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PREFACE
This publication contains a selection of Tamil folk-songs collected by the
late Mr. Percy Macqueen, I.C.S., and presented by him to the University Library
Madras. This Manuscript therefore does not belong to the Saraswathi Mahal
Library. Its publication was taken up because it was selected for publication by
the Selection Committee appointed by the Government. They represent the product
of the exuberant fancy of untutored and unfettered imagination of labourers. The
struggle for expression of poetic fancy among the uncultured and unbridled youth
often ends in ribaldry.
A
good number of songs had thus to be eschewed from the collection when making the
selection. The collection has however a special value for students of Sociology.
Fine strokes of fancy are however not wanting in the collection.
Sri K.V. Jagannathan, the Editor of Kalaimagal, well-known for his Tamil
scholarship has bestowed his time and labour in selecting the pieces for the
collection and contributing an introduction on "Folk Songs in Tamil". Our thanks
are due to him for his valuable services.
We
are grateful to the Government of Madras for their generous grants that have
helped us to publish this and other valuable manuscripts of this Library.
Saraswathi Mahal |
} |
S. GOPALAN |
Tanjore |
Honorary
Secretary |
18-03-58 |
T.M.S.S.M.
Library Committee |
|