Students in T’kudi amazed by Tamil Brahmi scripts

MADURAI: Many students were taken aback to see the scripts used by the Sangam Tamils during a programme that showed evidence of ancient exposure to Tamil Brahmi at Kamaraj College in Thoothukudi.

The second-year students from the Department of History were trained in reading Tamil Brahmi scripts and inscriptions that were used in Tamil Nadu during the Sangam era, sources said on Sunday.

During the schedule, Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation President V Rajaguru explained the merits and historical importance of Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.

“Among various pieces of evidence of antiquity and ancient Tamil history, Tamil Brahmi emerged as the foremost. These are found on potsherds, coins, ornaments, and cave inscriptions. The fact that the root words in most languages of the world are Tamil and it indicates the antiquity of Tamil. Tamil Brahmi script is one of the oldest scripts in the world,” he explained.

Tamil Brahmi inscriptions were first found in Tamil Nadu 150 years ago by an Englishman named Robert Sewell at Madurai’s Meenakshipuram.

Those inscriptions were found in fertile areas along trade routes and in the hills around major cities. Most of these scripts are found in the Pandyan country (Pandiya Nadu).

The participants got the exposure to reading the Tamil Brahmi inscriptions on potsherds, coins, and seals, including the caves of Marukalthalai, Vikramangalam, Alagarmalai and Konkar Puliankulam through pictures and estampages, he said.

Then the students were also amazed to see that English, Greek, and other language scripts were written like Tamil Brahmi.

Earlier, the College Principal J Poongodi inaugurated the programme, which was presided over by A Devaraj, Head of the Department of History, sources said.