US Consul General hands over cheque for $50,000 to VC
Caption: Consul General of US Consulate in Chennai Jennifer McIntyre handing over the cheque to Mysore University Vice-Chancellor Prof. V.G. Talwar at a function at ORI this morning. Others seen are University Registrar P.S.Nayak, ORI Director Dr. M. Shivakumara Swamy, Acting Public Affairs Officer, US Consulate, Chennai, Corinnay Arnold and Economic Officer Maxwell Hamilton. [Pic. by Pragathi Gopalakrishna]
Mysore, Jan.31-“Out of deep respect for the culture and heritage of countries around the world including India, the United States has provided a grant of nearly 26 million dollars for preservation of 640 projects in over 100 countries,” said Jennifer McIntyre, Consul General of US Consulate in Chennai, here this morning.
She was speaking after handing over a cheque for 50,000 US dollars (Rs. 25 lakhs) to Mysore University Vice-Chancellor Prof. V.G. Talwar towards the development of Oriental Research Institute (ORI) on Dr. S. Radhakrishnan Avenue, opposite Crawford Hall in city.
She said these funds were being used to support a wide range of activities such as restoration of historical buildings, assessment and conservation of museums, preservation of archeological sites and documentation of vanishing traditional craft techniques.
Stating that she was aware of the 1000-year-old cultural heritage of India, she added that one can spend their lifetime in India studying its culture and tradition. She also said that she was glad to be in India as she had the opportunity of witnessing some of the traditions of the country.
ORI, which was established in the year 1891 by the then Maharaja of Mysore Sri Chamaraja Wadiyar, has over a lakh rare palm leaf and paper manuscripts including Kautilya’s Arthashastra on State craft and Military strategy which was being used during those days and lauded the efforts of Dr. R. Shama Shastry, who was the former librarian at ORI to whom goes the credit of bringing the manuscripts to the attention of the world.
Political Specialist Anjana Chatterjee, Cultural Affairs Specialist Rathna Mukherjee, ORI Deputy Director Dr. Sathyanarayan were present. ORI collects, edits, exhibits and publishes rare manuscripts in Sanskrit and Kannada. It also has manuscripts in Sanskrit, Devanagari, Kannada and Tulu.
source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / January 31st, 2012