PREFACE
This book is a collection of eleven lectures delivered by me on various occasions and I hope that the topics dealing with the social condition and literary traditions of Tamil Nad will be of great interest and use to all lovers of Tamil. If only Tamil scholars come forward to get their writings translated into English, the great and distinct Tamil civilization and the rich treasures of Tamil literature will come to be far more widely appreciated than it is to-day. It is this idea that gave an incentive to me to bring out this volume.
The first four lectures delivered at different places are reproduced here in extenso. The last seven lectures were delivered under the auspices of the Tiruvalluvar Kazhagam, Madurai at the instance of Tamil lovers and scholars like Sri K. Palaniappan, Sri T. Sundaram and Sri. T. Manickavasagam Chettiar, Sri. N. R. Raghunathachari, Professor of Zoology, Thiagarajar College, Madurai, wrote out an English synopsis of these lectures for the Indian Express which published them in full. Sri. Raghunathachari and the Editor of
