Regards,
Madan Mohan Parigi <parigim@STATE.MI.US>
Sreenivas Paruchuri <sreeni@ktp.uni-paderborn.de>
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on scientific books, Lexicons and encyclopaedias in Telugu
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The earliest Telugu books on scientific subjects were (as usual) in verse
and mostly related to medicine. It is interesting to note that as early as
1836 there was a book in Prose (!) on "Cooking" by a woman; Saraswati Bai.
[Note: I was asked for more details about the book. I have n't seen it
personally, but have a photocopy of the cover page of this book. This is
preserved in British Museum, London. The title page reads:
PakaSastra - otherwise called Soopasastra
or
Modern culinary receipts of the Hindoos compiled in Teloogoo
by
Saraswati Bai - Late Jamindar of the north of the Peninsula.]
Q 1. It is again a very famous personality, already with many "first"
credits, that began the publication of scientific works in prose.
Who was it and what was the subject?
A: Kandukuri Veeresalingam. He wrote an elaborate book on Human Physiology.
He followed Huxley's _Physiology_, but it was not quite a translation.
He consulted several other books in English and Sanskrit (for e.g.
Susruta, Ashtanga Hridaya), but he said that they helped him only in the
matter of suggesting appropriate technical expressions. The book is
illustrated and a list of 300 technical terms appended. Later on in 1894
he also wrote Natural History of Mammalia with more than 60 illustartions.
Q 2. In the early decades of this century (to be precise in late 20s, early
30s) two scholars wrote separately Theory of evolution
(_pariNaama vaadamu_) and both received the Madras university prize.
Who were they ?
(Clue: We, the SCITizens, are fortunate to have the grandson of one of the
authors here among us, who has been enlightning us with highly informative/
educative articles on many (a.o evolution/nature related) subjects.)
A: paaranandi jagannaatha swaami and chintaa deekshitulu
Q 3. Lexicons in Telugu as in Sanskrit, were in verse until around 1818,
when the idea of arranging words in the alphabetical order dawned on
the Telugu lexicographers. However it were Caldwell and Brown who did
the pioneering work in this field in early stages. But, what is the
earliest known Lexicon in Telugu at all?
(Clue: The author is well known for his (in)famous colourful language.)
A : chauDappa. chauDappa seesa padya kOSamu.
Q 4. Encyclopaedia Britanica and other similar works in English were
certainly the inspiration to produce similar works in Telugu. Who
was the first to undertake such project?
(Clue: Author's last name (inTi pEru) and that of an illustrious
person, who was 'controversially' :-) discussed here a while ago,
are the same.)
A: paravastu venkaTa rangaachaaryulu
Q 5. The afore mentioned author worked alone for almost four decades and
could finish topics with "a" and "aa" only. The 2nd effort was by
Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao, with the help of mallampalli and
raayaprOlu. He recognized the importance of an encyclopaedia in Telugu.
His two ideals were: history research and scientific encyclopaedia
creation. This work also had to be aborted due to his death. The
first detailed work, however limited to Andhra/Telugu and dealt ONLY
with socio, religious, economic and cultural activities of Telugu-s.
Contarry to standard encyclo-s the alphabetical order was not followed,
but subject wise. Can you name the series and list all the Volumes?
A: Vijn~ana sarvasvamu, publshed by Telugu bhasha samiti.
1. History and politics.
2. Physics and chemistry.
3. Telugu history and culture-1.
4. Telugu history and culture-2.
5. Economics, business and geography.
6. Linguistics.
7. Philosophy and religion.
8. Agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry.
9. Mathematics and astronomy.
10. Anthropology, sociology, psychology and education.
11. Law and administration.
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