly about the vast treasure that India holds in terms of technical, philosophical and humanistic knowledge. He emphasized the importance of involving the present generation in the pursuit of India’s wisdom, which, according to him, is the only way to establish peace in today’s troubled world.
Dr. S. Shivarajappa, Director, Oriental Research Institute (ORI), Mysuru, in his keynote address, brought out the significant contributions of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III to the establishment of ORI. He also stressed the necessity of preserving manuscript and their importance.
Dr. H. V. Nagaraja Rao, Retd. Senior Research Scholar, Oriental Research Institute (ORI), explained the nuances of procuring, handling and preserving ancient manuscripts. He also urged students to take part in workshops which offer training in various ancient scripts such as Brahmi, Sharada and Grantha. He also said that it is not the presidents, prime ministers or the dictators ruling the world, it is the books who rule the world.
Brahmachari Venugopal, Correspondent, Mysuru campus, and Dr. Rekha Bhat, Chairperson, Department of English, Amrita School of Arts and Sciences, Mysuru and academic coordinator of the campus, were present on the occasion.
Sreejit Datta, Assistant Professor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Mysuru campus, compered the program. Mr. Vishwanath M. V., Assistant Professor, Department of Spiritual Studies, Mysuru, proposed the vote of thanks and Mr. Vigneshwar Bhat, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Amrita School of Arts and Sciences, Mysuru, coordinated the event.
