The Adyar Library andResearch Centre in the verdant campus of the Theosophical Society is a haven for scholars and researchers in various branches of Indology. To the left of the door at the main entrance to the library is a small room with a wooden door. Hardly anyone gives it a second look, hardly anyone goes inside. Those who do enter see the treasures of a kind not often seen. Parchments, illustrated Oriental palm-leaf manuscripts, xylographs, scrolls, miniature books, metal stylus – the list goes on. Painstakingly collected and meticulously preserved, you could spend wonderstruck hours here.

The Adyar Library.

There are books autographed by Annie Besant, H.G. Wells, Bernard Shaw, Sarojini Naidu and Henri Bergson, the famous French philosopher. An interesting exhibit is a Tibetan xylograph presented by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, containing biographies of three Buddhist luminaries – Tilopa, a Buddhist tantric practitioner, Naropa, an Indian Buddhist yogi, and Marpa, the Tibetan Buddhist teacher who is said to have transmitted many Buddhist teachings from India to Tibet.

Some of the manuscripts in the Display Room deserve special mention. There is a rare illustrated manuscript in the Sharada script – a system of writing – which originated around the 8th Century C.E. and was as widely used in ancient times as from Afghanistan to Delhi. Also on view is a beautifully illustrated Javanese manuscript Serat Devarutji, a mystic philosophical tale, which was presented to the Adyar Library. The entire Ramayana of Valmiki in 24,000 verses in one bundle, written in the finest and neatest writing to be found in the whole library, is truly eye-catching, and so is an illustrated Siamese manuscript. The only known manuscript of a work on Dharmasastra (civil and criminal law codes) called Markandeya Smriti finds a place in this room. Also seen here is a Burmese manuscript in ancient Pali with lacquer binding which was found in 1948 on the streets of Rawalpindi during the riots! Displayed by the side of the manuscripts is a metal stylus used for inscribing the palm-leaves.

One of the remarkable manuscripts in the Adyar Library.

Another interesting exhibit is the sacred scriptures of the Tibetan Buddhists called Kanjur and Tanjur, printed with blocks of stone on handmade paper from the barks of trees. They contain works translated from Sanskrit to Tibetan. Some of these are of great importance, as the originals are lost and only the Tibetan versions exist. A manuscript of the original text of Yasna, one of the earliest Zoroastrian scriptures and a sacred book of the Parsis, and the Book of Esther in Hebrew on sheepskin parchment are part of this extraordinary collection.

Exquisite Chinese brushwork can be seen in a set of volumes of the Chinese Tripitaka, originally presented to Col. H.S.Olcott, the President-Founder of the Theolosphical Society and founder of the Adyar Library. A fascinating exhibit is a Chinese scroll of Buddhist hymns from the Imperial Library in Peking.

The printed books include some old and rare works. One of the oldest books here, Sphera Mundi, was printed in Venice, Italy, in 1490. It is a work on astronomy and geography with diagrams and charts which prove that the author knew the world was round. The book was published a few years before Christopher Columbus discovered America! Another one, printed in 1680, is a multilingual lexicon from Turkish, Arabic and Persian to Latin, German, Italian and French with grammatical notes on Oriental languages. Also on display is a Quran, about six hundred years old. A miniature Bible, an even more miniature Zend Avesta, the Zoroastrian prayer book, and a very very tiny book, The Lord's Prayer, written in seven languages and to be seen through a magnifying glass, are some of the other outstanding exhibits on display.

These and many more are in a room that is spic and span like the rest of the Adyar Libray. Surely, the Display Room deserves more visitors.

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Well-known cricket writer
Makarand Waingankar rightly expressed his anguish recently over Tamil Nadu failing to win the Ranji Trophy on several occasions despite the presence of abundant talent in the State, with many players having represented the national team.

Waingankar observed that 23 players from Tamil Nadu had figured in Indian teams over the years. Unfortunatley, there were very few international games in the 1950s and 60s. A.G. Kripal Singh, a fine all-rounder, got the nod from selectors for about nine years (1955-64). His selection was sporadic more due to non-cricketing reasons than merit. For instance, he was chosen for the 1959 tour of England. He came up with a superb knock of 178 against fast bowlers like Brian Statham and Ken Higgs, while playing against Lancashire. Yet, players with much less talent, like J.M. Ghorpade and Aravind Apte, were preferred with disastrous results.

His younger brother Milkha Singh too suffered from limited opportunities. Recognised as a great left-handed batsman even by international players who saw him, Milkha got very few chances and was never given a look again after his failure in the Brabourne Test against England in November 1961.

There was also the graceful C.D. Gopinath who captained the Madras team and played a few Tests for India. His job with a high-profile company deprived him of turning up in more Tests. His non-availability due to office pressures was never understood in cricketing circles.

V.V. Kumar was the unluckiest bowler from the State. The late Polly Umrigar once told me that if he had continued as India’s captain, Kumar would have blossomed and developed into a fine traditional leg-spinner.

It was the ever-persevering Srinivas Venkataraghavan who earned a niche for himself in the minds of the selectors and even went on to captain India in two World Cups and a Test series. That he played from the age of 19 in 1965 to 38 in 1983 bears ample testimony to his hard work and passion for the game.

In the 1980s, cricketers like T.E. Srinivasan and Krishnamachari Srikkanth represented India. Srikkanth established himself as one of Sunil Gavaskar’s finest opening partners and lasted a dozen years. In the late 1980s, more Tamil Nadu players, like L. Sivaramakrishnan, off-spinner M. Venkatramana and W.V. Raman, got into the Indian team for the tour of the West Indies.

Sadagopan Ramesh, the gifted left-handed opening batsman, all-rounder Robin Singh, Raman and Hemang Badani were not treated properly. Badani’s foray into the ICL cost him his place in the State side despite his being one of the finest fast bowlers. To his misfortune, Virender Sehwag came rocketing into national reckoning displacing Ramesh. Even now, while watching some of the television clippings of games in which Ramesh batted, it is evident what an elegant and languid player he was.

Robin Singh grabbed the opportunity that he got. Players like fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji and Dinesh Karthik also got their national breaks. A back injury brutally affected Balaji’s progress. Sheer hard work and consistent performances at the domestic level helped Subramaniam Badrinath and Murali Vijay get into Indian teams in the last couple of years. But neither has made use of the opportunities as expected.

The players have talent no doubt and hence a recent spurt in the choice of Tamil Nadu players for the national side. But attitude is the problem. See the premature exit of such a talented player like Dinesh Karthik and the ‘wobbly’ performance of an opener like Murali Vijay. His feet movements, bat grip and body positions, all indicate his nervousness at facing fast bowlers. This was evident when he was opening for India early this year against South Africa in the Rainbow continent. Vijay’s performance in last domestic season 2010-11 was not too impressive either.

A very senior Mumbai-based cricket writer, who followed the India-West Indies Test series keenly, indicated that Vijay appears to have already resigned himself to the fact that he is unlikely to play for India again. Likewise, no one is talking about the need to include Dinesh Karthik in the Indian squad.

Abhinav Mukund, however, has shown signs of being the type of player that any side would be eager to have. The way that he has fought his way up the ladder on difficult pitches in the West Indies, and the Caribbean bowlers like Ravi Rampaul and Fidel Edwards, testifies to his advancement. At the domestic level too, Mukund has adapted himself to various formats of the game.

Indeed, Tamil Nadu has had gifted players, but the Ranji Trophy eludes them. The fault lies with the TNCA authorities. For some flimsy reason they replaced the talented and knowledgeable W.V. Raman as coach by a team of coaches and cricket managers. And it was a case of too many cooks. Raman was responsible for assiduously building up the Tamil Nadu side from the 2007-08 season. The team on two occasions won the Vijay Hazare limited overs cricket tournament. It is sad that a Test cricketer like Raman with good coaching skills should have been dumped. That’s probably the reason why Waingankar has called for the appointment of an international coach. The author had advocated a foreign coach for the Tamil Nadu team long ago till Raman came along.

Stalwart S. Venkataraghavan too could be roped in as an adviser as he will instil motivation into the minds of the players. At 66, Venkat would find it too demanding to stand in the hot, humid sun of Chennai to coach the players. Robin Singh would be my ideal choice as he is a great motivator and will set high personal standards. He’ll make sure the players can’t take their places for granted, as many do.

They need to realise that there is a huge gap in playing standards between the Tamil Nadu league circuit and the Ranji level. A good coach can help them bridge the gap.

Apparently after B. Arun, V.B. Chandrasekhar and Raman, the cupboard seems to be bare. As already said, talent in Tamil Nadu is in abundance, but it has to be harnessed properly. If the President and the senior office-bearers can put their heads together to get good coach – even a young local person – it would go a long way to build State side into a winning outfit. – (Courtesy: Straight Bat.)

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