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1.0 Introduction
Ancient India was a land of oral tradition based on the gurusishya relationship.
The knowledge was orally transmitted from a guru to his/her disciple (sishya)
likewise to the future generations. The emphasis of spoken language led to the
negligence of writing tradition. The concept of writing system in India started
much later than its language. The first reference to writing in India was found in a
Pali Buddhists canon of the 5th century BC (Kesavan, The Book in India, 1985, p.
9). The heterodox traditions of Buddhism and Jainism had a high esteem for
written word. To them, writing was considered as a means of transmitting and
documenting knowledge that would otherwise be lost forever.
1.1 Brahmi script
The ancient script, Brahmi is the root of all Indian scripts. It is the mother of
several other major script families of Central and Southeast Asia (Salomon, 1998,
p. 7). Brahmi was used to write Prakrit language which prevailed during the
ancient India (Visalakhy, 2003, p. 39). The development of Brahmi script can be
broadly classified into two major groups, the Northern Brahmi and Southern
Brahmi (Visalakhy, 2003, p. 41). These major groups developed into further
subgroups based on the regional variations. The regional variations further
evolved into several modern Indian scripts; from Northern Brahmi developed
Devanagari, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, and Oriya, from Southern Brahmi, Telugu
and Kannada emerged. According to Mahadevan, there existed another ancient
script called Tamil Brahmi which has evolved independent of Northern and
Southern Brahmi. Tamil Brahmi was an adaptation of Brahmi script used for
writing ancient Tamil (Mahadevan, 2003, pp. 173-178) (Figure 1). The modern
Tamil script that we use today is an offspring of the Tamil Brahmi script
(Encyclopedia of Tamil Literature, 1990, p. 105).
Figure 1: Vowels and consonants of Tamil Brahmi script. (Image source: Illustration by the
author)
palm leaf manuscripts the way our ancestors used centuries ago (Kumar,
Athavankar, & Sreekumar, 2009, p. 2). The practice of writing on palm leaves was
more prevalent in Southern India and Southeast Asian countries like Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia (Agrawal, 1984, p. 24). The
widespread use of the material in these regions was due to the abundant growth
and availability of palm trees in the coastal area.
Figure 2: Tamil alm leaf manuscript. (Image source: Government Oriental Manuscript
Library, Chennai)
dried in the shade or mild sunshine (Figure 3). The unwanted middle ridge is
removed from the main leaf. The desired portion is pressed, polished and trimmed
to size. Then holes are made on either side of the leaves with a red hot wire. A
cord is passed through the holes to hold the leaves together. Two wooden planks
of leaf dimension are then placed above and below the manuscript as covers to
protect the leaves and stored in dry place. After sometime the leaves are taken
out which by now would have become flat and smooth for writing. The total
number of leaves in a manuscript depends on its content.
Figure 3: Palm leaves cut to size and dried under shade or mild sunshine. (Image source:
Photographed by the author with permission from pulavar Chockalingam, Tanjore)
Figure 4: 13th century kalpasutra palm leaf manuscript written using reed pen and ink.
(Image source: Paintings of South-east Asia, Butterworths & Co Ltd.)
Figure 5: Method of writing on a palm leaf manuscript where the leaves are incised with a
pointed metal stylus. (Image source: Photographed by the author with permission from
pulavar Chockalingam, Tanjore)
Figure 6: A completed Tamil palm leaf manuscript. (Image source: French Institute,
Pondicherry)
3.0 Discussion
As mentioned above the writing system in Northern India is completely different
from the Southern India especially the Tamil manuscripts. Consequently the
characteristics of calligraphy are different. Though the medium is same, the
writing tool and the method of writing rendered divergent visual characteristics.
The forms rendered by the tools has what established the script form that is
today. The writing system is also distinctive in comparison to the East Asian,
Western and Islamic calligraphy.
3.1 Influence of the palm leaf medium
The traditional medium and distinctive writing system has played an important
role in the evolution of the script. T. N. Subramanian opines that there were three
main reasons behind the transformation of letterforms they were medium used
for writing, writing system and design sensitivity (Subramanian, 2004, p. 5). A
good example is the present Malayalam5 script one of the reasons for its
roundedness is attributed to the palm leaf medium used for writing during olden
days. Scribers adapted circular forms in order to prevent the leaves from damage
(Sambandham, Accukkalai Varalaru, 1998, p. 130) (Frutiger, 1989, p. 96).
Figure 7: Image on left shows a manuscript immediately after incision where the letters are
hardly visible. On right is a manuscript where the text is made visible by smearing a paste
of charcoal powder mixed with oil. (Image source: Government Oriental Manuscript Library,
Chennai)
In comparison with the other writing traditions, Tamil palm leaf manuscripts are
written with a pointed metal stylus, where only mono linear stroke thickness was
possible (Figure 8). The Dravidian scripts developed the mono-linear form
because of the method of inscribing using a pointed stylus (Vargas 2007:13). The
use of such pen tool provides less possibility of creating calligraphic variations like
in other calligraphic traditions. The lack of thick and thin modulation of the stroke
thickness comparatively subdues the contrast between the palm leaf medium and
the writing. This supports the idea that with thin mono linear strokes the scribe is
less likely to think of balancing the black and white. Technically, the scribe has
lesser chance of creating a balanced composition or calligraphy. However, there
are manuscripts with beautiful and innovative illustrations done using the stylus
but not calligraphy. The modulated stroke seen in the present Tamil script is an
influence of letterpress medium.
Figure 8: Pointed metal stylus used for writing on palm leaf manuscripts. (Image source:
Pulavar Chocalingam, Tanjore)
even spacing, better alignment and also introduced a new and beautiful serif
which greatly added to the appearance of Tamil Type (Murdoch, 1865, p. lvii). The
quality of Tamil typefaces rose to international standards under his guidance.
Even the renowned Linotype foundry found Tamil types were designed to its best
and could not be further improved (Sambandham, Accum Patippum, 1997, p.
338). This certifies the standards at which Tamil printing and type design was
carried out. Typefaces of the nineteenth century had a subtle ornamentation and
elegance. The norm set during this period was so influential that it is still being
followed. It could be discerned that Tamil fonts attained its present form from the
early nineteenth century.
Figure 9: A part of a page reproduced from the book Doctrina Christam printed at Cochin
in 1578. (Image source: Accum Patippum, Manivasagar Publications)
4.2 Typography
Similar to the early typefaces the initial typographic characteristics were also an
imitation of the manuscripts. Only in the latter stages of printing the influence of
western typography is seen. They are inclusion of word space, special characters,
paragraphs, style sheet, Arabic numerals, book format and other typographic
norms. The present typographic layout is universal, similar to any other script in
the world it. However, the nature of typography is reminiscent of traditional
practice.
4.2.1 Art and Color
India is a nation of colorful culture, first thing one notices about this country
would be its colorfulness. This culture is observed throughout the country from
north to south and east to west. A culture dominant of color has less inclination
towards black and white. This is also true with its typography where colors are
extensively used by the designers. The limitations of the early letterpress printing
were the only reasons to have resulted in black and white compositions. Once the
technology became available to print multiple colors the designers began to
explore the entire gamut of colors, especially with the digital printing.
Most often the typography that is seen at present is a reflection of the colorful
culture not the balance of black and white. The designs seen in various popular
print mediums such as posters, newspaper, magazines and books portray the
same. The use of multicolored text in different typefaces is a common design
practice they form an integral part of the aesthetic composition (Figure 10). The
choice of colorfulness and multiple typefaces makes the design vibrant and
versatile. Though it needs to be scientifically validated at large people are fond of
such designs. Perhaps it is because of the colorful art and dance tradition of the
southern state. The typography today can be seen as an amalgamation of art
culture and the western typography. This is apparent from the signboard
paintings, art lettering and shop fascias that exhibit an artistic typography with
cultural connotation. The predominant use of colors in typography signifies that
the designers have less inclination towards the impact of black and white. It is to
be noted that the majority of these designers come from an art background.
Figure 10: A cover design of a popular Tamil magazine showing the use of multi-colors and
multiple typefaces.
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5.0 Conclusion
In Tamil, palm leaf manuscripts have be a traditional medium of written
communication that continued till the late nineteenth century. It has played a
crucial role in the evolution of the script through the medium itself and from the
unique writing system. Looking at the process of the writing it is evident that the
early scribers and calligraphers had no concern for the black and white or
balancing the page. Since, the traditional mediums are different for different
regions the approach to calligraphy and composition are also different. Unlike in
Far East (excluding some of the Southeast Asian countries), Middle East or
European countries the calligraphy is completely different in palm leaf
manuscripts. This is mainly because of the indigenous medium and unique writing
system.
In Tamil, the functional aspect of the book (manuscript) that is the content was
important than the aesthetics. The limitations of the medium have added peculiar
characteristics to the script in the process evolution. Similarly the writing system
has influenced the transformation of the script. The introduction of letterpress
printing saw the decline of the handwritten manuscripts. However, the early
letterpress typefaces were an imitation of the palm leaf manuscripts. This made
sure the characteristics of manuscripts continued to the printing era. Gradually
over a period of time the western typography began to be influence the native
script. Again even in printing, there was not much of consideration for the balance
of black and white; it was more about the functionality, the content. The
contemporary Tamil typography is seen as an amalgamation of art culture and the
western typography.
6.0 Endnotes
1
The term Grantha in Sanskrit means a book or bundle of palm leaves, the
script used for writing books was called Grantha script. The script is used for
Sanskrit language.
Interview with Dr. John Samuel, Director and Editor of Encyclopedia of Tamil
Literature, Institute of Asian Studies, Chennai on 31st August 2008.
7.0 References
Agrawal, O. P. (1984). Conservation of Manuscripts and Paintings of South-east
Asia. London: Butterworths & Co Ltd.
Encyclopedia of Tamil Literature. (1990). Chennai: Indian Institute of Asian
Studies.
Frutiger, A. (1989). Signs and Symbols Their Design and Meaning. London:
Studio Editions.
Guy, J. (1982). Palm-leaf and Paper, Illustrated Manuscripts of Indian and
Southeast Asia. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria.
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