[WMASTERS] Selvaa's suggestions

[George Hart <ghart@socrates.berkeley.edu>]

________________________________________________

This week's sponsors -The Asia Pacific Internet Company (APIC)
  @  Nothing Less Than A Tamil Digital Renaissance Now   @
<http://www.apic.net> Click now<mailto:info@apic.net> for instant info
________________________________________________


The fact is, a font has to include whatever is conventionally used.  Selvaa
realizes this, and so has included the grantha characters.  His suggestions
are interesting, and obviously if they are adopted by most people, we'll
all get used to them.

I guess my only thought is: what is so terrible about a few grantha
characters?  They are more economical than Selvaa's scheme, and we are all
used to them.  I confess to a slight case of nostalgia: grantha (the whole
alphabet) is an extremely elegant and beautiful writing system.  I'd hate
to see it disappear without a trace.  There is a tendency to see grantha as
a North-Indian imposition on Tamil.  This, in my view, is wrong -- the
disappearance of grantha is a consequence, not a manifestation, of North
Indian hegemony.  Grantha is a treasure that Tamils should appreciate --
it's part of their culture.  For example, many old Tamil inscriptions
(usually written by non-Brahmins, I believe) use grantha (of all sorts)
quite heavily.  Do we have to totally kill this beautiful old writing
system?  Another nail in the coffin of Southern culture.....  George Hart.




________________________________________________

Sponsors/Advertisers  needed -  please email bala@tamil.net
Check out the tamil.net web site on <http://tamil.net>
Postings to <webmasters@tamil.net>. To unsubscribe send
the text - unsubscribe webmasters - to majordomo@tamil.net
________________________________________________