xxix
Leben und Werk (Sources concerning Gundert’s Life and Work), Ulm
1991, and in English: Dr Hermann Gundert and Malayalam Language,
Changanassery 1993.
Before the conference took place a Catalogue cum Souvenir was
released at GENO-Haus Suttgart, the headquarters of the Cooperative
Bank of Wuerttemberg (Genossenschaftsbank, resp. Raiffeisenbank). In
this book, Hermann Gundert: Bruecke zwischen Indien und Europa
(Bridge between India and Europe), the authors, among them about fifty
from Kerala, present their views on Gundert and his work and also on
many features of Kerala so far unknown to Germans. Thanks to the good
cooperation of Germans and Keralites such a comprehensive volume
could be presented to the German people.
More than thirty guests from India, mainly from Kerala, came to
attend the conference. They were all invited by the Zentralstelle fuer
politische Bildung (Department of Political Education, represented by
Mr K. Pflug) and the Academy of Calw (Mr H. Nagel) to stay in this
Academy for some days and to visit several places of importance for
Gundert: the cloister of Maulbronn where Gundert had studied for four
years, Tuebingen University where Gundert had also studied for four
years and the Tuebingen University Library where the participants could
see many of the old Malayalam manuscripts mentioned above, carefully
exhibited by Dr G. Baumann and Dr (Mrs.) G.Zeller. The group was also
received by the Lord Mayor of Calw, Dr H. Karl.
The conference week started with the First Conference-Seminar
on Dravidian Studies hosted by the Cooperative Bank in GENO-Haus,
Stuttgart. This seminar was presided by Professor Dr D. Kapp of Cologne
University and lasted for two days. GENO-Haus also generously placed
the Exhibition on Gundert's Life and Work (arranged by M. von Jacobs)
on their premises for more than six weeks. Without the help of GENO
Haus the conference would not have become so great a success.
The conference itself was carried out in the main hall of Haus der
Wirtschaft belonging to the Ministry of Economic Affairs
Wirtschaftsministerium) under the auspices of the Indo-German Society
with its headquarters in Stuttgart. The place itself, the speakers and the
auditorium showed the variety of interests involved in Gundert's work.
There were speakers on philosophy, theology, linguistics, journalism,
folklore as well as on politics and economics. One evening Keralites from
all over Germany performed cultural programmes. During the confer
ence most of the Indian guests lived with German hosts. This helped both
sides to a better mutual understanding and to establish friendship between
the countries. Even now we learn that some of the guests and hosts are in
