HYDERABAD: Years ago, perturbed about the gradual erosion of Deccan’s marginalised indigenous culture due to growing focus on elite literature, Professor Jayadhir Tirumala Rao, an archivist, began collecting rare and centuries-old manuscripts from across Telangana and neighbouring States.
In his quest to revive indigenous culture, Professor Rao breathed new life into an almost-extinct tribal language after stumbling upon a few manuscripts from Gondi tribe of Gunjala village in Adilabad. The Gunjala Gondi is the latest tribal language to be identified and added to the list of worldwide official scripts.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Professor Rao said, “We came across these rare manuscripts in Adilabad in 2010. Initially, we thought it was the Devanagari script, which was seemingly uncommon in the area. Eventually, we figured that it was the Gondi script. Back then, only three people of the Guntala Gondi tribe spoke and read the language. Over the years, as we were preserving the manuscript and deciphering its contents, the three persons managed to teach the language to others. Currently, over 500 people are well versed with the Gunjala Gondi script.”
The archivist has a collection of over 500 rare manuscripts from private collectors across the country, including bone engravings, copper and brass plate engraving, palm leaf and leather manuscripts and scrolls.
Many of the art pieces, that date back at least 400 years, were found by him at carpenter or locksmith shops. The process of preserving these artefacts is not just an arduous task, but also needs a special skill-set.
“We usually use clove and castor oils to preserve them. Later, blowers are used to clean these fragile pieces of art,” he explained.
Professor Rao reminisced how his love for Telugu literature was sparked by his parents.
“My mother read a lot of books at home, and my father was a teacher. So I cultivated my love for literature a very young age. I eventually went on to complete my studies in Telugu literature. This made me realise how literature had become restricted to elite circles.”
“In our quest for polished literature, we completely undermined the vibrant content of marginalised communities. Their hand-engraved manuscripts, paintings, sculptures are all a part of a forgotten civilisation’s culture, and my goal is to stop them from being lost forever,” he said.