Source: thestar.com.my
COIMBATORE, INDIA, June 27, 2010: A globe-trotting Malaysian-born Information Technology (IT) consultant has embarked on an ambitious initiative to preserve ancient Tamil heritage in digital format. Subhashini Tremmel, currently residing in Germany, is sourcing these archaic priceless materials which are sprinkled across the globe.
“I want to preserve Tamil heritage in a digital manner. Many ancient Tamil texts are in the form of inscriptions (murals, wall writings in temple pillars or even caves), on copper plates, palm leaves and papers. Our Tamil Heritage Foundation is trying to preserve these materials in digital form for the future,” she said at the World Classical Tamil Conference, held in the southern city of Coimbatore.
The trust, a self-funding organization with members spanning, largely from the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland, India and Sri Lanka, contribute to develop the web-based network, which also aims to create awareness of Tamil history among the globally-spread Tamil community.
The project started in 2002 in England, managed to digitalize nearly 13 rare ancient Tamil books found in a British library. Subashini and her team have now amassed nearly 7,000 palm leaves over the last six years; their contents as old as 150 to 200 years have now been digitalized.