000			a
999			_c31989 _d31989
008			230419b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9788178246604
082			_a039.94811 _bVEN
100			_aVenkaṭachalapathy, A. R.
245			_aBrief history of a very big book : the making of the Tamil encyclopaedia
260			_bPermanent Black in association with Ashoka University, _aRanikhet : _c2022
300			_axvii, 149 p. ; _bill., (b & w), _c21 cm
365			_b595.00 _cINR _d01
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aIn the age of Wikipedia, it has been forgotten how important the Encyclopaedia Britannica once was in the mind of the English-reading Indian. Seen as the supreme repository of knowledge, it was also a status symbol sought as bookshelf adornment. What most people do not know at all is how an intrepid band of Tamil intellectuals, inspired seventy-five years ago by the Britannica, decided to create an encyclopaedia in their own language. They felt a linguistic system as advanced as theirs, with a literary history stretching two millennia, needed to showcase its civilisational achievement: it was imperative that Tamil boast its own encyclopaedia. The odds against realising this ideal were impossible. And yet the project of compiling the Kalaikkalanjiyam – the Tamil Encyclopaedia – began and was soon unstoppable. This intriguing episode of Indian intellectual life is as forgotten as its narration here is compelling. Book history comes brilliantly alive in A.R. Venkatachalapathy’s vibrant chronicling – from the conception of an extravagant idea to its execution as a printed work. This story of lofty ideals and financial scandals, bruised egos and ideological conflicts reveals a fascinating world of cultural enterprise, political struggle, and regional nationalism. This is a book for every reader of history.
650			_aEncyclopedias and dictionaries
650			_aTamil India History
650			_aAvinashilingam
650			_aBrahmin-Non Brahmin conflict
650			_aChildren's encyclopaedia
650			_aDravidian movement
650			_a"Kalki" R. Krishnamurthy
650			_aLanguage development
650			_a Meenakshisundaram,T.P.
650			_aSambasivam Pillai
650			_aTamil academy
650			_aKalaikkalanjiyam
942			_2ddc _cBK