Workshop on ancient text editing at SOA concludes

Bhubaneswar: A five-day workshop on Text Editing held at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here where training was imparted to research scholars of Odia language in the art of deciphering ancient manuscripts, editing the same and transferring the text into books, concluded on Monday.

Fifteen research scholars from SOA, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, and Ravenshaw University, Cuttack, underwent the training at the workshop organised by the SOA Centre for Propagation, Preservation and Restoration of Ancient Culture and Heritage of India (PPRACHIN).

Three experts in the domain– Prof. Gouranga Charan Das, Prof. Pradipta Kumar Panda and Prof. Santosh Kumar Rath—imparted training at the workshop.

Prof. Gayatribala Panda, Head of PPRACHIN, who addressed the concluding program, said such a workshop had not been organised anywhere in Odisha till now.

The objective behind holding the workshop was to churn out efficient editors in the state to bolster efforts to preserve and propagate texts which were written centuries ago, she said.

Prof. Panda said the scholars who received training in the workshop had gained much knowledge about ancient Odia literature and the language of ‘pothis’ of yore. The trainees learnt how to decipher ancient manuscripts and text editing, she said.

The second PPRACHIN lecture was also organised to mark the occasion which was addressed by Prof. Jagannath Das, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology and Tribal Studies of PPRACHIN. Prof. Das elaborated on the relationship between anthropology and literature and how the former influenced the latter.