Charles Philip Brown
Charles Philip Brown | |
---|---|
British India | |
Died | 12 December 1884 London | (aged 86)
Occupation | Civil servant |
Nationality | British |
Education | Indian Civil Service |
Literary movement | Collection of Telugu books |
Notable works | Telugu dictionary |
Charles Philip Brown (10 November 1798 – 12 December 1884) was a British official of the East India Company. He worked in what is now Andhra Pradesh, and became an important scholarly figure in Telugu language literature.
Background
Telugu literature was in a dormant phase in the 18th century, for a number of social and political reasons - a lack of creative Telugu poets, prevailing illiteracy and the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire as patrons of Telugu literature. Brown, as official in the region, collected and edited works. He believed he had saved the heritage of the Telugu language. In his own words,
"Telugu literature was dying out; the flame was flickering in the socket. In 1825, I found Telugu literature dead. In 30 years I raised it to life".[1][2]
Janamaddi Hanumath Sastri, who has researched Brown's life, established a library in Kadapa in his memory.[3]
Biography
Charles Brown was born in
In 1820,
Brown was relieved from his duties in 1834. He went back to London and stayed there from 1835 to 1838. Brown returned to Madras again in 1837 as a translator of Persian for the East India Company and joined as a member of the Madras College Board. He retired in 1854 because of health reasons and went back to London again. He worked at London University as Telugu Professor for some time.[4]
Legacy
While Brown concentrated on Telugu,[8] he was a polyglot. Other languages Brown is said to have known were Greek, Latin, Persian and Sanskrit. He supported Telugu in three ways - he produced his own works, he recovered and discovered old works and he printed books in Telugu. He financed himself and sometimes borrowed to do so. He established two free schools in Cuddapah and two more in Machilipattanam.
Brown's interests turned to
Works
Brown wrote:[11]
- A Dictionary, Telugu and English, (Telugu: బ్రౌణ్య నిఘంటువు Brownya Nighantuvu)[citation needed] explaining the Colloquial Style used in Business, and the Poetical Dialect, with Explanations in English and in Telugu; explaining the English Idioms and Phrases in Telugu. with the Pronunciation of English Words. With a Dictionary of Mixed Telugu, also an Explanation of the Telugn Alphabet. By Charles Philip Brown. Three vols. Madras, 1852–54.
- A Grammar of the Telugu Language, By Charles Philip Brown, Second Edition, much enlarged and improved, Madras, 1857.
- A Dictionary of the Mixed Dialects and Foreign Words used in Telugu; with an Explanation of the Telugu Alphabet By C. P. Brown, Madras, 1854.
- The Telugu Reader, being a series of Letters, Private and on Business, Police and Revenue Matters, with an English Translation, Notes explaining the Grammar, and a little Lexicon. By Charles Philip Brown. Three Parts. Madras, 1852.
- A Little Lexicon, explaining such Words as occur in the first three Chapters of the Telugu Reader, and in the Telugu Dialogues. By C. P. Brown. Madras, 1862.
- Dialogues in Telugu and English, with a Grammatical Analysis. By C. P. Brown. Second Edition. Madras, 1853.
- The Zillah Dictionary, in the Roman Character; explaining the various Words used in Business in India. By C. P. Brown, Madras, 1852.
- Disputations on Village Business; the Original Telugu Record. Edited by C. P. Brown. Madras, 1855.
- Andhra Geervana Chandamu (ఆంధ్ర గీర్వాణ చందము) (Prosody of Telugu and Sanskrit), College Press, Madras in 1827.
- Vemana Satakam (వేమన శతకము) (verses of Vemana): Collection of 693 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1829.
- Lokam Cheta Vrayabadina Subha Vartamanamu (లోకం చేత వ్రాయబడిన శుభ వర్తమానము), translation of bible stories in Telugu.
- The Wars of the Rajas or Rajula Yuddhamulu (రాజుల యుద్ధములు), being the History of Anantapur. Written in Telugu; in or about the year 1750–1810. Translated into English by Charles Philip Brown. Madras, 1853.
- Brown's grammar book of Telugu in 1840
- Telugu to English and English to Telugu dictionaries (తెలుగు-ఆంగ్ల నిఘంటువు, ఆంగ్ల-తెలుగు నిఘంటువు) in 1852 and 1854.
- Vemana Satakam (వేమన శతకము) (verses of Vemana): Second collection of 1164 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1839.
Other publishings
He had prepared commentaries for all of the published works so that non-scholars can understand them. Some of the publishings sponsored by him are:
- Tale of Nala by Raghava in 1841.
- The Calamities of Harischandra by Gaurana Mantri in 1842.
- Andhra Mahabharatamin 1843
- Ramarajabhushanudu's Vasu Charitra in 1844
- Peddana's Manu Charitra in 1851.
- Potana's Andhra Mahabhagavatamin 1848 along with Puranam Hayagreeva Sastry.
- Andhra Mahabharatamin 1848 along with Puvvada Venkata Rao.
- Srinatha's Palanadu Veera Charitra in 1852.
He also left many press ready copies like Basavapurana, PanDitaaraadhya Charitra, Ranganaatha Ramayanam, Uttara Raamaayanam, Vijaya Vilasam, Sarangadhara Charitra, Hari Vamsam, Kasi Khandam, Aniruddha Charitra, Kuchelopakhyaanam, Radhika Santvanam, Vikramaarka charitra etc. They were published by different institutions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh after his death.
He also collected poems of Sumathi Satakam and Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy published it in 1973 acknowledging him. This is similar to Vemana Satakam that Brown published.
Style
He collected the stories and poems of common people and published them first. Though he was less interested in pedantic works, he also published many major Telugu works along with translations written by him or other copiers closely monitored by him. He prepared an index, a glossary and commentaries to all the works. Brown mentioned that the purpose of the commentary was to make the poems to be understood clearly without oral instructions. He also included many spoken words in his dictionary.
There is no concrete evidence that Brown introduced any more than Sandhi breaks for the Telugu alphabet. The 1906 Linguistics Survey of India does not credit Brown for change in alphabets or making it easy for pronunciation.
Death
He died in 1884 on 12 December at the age of eighty-seven.[citation needed] He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery (The General Cemetery of All Souls) in London.
Awards and titles
- He is respected as Andhrabhashoddhaaraka, saviour of Telugu.[citation needed]
- A library building was constructed at Cuddapah on the site of Brown's Bungalow known in those days as Brown's College.
See also
- Vemana
- Tyāgarāja
- Arthur Cotton, another beloved westerner by Telugu people, a civil engineer.
- Daniel Negers, a French national who fell in love with Telugu culture.
- Tenali Ramakrishna
- Potana
Notes
- ISBN 978-81-7304-291-1.
- ^ Vijñāna Sarasvati. Vol. 1. The Institute. 1984. p. 54.
- ^ "Janamaddi passes away". thehansindia.com. HMTV. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ^ a b Lane-Poole 1889.
- ISBN 978-81-7304-291-1.
- ^ Vijñāna Sarasvati. Vol. 1. The Institute. 1984. p. 54.
- ISBN 978-81-7304-291-1.
- ^ [1] Archived 2 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Excerpts from the 1906 edition of Linguistic Survey of India (Telugu).
- ISBN 978-81-7304-291-1.
- ISBN 978-81-7304-291-1.
- ^ Trubner's American and Oriental literary record; Volumes 1–4; 2 November 1866; Pages 359–360
References
- Lane-Poole, Stanley (1886). Stephen, Leslie (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 7. London: Smith, Elder & Co. . In
External links
- C. P. Brown background
- C. P. Brown history from Vepachedu research foundation
- The restless British Pandit
- Brown's Digital Online dictionary hosted at Univ. of Chicago, 2nd edition 1903
- C P Brown Academy, Hyderabad Archived 11 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- Extended Brown's online dictionary Archived 30 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- Brown's online dictionary
- Brown's Verses of Vemana
- Cuddapah's pages on Charles Brown
- An article about Brown in Popular Telugu Magazine
- Rare picture of the legendary C.P.Brown, Reviver of the Telugu literature.( Image now with TTD archives )