The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), established in Chennai, has mapped out various plans including preparation of definitive editions of forty-one Classical Tamil texts and translation of these works into English and other major European languages as well as into major Indian languages and writing of a historical grammar of Tamil. Language being the autobiography of a people, our objective is to preserve and safeguard the invaluable treasure of the literary compositions in our language. If only we could delve into our past and recover the riches and wealth of the mighty treasure trove of Classical Tamil poetry, we will be amply rewarded by its lofty poetry, the poetry that strengthens and purifies the holiness of heart's affection and enlarges our imagination. Apart from these, reading the ancient Tamil texts such as Tolkäppiyam, Eruttokai, Pattuppättu, Tirukkural etc., provides a foundation for scholarship for the present and in this sense they do provide enlightened education.
It is heartening to write this foreword to the series of publications brought out by CICT, which I am sure, will do full justice to the masterpieces in Tamil without compromising on the quality of production. The Cankam corpus being a repository of our glorious culture, it behoves our present and future generations to study them and to convey their message and the vision of life embodied in them to the public at large. Let me, therefore, commend the series to the enlightened beings the world over.
Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls), a celebrated cankam anthology, includes five ärruppatais, known as Tirumurukärruppaṭai, Porunararruppatai, Cirupanärruppatai, Perumpaṇārruppatai and Malaipatukatām, an arruppatai being a guide-poem in which an artist having received handsome gifts from a rich patron of arts, meets a fellow-artist on his way back and directs him to the same patron describing the way to the chieftain's capital, the city, the love and affection of the patron, the royal feast given by him, the hospitality extended, the priceless presents and the leave - taking. Besides these, there are four poems pertaining to the four major genres: Kuriñci (poetry of pre-marital love), mullai (poetry of idyllic love), pālai (song of separation in love), and neytal (song of despair in love). The tenth one is Maturaikkanci, reported to be the poet's advice to the Pandya King, Netunceliyan.
The present volume published by CICT presents three translations each of the ten masterpieces. The Institute is all appreciation for the translators and the editorial and technically skilled teams.
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