The students from 2024 Batch of the MA History programme, Department of History, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad (UoH) went on a day trip to the Telangana State Archives, accompanied by Professors Dr. Bhangya Bhukya and Dr Sujith Parayil as a part of their first-semester course titled ‘Doing History with Archives and Social Memory’. They set out to the archives starting at 9:30 AM from the Social Sciences inside the UoH campus.
Dr Parveen addressing the students.
After a one-hour bus ride, the students arrived at the Telangana State archives, passing through Osmania University. Before heading out on a tour around the archives, the students were addressed by Dr. Zareena Parveen, the present director of the State Archive, who briefed them on the importance of archives and their role in preserving historical knowledge. She also highlighted the importance of learning languages, especially Persian, for Mughal documents and other languages accordingly for other historical records. She also shed light on the present-day struggles of maintaining the archive post the bifurcation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which led to demands for the division of documents in the archive between the two states by Andhra Pradesh, highlighting the importance of the archives in shaping cultural and state identity.
Students observing the manuscripts
After her insightful address, the students moved on to see the different sections in the archives, starting with the restoration and digitisation project of Persian documents, which is being undertaken in partnership with the Government of Iran and Noor International Microfilm Centre. Here, students saw the processes of digitising Firmans (royal decrees by rulers) and restoration processes through binding and using more durable paper. After the tour of this section, the students moved to the document section on the ground floor. The Mughal and Nizam documents were housed in a large room, carefully preserved in specialised cupboards to prevent damage from dust, floods, or fire, and had documents from as early as 1406 CE. After this, the students saw Persian scholars working on translations to preserve documents and had the opportunity to interact with them. Here, they also saw several old, one-of-a-kind documents, such as the first Indian MBBS doctorate of Mahamed Raza, awarded under the Nizam’s governance and the document issued by the Hyderabad state under the Nizam banning the practice of Sati, amongst others. This was followed by a short lecture by Professor Bhukya on how to study archival sources, where he explained how documents were structured and what type of information could be gauged from different kinds of documents.
Students at the archive
Lunch followed soon after at 1:00 PM. After lunch, the group headed to Osmania University to visit the Oriental Manuscripts library. The staff at the manuscript library were welcoming and set up a small exhibit for the students where they spoke about the preservation of old manuscripts, especially ones written on palm leaves. This library houses manuscripts dating back seven thousand years, with most of them written in Sanskrit using the Telugu script.
Students observing the manuscripts
The first exhibit spoke about the preservation of palm-leaf manuscripts, where the staff demonstrated the preservation process. A 2:1 concoction of lemon grass oil and citronella oil mixed with black carbon powder was rubbed over the manuscript to make the writing more legible. This process of oiling also ensures the longevity of the manuscript. Traditional methods of writing on palms involved the use of a stylus with which characters were carved onto the leaf. Thus, when the palm leaf is rubbed with carbon, the powder collects in the carvings, making the characters appear clearer. These techniques help increase the lifespan of these documents.
Students at the archive
The second exhibit had several old manuscripts laid out, such as a version of the Bhagavad Gita, Rushipanchamivratham and others. Along with these, there were also different types of tools that were used to write these manuscripts. Post both these exhibits, we had the privilege of listening to a talk by the Director of the Library, Dr. P. Subha Rao. He raised several pertinent issues that need to be addressed to ensure the future of these manuscripts. His talk was of great relevance to the room full of young aspiring historians to help them orient their careers for the benefit of the discipline. He put into perspective the wide and large scopus of research possibilities that exist today, inspiring and motivating the students. After the talk, the group returned back to campus more knowledgeable about archives and manuscripts after an informative and insightful day.