An accomplished Indologist

K. PRADEEP

David Schulman is a literary critic, cultural anthropologist and student of Carnatic music.

RENOWNED SCHOLAR:                             David Schulman

The Pariskshit Memorial Lecture, organised annually by the Government Sanskrit College, Thripunithura, turned into a unique experience on account of David Schulman's one-hour talk. Right through the talk, his American English was spiced with long interludes in Sanskrit and Tamil. The verses of Kalidasa and Kamban found evocative expression.

Many in the audience must have been amazed at the dexterity of this scholar from Israel. Regarded by many as one of the greatest Indologists, Shulman is not only an accomplished scholar in Indian languages like Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu, but also a reputed literary critic, cultural anthropologist and a passionate votary of Carnatic music.

Interest in languages

"I'm a philologist in the old European classical philological discipline. So that means I'm a person interested in languages. More than just the language in texts, what the language tells in the classical texts is the cultural phenomenon," Shulman says .

But it is this philologist's approach that makes him different. He is not an antiquarian who spends his lifetime in musty libraries or museums, but prefers to give a contemporary touch to his studies on everything ancient and medieval. Shulman provides a vital link between the past and present of Indian art, poetry and culture.

"Yes, I'm deeply interested in modern literature. Not just Indian, I read Greek, Russian and Arabic. I was trained in Persian but my heart is in South India. It doesn't matter whether it is Tamil Nadu or Andhra. For someone like me these modern linguistic boundaries that divide regions do not exist. For me, they are all part of a single cultural world. I often tell my students that anyone who learns languages should never stick to any one language. Take, for instance, Sanskrit.

"Most of the `Sanskriters' should know at least another living Indian language. In the past it was imperative that a student of Sanskrit or Tamil learn another language. It was part of the normal curriculum. Today this curriculum is vanishing and it is a tragedy," says Dr. Schulman, who is professor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion at Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Love for India

This love for India and anything Indian happened by accident. Shulman had completed his graduation in Islamic studies and had almost decided not to pursue his higher studies when he met one of his teachers.

"This teacher who taught Persian told me that there was a rush at the Hebrew University for Chinese and Japanese programmes but barely a handful for Indian. I had not heard of India so sought the help of my friend, Daniel Sperber, who was a professor of Economic History. This Englishman had walked from Istanbul to Bengal three times. He had a tremendous love for India. Right from the time I told him about my interest in India, he began giving me books. I used to find books on India at my doorstep everyday. One book that fascinated me was `The Wonder That was India.' I was slowly getting a feel of this great nation."

Another man who fired Shulman's interest in India was Prof Rabin.

"This absent minded linguist was a Semetic specialist who loved Tamil. He was one who found some new Tamil words in the Hebrew Bible. He had become almost a hero at the World Tamil Congress held in Madras in 1968 with his opinion that Tamil be made the language of instruction. He told me that I must study Tamil and that it has some excellent ancient poetry that very few know of.

"So I went to the library and there was one book, `Interior Landscape' translations of Sanghom poetry by A.K. Ramanujam. I read it and went on to study Tamil. It was not planned at all," says Shulman who spent years in Madras learning Tamil.

Temple myths

Later, Shulman collaborated extensively with Ramanujam and other personalities like Velcheru Narayana Rao and Sanjay Subrahmanyam in the writing of more than 20 books on various subjects ranging from temple myths, temple poems to essays on the wide spectrum of the cultural history of South India.

What makes these works significant is that Shulman's research is based on the basic texts, not on translations or second-hand information. For that he spent years learning to write, read and speak Sanskirt, Tamil and Telugu.

"My sabbatical leave this time will be spent in Rajamundhry. I get the chance to interact with some of the finest scholars in Sanskrit and Telugu. Moreover, I speak to the milkman, to my neighbours and to the people on the street. There is no better way to learn a language. I also plan to travel to Tirunelveli and Tenkasi as part of my research on a few ancient Tamil poets."

Schulman also plans to brush up his Carnatic music.

"My first association with Carnatic music was through my teacher John Marr, who was a true connoisseur of music and a great musicologist. Then when we were staying in Madras, my wife Eileen, who comes from a musical family in Canada, wanted to study Indian music.

"We found a good teacher, S. K. Rajam. When we moved to Visakhapatnam, she continued her lessons. This time I joined her. Pantula Rema was our teacher. We studied a few kirtans and even sang at the Tyagaraja Aradhana conducted there. I have not been practising though I still listen a lot. Eileen will join me in Rajamundhry and perhaps we'll continue to study again," says this scholar.