V. Raghavan: Difference between revisions

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V. Raghavan was born on 22 August 1908, in [[Tiruvarur]] in the [[Thanjavur|Tanjore]] District of south India (Tamil Nadu). He lost his parents, father Venkataraman and mother Meenakshi, when he was only seven years old, on account of which Kamalamba, his mother's elder sister, took charge of the family and raised him and his three brothers and two sisters. During these days, V. Raghavan came under the tutelage of Pandit Sengalipuram Appaswamy Shastrigal and attended the Board High School in Tiruvarur.<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.drvraghavancentre.com/raghavadarshanam/|title=About V. Raghavan}}</ref>

He graduated from the [[Presidency College, Madras]] in 1930 with 3 College Prizes and 5 University Medals. He received his M.A. in Sanskrit Language and Literature with Comparative Philology and four schools of Indian Philosophy under Mahamahopadhyaya Prof. S. Kuppuswamy Sastri. He specialized in [[Alankara|Alamkara]] and [[Natya Shastra|Natya Sastras]] and Sanskrit Aesthetics and earned his doctorate in 1934–1935 with Profs. S. Levi, F.W. Thomas and A.B. Keith as examiners. He also studied Sanskrit on the traditional lines and won medals and prizes for Sanskrit speaking and writing.<ref name="auto3"/>

Proficient in reading and deciphering palm-leaf manuscripts in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Pali, Raghavan discovered, edited, and published numerous previously unpublished works during his long tenure at the University of Madras. Starting in 1935 and until his retirement from the university, he cataloged the discovered manuscripts in a publication series called the ''New [[Catalogus Catalogorum]]''. For this endeavor, he gathered information on manuscripts in libraries, research institutions, monasteries, and private collections in India and abroad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/new-catalogus-catalogorum-an-alphabetical-register-of-sanskrit-and-allied-works-and-authors/oclc/10393298 {{Bare URL inline|datetitle=SeptemberNew 2022catalogus catalogorum : an alphabetical register of Sanskrit and allied works and authors}}</ref>

From 1953 to 1954, he toured Europe in search of Indian manuscripts in libraries, museums, and research institutions, discovering and cataloging about 20,000 previously uncatalogued manuscripts and an equal number of cataloged manuscripts. In addition, he surveyed Sanskrit and Indological studies in European universities and other institutions. He was invited to the USSR twice and to countries of East and Southeast Asia, Australia, Mauritius, Mexico, and Nepal, where he continued cataloging manuscripts, among other activities such as lecturing.<ref name="jstor">{{Cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23331132 | jstor=23331132 | title=Dr. V. Raghavan: A Tribute | last1=Anjaneyulu | first1=D. | journal=Indian Literature | year=1979 | volume=22 | issue=5 | pages=12–19 }}</ref>

In 1931, he paid frequent visits to [[Tanjore]] villages with K.V. Ramachandran to highlight the traditional Natakas of the Bhagavata's at Merattur, Sulamangalam. He presented a paper in the [[Madras Music Academy]]'s annual conference session on "Some Names in Early Sangita Literature" in 1932.

Early in his career, he wrote reviews for the renowned magazines ''Sound & Shadow'' and ''Triveni'' on [[Carnatic music]], [[Bharatanatya]], and [[Harikatha]] performances.<ref name="jstor"/> He also wrote film scripts for [[Puranas]], epics, and Sanskrit classics and played an active role in producing dialogue, general advice, and scenario for three films, ''[[Sita Kalyanam (1934 film)|Sita Kalyanam (1934)]]'', ''[[Chandrasena (1935 film)|Chandrasena (1935)]]''<!--This film was also made in Tamil, in which V. Raghavan wrote the dialogues--> and ''[[Jalaja (1938 film)|Jalaja (1938)]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dhvaniohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Remembering_V_Raghavan.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|datetitle=MayRemembering V. 2022Raghavan}}</ref>

V. Raghavan authored numerous articles and books on Carnatic music, Bharatanatyam, and aesthetics in English, Tamil, and Sanskrit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/24/stories/2007082452560600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021050957/http://hindu.com/2007/08/24/stories/2007082452560600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2007|title=Assortment of commentaries on classical music released|date=24 August 2007|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=23 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/living-hyderabad-sringaramanjari-sanskrit-treatise-where-oceans-of-culture-meet/article24853166.ece|title=‘Sringaramanjari’'Sringaramanjari': Where oceans of culture meet|date=3 September 2018|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref> He was known both for his command of primary texts in Sanskrit and for making them accessible to scholars, students, and Sanskrit-loving public through his articles and commentaries.<ref name=cent/>

He translated into Sanskrit [[Rabindranath Tagore]] first drama, ''[[Valmiki Pratibha]]'', which deals with the transformation of [[Valmiki]] from a bandit into a poet and Natir Puja, The Dancing Girl’sGirl's Worship, a drama that was made into a movie directed by Tagore himself.<ref name=nint/>

Raghavan translated many well-known Stotras along with notes. His collection of select verses and Stotras titled ''Prayers, Praises and Psalms'' was published in 1938 with a foreword by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] who referred to the succinct English translation of the Stotras by Raghavan. Other condensed editions that Raghavan wrote include ''Śrīmad Bhāgavata'' and ''Mahābhārata''.<ref>https: name="auto3"//www.drvraghavancentre.com/raghavadarshanam/</ref>

In 1948, Raghavan curated and published a detailed [[diary]] kept by [[Ananda Ranga Pillai]], the Dubash (an Interpreter in Colonial India) of Puducherry, which dealt with the historical account of the cultural lives of people in the early part of the 18th-century Century [[Madras Presidency]] and the French Administrators of [[Puducherry (union territory)|Puducherry]].<ref>https://www{{Cite journal|jstor=23340934|title=Diaries of the Natives from Pondicherry and the Prose Development of Popular Tamil in the Eighteenth Century|author=Stephen, S.drvraghavancentre.com/raghavadarshanam/ Jeyaseela|year=2006|journal=Indian Literature|volume=50|issue=2 (232)|pages=144-155}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/>

Among Raghavan's works in English written for the general readers is ''The Indian Heritage'', a selected and translated anthology of Sanskrit literature, published by the Indian Institute of World Culture, Bengalūru (1956).<ref name="auto2">https://www.{{Cite |jstor.org/stable/=i40170431|title=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute}}</ref> With a foreword written by the President of India, Rajendra Prasad, this work was chosen by the UNESCO as one of the best in the Collection of Representative Works in the Indian Series.<ref>https: name="auto3"//www.drvraghavancentre.com/raghavadarshanam/</ref><ref>https: name="auto2"//www.jstor.org/stable/i40170431</ref>

Among Raghavan's major works of on dance and drama are the critical edition of ''Nṛtta Ratnāvalī'' of Jayasenapati (1254 A.D.) and ''Śṛṅgāra Mañjarī'' by Saint Akbar Shah (17th century),<ref name="auto"/>, and the ''Nātakalaksanaratnakośa'' of ''Sāgaranandin'', a 13th century treatise on the Hindu theater translated by [[Myles Dillon]] (Irish historian, philologist, and celticist) and Murray Fowler (Indologist and Linguist, University of Wisconsin), with introduction and notes by Raghavan. Raghavan also published comparative notes on concordance with ''Nāṭya Śāstra'' and its commentary ''Abhinavabhārati''. His paper on Bharatanatyam, which he presented at the first dance seminar at the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, in 1958, covered both the textual and practical aspects of the art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/evolution-of-bharatanatyam/article32034579.ece|title=Evolution of Bharatanatyam|date=9 July 2020|via=www.thehindu.com}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/>

On his birth centenary, celebrations were held in August 2008.<ref name=cent/> A book ''Smriti Kusumanjali'' was released, compiling tributes to him on his 60th birthday from personalities including then-president [[Dr. S. Radhakrishnan]] and vice-president [[V. V. Giri]].<ref name=cent/> V. Raghavan advised and supervised 22 Ph.D., M.Litt., and non-degree students in their research and publications. He remained a life-long mentor for his students from all over the world.<ref name="jstor"/> V. Raghavan and Sarada Raghavan's had two sons and two daughters who are continuing Raghavan's legacy of scholarship and service through contributions of their own to the society, the sciences, and the arts.<ref>{{Cite journal|urljstor=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23331132|title=Dr. V. Raghavan: A Tribute|author=Anjaneyulu, D.|year=1979|journal=Indian Literature|volume=22|issue=5|pages=12-19|via=JSTOR}}</ref>

<ref name=nint>{{Cite web|url=http://www.narthaki.com/info/intervw/intrv109s.html|title=Interview -– Nandini Ramani: Sanskrit is a vibrant and glorious language -– Lalitha Venkat|website=www.narthaki.com}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name=sacd>'''Dr.V.Ragahavan:A tribute''': Article from '''''Sahitya Academy Publication''''' -– ''Indian Literature