Reading Sangam Literature from Time to Time

Abstract

It is the Sangam literature that is a testament to the antiquity of the Tamil language and a repository of Tamil culture. Such Sangam literature has continued to be read in one form or another since its inception. The Sangam literature, which was considered oral literature, was read aloud through recitation and singing. It can be seen from the verses of Nannul that the reading continued till the time of Sage Bhavananthi, who composed Nannul, which is considered a dependent of the book of Tolkappiyam. The advent of the printing press in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries made the Sangam literature hidden in paper prints accessible to all. This article summarises the continuous reading of Sangam literature from aural reading, which is known to have been the case during the Tolkappiyam period, to today's online reading.