Indian manuscript hunt

In the walled quarters of the old city, a Sanskrit language scholar walks purposefully along the packed, narrow and twisting alleyways, jostling past rows of jewelry shoppers, cycle rickshaws, bullock carts and beggars.

When he comes upon an old temple with an ornately carved doorway, he stops, sweating profusely in the sweltering sun.

"Do you have any ancient handwritten manuscripts here?" Dilipkumar Rana, the scholar, asks in a whisper. The stunned temple manager nods. "The government is doing a survey of old manuscripts," Rana says.

"But I have very few left now," says Jaipal Jain, the 61-year-old temple manager. "I threw many old manuscripts into the river last year". . .

And so it goes, as India's 30,000 manuscript hunters fan out across the country, seeking the nation's heritage in old temples, madrassas, mosques, monasteries, libraries and homes.

Posted by David on June 30, 2005 8:35 PM