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KapilaivaasagamThe gravestone of Christian Christoffer Eibye at the Nygade (New Street) Churchyard in Tranquebar reads: " Efter en lang og troe tieneste af 21 Aar som Skolelærer ved Missionen samt klokker til Zions Kirke i Tranquebar, født den 1ste August 1795, død den 29. Oktober 1849. Fred være hans stöv" ("After a long and faithful service of 21 years as a schoolteacher at the Mission as well as a bell-ringer at the Zions Church in Tranquebar. Born August 1, 1795, died October 29 1849. May his dust rest in peace"). In 1831, Eibye bought and sent back to the Library at Fyn, Denmark two sets of palmleaves, Kapilaivaasagam and Athichoodi stories. They languished in the cellar until Erik Hellerup Madsen, a librarian at the Southern University of Denmark discovered them a couple of years ago. I had the privilege of photographing them; I was able to transcribe almost all of Kapilaivaasagam. This page displays the photographs of the original palmleaves as well as a transcription of the text into modern Tamil. |