Encyclopaedia have come to assume an increasing relevance in the contemporary milieu of the explosion of knowledge and specialization. Particularly, an encyclopaedia on a discipline such as literature is primarily intended to present in one place as much comprehensive information as would be necessary for a stimulation of interest in and acquisition of an overall understanding of the discipline. As far as the present work is concerned, it seeks to realize a felt need of those who take to the study of Tamil literature. One of the central objectives of this Institute, brought into existence in 1982 as an academic centre for promoting interdisciplinary investigation of the literary and cultural facets of the Asian countries, has been to prepare reference materials such as encyclopaedias for literatures, folklore, etc., descriptive catalogues and multi lingual dictionaries for different Asian languages, chiefly with an Asian perspective. Such efforts need to be seen in the context of the relative silence that prevails in other parts of the world about the family re semblances and similarities existing among various Asian literatures and other cultural components, as also in the context of the primarily western-oriented researches on Asian life and art being carried on at present. These works of the Institute, apart from contributing to an increased awareness of the intercultural milieus that mark several areas of the various Asian nations, would facilitate a proper understanding of the national and regional cultures and thereby help quick en the process of cultural transmission and cross-cultural understanding. Such reference materials, pre pared through the interaction of the various language faculties functioning in this Institute, are supplemented by translations of the classics in different Asian languages into one another and into English, and by comparative studies on them.
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