The Dr VS Krishna Library of Andhra University is a 93-year-old library that houses treasure troves from yesteryears and soon, the world will have access to the precious tala patra (palm leaves) manuscripts — the library, along with Bengaluru-based e-publishing company Informatics Publishing, have initiated the process of digitising 2,663 tala patras available in six languages including Telugu, Tamil, Sanskrit, Bengali and others. "Irrespective of their location, everyone will have access to these tala patras without having to visit the library," says the university's Librarian Professor P Venkateswarulu.
By 2023, the digitisation process is expected to be completed after which, the scanned copies will be available on the official website of Andhra University. Parashar Smriti (written by sage Parashar), Dasarupaka and Rupaka Paribhasha of Natya Sastra (earliest writing on music and drama authored between 500 BCE and 500) and many other tala patras will be available for everyone to read and refer to.
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In the coming weeks, the process to digitise all the PhD theses submitted from the university's inception in the year 1926 will also begin, informs the librarian. "Vice-Chancellor Prof PVGD Prasad Reddy hopes to upload them on Shodhganga (digital repository of theses and dissertations) and aim for the NAAC A+ grade," he informs.
