[INDOLOGY] New book published by the Institut Français de Pondichéry (French Institute of Pondicherry)

[Anurupa Naik]

*JUST RELEASED

*

*/The Four Hundred Songs of Love. An Anthology of Poems from Classical 
Tamil. The/Akanāṉūṟu.//*

Translated and annotated by George L. Hart, Regards sur l'Asie du Sud / 
South Asian Perspectives n˚ 7, Institut Français de Pondichéry, 2015, 
xx, 485 p.

Language: English. *1000 Rs (43 €).*ISBN : 978-81-8470-213-2.

The Akanāṉūṟu is the longest collection in the Tamil Sangam anthologies. 
It is one of the seminal works of classical India and contains poems 
that are among the finest ever written in India or anywhere else. The 
aim of this translation is to make the Akanāṉūṟu accessible to readers 
who know English. It strives for scrupulous accuracy while keeping the 
felicity and poetic quality of the original.

The Akanāṉūṟu provides an account of the daily life of people of its 
times, one more detailed than any others that are available to us. Its 
poets were able to imbue virtually every poem with life by their 
striking use of images, their use of suggestion, their often uncanny 
sense of the feelings of the characters they portray, their intricate 
descriptions of flora and fauna, and their evocation of places, 
personages and events. Their use of imagery can be striking and sublime, 
but even more, their evocation of life 2000 years ago in all its aspects 
rings true. They left behind a world that lives and breathes, one that, 
through their poems, we can enter and experience as if it were our own.

*Keywords:*Tamil classical literature, Sangam anthology, English translation

*About the Translator*

**

George Hart is the Emeritus Professor of Tamil at the University of 
California, Berkeley, and holder of the Tamil Chair in that institution. 
His publications include works on the nature of classical Tamil society 
and culture, investigations into Dravidian influence on classical 
Sanskrit literature, and, with Hank Heifetz, translations of the Forest 
Book of Kampaṉ’s Irāmāvatāram and the Puṟanāṉūṟu. For many years, he has 
worked for the recognition of Tamil as one of the world’s classical 
languages. He is a recipient of the Kural Peedam, the Tamilperayam Award 
and the Padma Sri.

*To order, contact:*

*Institut Français de Pondichéry*

P. B. 33, 11, St. Louis Street, Pondicherry-605001, INDIA

Ph: +91-413-2231660 / 661. Fax: +91 413-2231605

E-mail: library at ifpindia.org

<mailto:library at ifpindia.org>

-- 
Ms. Anurupa Naik
Head, Library and Publication Division
French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)
UMIFRE 21 CNRS-MAEE
P.B. 33
11, St. Louis Street
Pondicherry-605 001, INDIA

Tel: 91-413-2231660
Fax: 91-413-2231605
e-mail:anurupa.n at ifpindia.org
website:www.ifpindia.org

  

















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