Blast from the Past
The Hindu ,Friday,October 10,2003
Sangam and Saivism enthralled him
It was with a missionary zeal that Avvai Doraiswamy went about rediscovering the treasures of ancient Tamil as
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
learns in a talk with his son, Avvai Natarajan.
THE MAN emerges from the puja room at dawn, eyes focussed on some distant thought, ash-streaked forehead matching the sombre white of the dhoti.
He sits cross-legged on the floor before the low desk and opens a heavy tome — a Thevaram anthology, Sivagnanabodham, Tolkappiyam, Tirukkural…
Sometimes it is an English book on law, history, or epigraphy, a metaphysical tract in Sanskrit, or a bunch of palm leaf manuscripts.
As he dips his quill into an old ink bottle and begins to write, the letters flow with calligraphic assurance.
Whatever it is, his ten children know that he cannot be disturbed during his morning `meditation.’
Wife Lokambal goes about her business of managing the large household, expecting no assistance from a husband who lives for research and analysis, heedless of practical needs.
Not surprising that Avvai Doraiswamy (1903-81), honoured as Uraivendar for his commentaries on Tamil literary texts, and Siddhanta Kalanidhi for his work on Saiva Siddhanta treatises, should have drawn Vice Chancellors and academicians to pay tributes at his centenary celebrations on September 25 at Rani Seethai Hall.
A notable feature was the absence of political slogans or agendas.
For Doraiswamy was a man who had eschewed such worldly interests.
A devout Saivite himself, he could study Buddhism or Jainism (as also Prakrit and Pali) to grasp the connotations of Manimekalai, Choodamani or Yashodhara Kaviyam.
He sought assistance from Sanskrit scholars in translating Mattavilasa Prahasanam, and from Vaishnava pundits to hone his knowledge of the Divya Prabandham.
Nor did he hesitate to learn Western methods, especially from law books and court judgments, to improve his own presentation.
How did he get the name of poetess Avvai prefixed to his own? Son Avvai Natarajan, former Vice-Chancellor, Thanjavur Tamil University, laughs as he explains that the word came from his native village Avvaikuppam, South Arcot.
A teacher at the Tindivanam high school added the term to the boy’s name to distinguish him from another Doraiswamy in the same class.
Perhaps the title inspired him to choose his life’s mission.
For, at age 21, he enrolled himself at the Karandai Tamil Sangam in the vidwan course.
Contemporary literature had no hold over the student.
Enthralled by Sangam poetry and medieval bhakti lore, he was keen to follow the trail blazed by Dr. U. V. Swaminatha Iyer in rediscovering the treasures of his ancient tongue.
Paradoxically, he was attracted to works marked by poetic sensibility, grammarian logic, and devotional fervour.
His life was to be devoted to exploring all three areas.
His books include commentaries on the classics (Ainkurunuru, Purananuru, Natrinai, Paditrupattu) on Saiva siddhanta (Gnanamritham, Sivagnanabodham).
He authored summaries and monographs on works including the major epics Silappadhikaram, Jivakachintamani and Manimekalai.
When his research led him to explore history, he began to write historical accounts of the Chera dynasty and Saiva literature.
Five years of unremitting toil produced a 20,000-word long commentary on Ramalingaswami’s 6,000 Arutpa verses, published by Annamalai University in 10 volumes.
Says Natarajan,
“The commentarial tradition is proverbial in Tamil, and my father chose to develop his own style.
You can call it a method of pertinent conjecture.
” A simple example is of the term `Ponmudiyar,’ literally, `person with golden hair.’
Swaminatha Iyer had suggested that this indicated a blonde, or one who wore a gold crown.
But Doraiswamy concluded that Ponmudi is the name of the poet’s native village.
He was also quick to spot errata creeping in through the centuries and trying to arrive at the original meaning through inference, deduction, and an extensive scrutiny of inscriptions.
Doraiswamy had an old world loyalty to his guru Umamaheswara Pillai of Karandai Tamil Sangam, in whose memory he observed the Umamaheswara viratham, a weekly fast.
In his turn, he too was a caring teacher at the Karandai Tamil Sangam, Cheyyaru Government College, Annamalai University and Tyagaraja College, Madurai.
No hoarder, he shared his knowledge generously with seekers.
Once, when a student disclosed that he did not have the means to support another year of study, Doraiswamy coached him well enough to take the exams straightway and bag a State rank.
Students remember his stimulating introductions to every lesson, and his ability to make abstruse doctrines crystal clear.
As he taught it, a scene in Kamba Ramayanam came alive like a play with interacting characters.
There was another side to the exacting pundit.
After twilight you saw him relaxing with Perry Mason, as Erle Stanley, Gardner and Agatha Christie replaced Shakespeare and Ilango.
Even the book-shaped silver snuffbox felt the light mood when Doraiswamy flicked it open as he followed the chase or case.
“My father never once said that his own works should be reprinted,” recalls Natarajan.
“He always declared he had not been able to give a full and finished form to his writings.
He hoped that younger generations would discover more, progress more, and add new chapters of their own.”
Though engrossed by the old world, Avvai Doraiswamy did not forget that the past becomes significant only when it exists for the future.
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