History comes alive within the four walls of the Perur Tamil College

Sangam poetry rings out through the 400-year-old walls. Afternoon Tamil language classes are in progress inside. Teachers, clad in veshtis and sporting long beards, teach prabandhams and Tamil grammar. A few others are outdoors planting neem and turmeric. The Perur Tamil College hums with energy.

Inside the library, a few students study palm leaf manuscripts. Books on philosophy, grammar and poetry are stacked neatly on the shelves. Thavathiru Santhalinga Swamigal, the founder of the Perur madam looks meditatively at you from the cover of one of the books.

He set up the gurukula learning centre at Perur circa 1600 A.D, before it was renovated into the college in 1953. His three key philosophical texts on non-enmity, non-violence and dispassion attracted scholars from across the world. Christian missionaries and scholars from Mauritius stopped by to debate with the thinker. According to Ithuvo Engal Kovai, a book by C. Ramachandra Chettiar, a Muslim saint befriended the swami. “He even took the vibhoothi from the madam and placed in his Masjid as a token of their friendship,” says Thirunavukkarasu, a Tamil professor.

The library preserves nearly 750 palm-leaf manuscripts on astrology, yoga and medicine. These are being digitalised.

The staff room is a veritable museum. Aluminium coins mark the arrival of Roman tradesmen in Perur many centuries ago. There are also terracotta idols of goddesses and Buddha along with copper plates engraved with Tamil and Brahmi inscriptions.

Archaeologists, who unearthed these from Perur, handed them over to the college. They believed that it would be well preserved in the college. A cracked mud pot, belonging to Sangam age, discovered by the students in the college premises has also been added to the collection. The teachers use these artefacts while taking classes, says Thirunavukkarasu. “They help in inculcating an interest in history in the students. Through these, we understand about a period’s lifestyle, culture and literature, better,” he says.

It is like a gurukula system here. Just like how it used to be during the time of Santhalinga Swamigal. The students read manuscripts, study literature, farm, cook and feed the cows in the goshala. Gokul Nath, a Tamil literature student says that he loves to visit the goshala during breaks.

“I feed the cows and tend to them. The white calf here is my favourite. She moos every time she sees me coming,” he smiles.

Kirupa Sakthi, a B.A. Tamil literature student lives in the college hostel. She says she wanted to study in the traditional ambience of the college.

“My day begins with reading books, attending classes and performing poojas in the kovil.”

The teachers are akkas and annas for the students. There is no hierarchy and that’s why he likes it here, says Sakthivel, another student. Sakthivel rebelled against his father in order to pursue Tamil. “He wanted me to take up engineering. But I had fallen in love with this place at the very first sight.”

Students from diverse backgrounds come here out of their love for Tamil. Sister Beula, a nun, says she enjoys Tamil literature, especially Thirukkural. “Our church has educational institutions under it. I want to become a Tamil professor.”

The college throws its doors open to all, irrespective of their caste, class and religion, says writer and Sahithya Akademi winner, Kavignar Puviyarasu, who was one of the first batch of students in the college.

“Eminent scholars of the time used to frequent the college. They spoke on philosophy, religion and even Marxism! So many ideas were brewing in the madam then. The tradition continues.”