The Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute in Mylapore is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
T.S. Tirumurti, former ambassador and permanent representative of India to the United Nations will inaugurate the celebrations on May 24.
The institute has proposed to bring out more than 25 books on various topics to mark the occasion, besides organising two national seminars and two workshops.
Established in memory of S. Kuppuswami Sastri, the first Principal of Madras Sanskrit College, the institute has been serving the cause of Sanskrit and Indology research since its inception in 1945.
The institute publishes the Journal of Oriental Research, which was started by Kuppuswami Sastri in 1927 and later handed over to the institute. According to institute officials, the journal is internationally acclaimed as one of the best in the field of Sanskrit research.
The institute has published around 100 books and monographs on topics such as Vedic studies, classical literature, language, grammar, ancient Indian mathematics and astronomy.
Rich collection
The institute’s library has around 65,000 books, many of them rare collections gifted by scholars. It houses around 1,300 palm leaf manuscripts that have been digitised. “We are in the process of digititising old and rare books now,” an official said.
The institute, affiliated to the University of Madras for 40 years, has produced over 70 M. Phil and Ph. D scholars. It has received traditional and modern scholars from across the country and from Europe, the U.S., Canada, Australia and Asian nations. They have completed graduation, postgraduation, doctoral and post-doctoral studies.
