U. V. Swaminatha Iyer

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U. V. Swaminatha Iyer
Born	Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer (1855-02-19)19 February 1855 Sooriyamoolai, Thanjavur district, Madras Presidency
Died	28 April 1942(1942-04-28) (aged 87) Tirukalukundram, Madras Presidency
Occupation(s)	scholar, researcher

Uttamadhanapuram Venkatasubbaiyer Swaminatha Iyer (19 February 1855 – 28 April 1942) was a

He is affectionately called Tamil Thatha (literally, "Tamil grandfather").[2]

Early life

Utthamadhanapuram Venkatasubramanian Swaminathan was born on 19 February 1855 in the village of Suriyamoolai near Kumbakonam in present-day Tamil Nadu.^[3]

Academic career

Swaminatha Iyer learned Tamil literature and grammar for five years as a devoted student to Mahavidvan

Manuscript recovery

As the Civaka Cintamani was a

Swaminatha Iyer retired from active teaching in 1919. His research work increased several times after retirement. He travelled from place to place in search of palm leaf manuscripts so as to edit and publish them. From 1924 to 1927, Iyer was the Principal of the Meenakshi Tamil College in Annamalai University, Chidambaram. On health grounds, he resigned the post, came to Madras and continued his research.

Contributions to Tamil music

Another significant contribution made by Swaminatha Iyer is in the realm of Tamil

His autobiography

Swaminatha Iyer published his autobiography, En Saritham, serialised in the Tamil weekly Ananda Vikatan, from January 1940 to May 1942. It was later published as a book in 1950. Running into 762 pages, the book is an excellent account of the life and times of villages, especially in the Thanjavur district in the late 19th century. The Tamil is simple and peppered with many observations on people as well as descriptions of school life, life in monasteries (Mutts). The book also reveals the enormous perseverance of U V Swaminatha Iyer in his quest to master Tamil and save manuscripts.

Legacy and honours

It was primarily due to his and

The meeting of Rabindranath Tagore and the grand old man of Tamil literature in 1926 in Chennai was a historic moment. Not only did Tagore call on Swaminatha Iyer, but also penned a poem in praise of his efforts to salvage ancient classical Tamil literary works from palm leaf manuscripts.^[9]

The honorary doctoral degree (D.Litt.) was conferred on Iyer by the