Manuscriptology-Dimensions and Directions
A two-day national seminar on ‘Manuscriptology: Dimensions and Directions’ was arranged by Department of Sanskrit, University of Mumbai, Kalina, on 18th and 19th February 2019.
The seminar started at 11 am in the morning on 18th February after breakfast. Dr. Shakuntala Gawde welcomed the esteemed guests Dr. Dipti Tripathi (Former Director, National Manuscripts Mission) and Dr. Ravindrakumar Panda (Professor, Department of Sanskrit, M. S. University, Vadodara) to the seminar. The seminar was formally opened with ‘Sarasvati Vandana’ i.e. a prayer to goddess Saraswati, sung by the students of the department. Then after the lighting of lamps, Dr. Suchitra Tajane (Head,
Department of Sanskrit, University of Mumbai) welcomed guests, read out the annual report of the department and also gave a brief introduction to this seminar.
Then Dr. Dipti Tripathi began her inaugural address. Being a devout scholar and experienced personality in the field of manuscriptology, her concern and dedication to the subject could be seen in her words. She stressed on the need and importance of the study of manuscriptology in today’s era highlighting the condition of our ancient knowledge lying neglected in these manuscripts. Her talk was indeed inspiring for all the present audience. After this, Dr. Ravindrakumar Panda delivered the keynote address. He spoke about critical understanding of a text and pointed out that different readings of a certain text in different manuscripts should not be merely studied on the basis of grammar but also from the aesthetic and cultural point of view. With this talk, the inaugural session got over and the audience dispersed for lunch.
After lunch, commenced the first session which was chaired by Dr. Dipti Tripathi. Dr. Shrinand Bapat was the first scholar who presented a paper on BORI manuscripts. He gave clear statistical information related to manuscripts in BORI. After this, Dr. Nirmala Kulkarni presented her paper that discussed the stages through which a text and manuscript goes. Next paper was presented by Dr. Vinaya Kshirsagar. She explained how intentionally or unintentionally additions are made in a text, sometimes the insertion is indicated whereas many times it is not. After this paper, Dr. Bhagyashri Bhagawat read her paper where she gave a brief background of Vaidika Samshodhan Mandal. Also the process of publishing 3 critical editions by the institution was discussed by her.
With this, all the papers of the session were completed and we proceeded to the next part of the seminar which was chaired by Dr. Ravindrakumar Panda. Dr. Sweta Prajapati presented her paper which discussed the practical aspect of manuscript study. She encouraged students to work in this field and offered to help them for the same. After this, Dr. Dipti Tripathi presented her thoughts on management of manuscripts. She highlighted the need of conserving manuscripts. With this, ended the first day of the seminar.
On 19th February morning, the breakfast was arranged at 10.30 am after which the first session began sharply at 11 am. This session was chaired by Dr. Dilipkumar Rana. First paper was presented by Anita Joshi. She mainly shared her own experience about getting access to Shridharshastri Ware collection, throwing light on the difficulties faced in collection of manuscripts. The next paper, by Dr. Sampada Jadhav focused on the theoratical part of manuscriptology like cataloguing codes, different types of catalogues etc. Then Dr. Sakina Khan presented her paper which highlighted the many translations of popular Sanskrit works into Arabic and Urdu. Then there was a joint paper by Dr. Madhavi Narsalay and Mrs. Varada Dhapare. They discussed about the attainment of Bhuskute collection and the procedure undertaken for its management and cataloguing.
Then after a lunch break, Dr. Dilipkumar Rana gave lecture which discussed the measures to be undertaken for gaining access to manuscript libraries. Application part of this science was elaborated by him. Then two representative attendees of the seminar gave their reviews and feedback about the same. Then, the valedictory session began at 3 pm. Dr. Madhavi Narsalay introduced the guest. Dr. S.Y. Wakankar gave the valedictory address. He, being a very senior scholar of his field, enriched the seminar with his valuable inputs. His lecture was informative and opened new arenas for aspiring manuscriptology students. After this talk, Dr. Suchitra Tajane proposed a vote of thanks to all the invited scholars, teachers, staff and students for being a part of the seminar.This two day national seminar thus ended with great success.
Shruti Kanitkar
M.A. part II, Department of Sanskrit, University of Mumbai
हस्तलिखित शास्त्रावरील चर्चासत्राचे मुंबई विद्यापीठात आयोजन-डॉ. सूचित्रा ताजणे
BOITuesday, March 05, 2019 | 03:28 PM
मुंबई : ‘हस्तलिखित शास्त्र : आयाम आणि दिशा’ या विषयावरील राष्ट्रीय चर्चासत्र मुंबई विद्यापीठाच्या संस्कृत विभागात १८ व १९ फेब्रुवारी रोजी पार पडले. विभागप्रमुख डॉ. सुचित्रा ताजणे यांनी विभागाचे अहवालवाचन व कार्यक्रमाचे प्रास्ताविक केले.
कार्यक्रमाच्या उद्घाटनप्रसंगी डॉक्टर रवींद्रकुमार पांडा यांनी हस्तलिखित शास्त्रातील काही गोष्टींचा संशोधकांनी कसा विचार करावा, याबाबत आपले विचार मांडले. त्रिपाठी यांनी हस्तलिखित शास्त्राविषयीची आवश्यकता सुलभ शब्दांत वर्णन केली. जनमानसामध्ये हस्तलिखित शास्त्राविषयी असलेल्या अनास्थेबाबत त्यांनी खंत व्यक्त केली.
हस्तलिखित शास्त्रातील विविध विषयांचा सखोल अभ्यास करणाऱ्या पुणे, मुंबई, नाशिक, बडोदा, दिल्ली, अहमदाबाद येथील विविध अभ्यासकांनी विद्यार्थी आणि शिक्षक वर्गाला हस्तलिखित शास्त्र, त्यातील विविध प्रकारचे आयाम आणि निरनिराळ्या वाटा यांची जाणीव करून दिली. ज्येष्ठ अभ्यासक सिद्धार्थ वाकणकर यांनी समारोप समारंभात प्रमुख अतिथी म्हणून केलेल्या भाषणामध्ये हस्तलिखित शास्त्राचे सर्वंकष विचार विद्यार्थ्यांसमोर मांडले. संस्कृत विभागात हस्तलिखित शास्त्र शिकविले जात असल्यामुळे विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी ही पर्वणीच ठरली. भारतीय हस्तलिखितांचा खजिना टिकवून ठेवण्यासाठी अशा कार्यक्रमांची अतिशय आवश्यकता आहे, असे मत मान्यवरांनी व्यक्त केले.
दोन दिवसांच्या या राष्ट्रीय चर्चासत्राचे सूत्रसंचालन अनुक्रमे डॉ. शकुंतला गावंडे व डॉ. माधवी नरसाळे यांनी केले. कार्यक्रमाचे आभारप्रदर्शन संस्कृत विभागप्रमुख डॉ. सुचित्रा ताजणे यांनी केले.