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2604 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15250 USA
412-624-5990
Fax: 412-624-5994
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January 18, 2001
Dr. G. John Samuel, Chairman
International Centre for the Study of Skanda-Murukan
Institute of Asian Studies
Chemmancherry Sholinganallur
Chennai 600119 INDIA
Dear Dr. Samuel,
I regret that I cannot be
present for the Second International Conference on Skanda-Murukan, but I am
nevertheless pleased to send along my felicitations and congratulations on this
occasion. Little did I imagine when Professor Kamil Zvelebil first suggested to
me some thirty-five years ago that a doctoral dissertation on Murukan would be
a fascinating way to understand the history and contemporary character of Tamil
culture and religion that, by the turn of the millennium, over one hundred
scholars would have come to the same conclusion.
Of course, a number of
scholars have now refined and superseded my rather feeble early attempts at
understanding Murukan. But I am pleased that a certain tradition has continued
that has been of great assistance for my own research and that of my colleagues
-- a collaboration between academic "outsiders" and thoughtful
"insiders." Many scholars in the "West" have been
enormously indebted over the years to literally hundreds of persons willing to
share their "emic" sense of their own tradition; such people have
permitted us to observe religion in practice and have discussed with us the
meaning of texts, icons, inscriptions and other expressions of religious
culture. In turn, I hope we have been able to ask questions and offer
hypotheses that have enhanced the understanding of our "insider" collaborators
and friends.
I am delighted that
research institutes such as yours are encouraging the rigorous and academically
responsible study in India not only of the Skanda-Murukan tradition, but of
Indian religion in general. It is my hope that such study will increasingly
find its way into university curricula there and catalyse sober and
dispassionate reflection on the enormously important role of religion on the
Indian landscape. I hope your Second Conference will be yet one more step
toward that end.
Sincerely yours,
Fred W. Clothey
Professor, Religious Studies University of Pittsburgh
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