Charles Philip Brown (10 November 1798 – 12 December 1884) was a British official of the East India Company. He worked in what is now Andhra Pradesh, and became an important scholarly figure in Telugu language literature.
Telugu literature was in a dormant phase in the 18th century, for a number of social and political reasons - a lack of creative Telugu poets, prevailing illiteracy and the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire as patrons of Telugu literature. Brown, as official in the region, collected and edited works. He believed he had saved the heritage of the Telugu language. In his own words,
"Telugu literature was dying out; the flame was flickering in the socket. In 1825, I found Telugu literature dead. In 30 years I raised it to life".[1][2]
Charles Brown was born in Calcutta on 10 November 1798. His father David Brown was a manager of an orphanage and a missionary and scholar in many languages including Sanskrit. Charles Brown moved back to England in 1812 after his father's death, to obtain training from Haileybury College for a civil service position in India. He returned to Madras on 4 August 1817 [4]
In 1820, Thomas Munro, governor of Madras had ordered that every official should learn a local language. Brown chose Telugu, under the guidance of Velagapudi Kodandarama Panthulu,[citation needed] and passed a Telugu examination as well as the civil service examination that year. He became deputy to John Hanbury, the collector of Kadapa. Hanbury was fluent in Telugu and Brown continued to study.[5][6] He was transferred to Machilipatnam in 1822 and then to Rajahmundry in 1825. Moved to Guntur at the beginning of the famine of 1832–3, he employed active methods, while dealing with sceptical superiors in Madras.[7]
Brown was relieved from his duties in 1834. He went back to London and stayed there from 1835 to 1838. Brown returned to Madras again in 1837 as a translator of Persian for the East India Company and joined as a member of the Madras College Board. He retired in 1854 because of health reasons and went back to London again. He worked at London University as Telugu Professor for some time.[4]
Legacy
CP Brown's Handwriting
While Brown concentrated on Telugu,[8] he was a polyglot. Other languages Brown is said to have known were Greek, Latin, Persian and Sanskrit. He supported Telugu in three ways - he produced his own works, he recovered and discovered old works and he printed books in Telugu. He financed himself and sometimes borrowed to do so. He established two free schools in Cuddapah and two more in Machilipattanam.
Brown's interests turned to Vemana's writings in 1824. He studied Telugu meter and grammar under the guidance of Venkatasivasastri Tippabhatla and Advaitabrahmasastri Vatthyam. He continued his study of Telugu literature in Rajahmundry from 1825. He collected rare manuscripts of Telugu kavyas (poems) and had them copied. He also collected essays, stories, and poems that existed as an oral literature. During his stay in London from 1835, he was employed by Horace Hayman Wilson in cataloguing South Indian language manuscripts from the East India House Library. Ultimately, many of those were sent back to Madras. Friedrich August Rosen encouraged his work on Telugu prosody, and had Brown's essay on it published in the Asiatic Journal. There, Brown advocated a more incisive approach, less reliant on Indian traditions, and levelled some criticisms at the old school of Henry Colebrooke, Sir William Jones and William Yates.[9] He published in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, on Colin Mackenzie's manuscript collection from 1838 to 1848.[10]
A Dictionary, Telugu and English, (Telugu: బ్రౌణ్య నిఘంటువుBrownya Nighantuvu)[citation needed] explaining the Colloquial Style used in Business, and the Poetical Dialect, with Explanations in English and in Telugu; explaining the English Idioms and Phrases in Telugu. with the Pronunciation of English Words. With a Dictionary of Mixed Telugu, also an Explanation of the Telugn Alphabet. By Charles Philip Brown. Three vols. Madras, 1852–54.
A Grammar of the Telugu Language, By Charles Philip Brown, Second Edition, much enlarged and improved, Madras, 1857.
A Dictionary of the Mixed Dialects and Foreign Words used in Telugu; with an Explanation of the Telugu Alphabet By C. P. Brown, Madras, 1854.
The Telugu Reader, being a series of Letters, Private and on Business, Police and Revenue Matters, with an English Translation, Notes explaining the Grammar, and a little Lexicon. By Charles Philip Brown. Three Parts. Madras, 1852.
A Little Lexicon, explaining such Words as occur in the first three Chapters of the Telugu Reader, and in the Telugu Dialogues. By C. P. Brown. Madras, 1862.
Dialogues in Telugu and English, with a Grammatical Analysis. By C. P. Brown. Second Edition. Madras, 1853.
The Zillah Dictionary, in the Roman Character; explaining the various Words used in Business in India. By C. P. Brown, Madras, 1852.
Disputations on Village Business; the Original Telugu Record. Edited by C. P. Brown. Madras, 1855.
Andhra Geervana Chandamu (ఆంధ్ర గీర్వాణ చందము) (Prosody of Telugu and Sanskrit), College Press, Madras in 1827.
Vemana Satakam (వేమన శతకము) (verses of Vemana): Collection of 693 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1829.
Lokam Cheta Vrayabadina Subha Vartamanamu (లోకం చేత వ్రాయబడిన శుభ వర్తమానము), translation of bible stories in Telugu.
The Wars of the Rajas or Rajula Yuddhamulu (రాజుల యుద్ధములు), being the History of Anantapur. Written in Telugu; in or about the year 1750–1810. Translated into English by Charles Philip Brown. Madras, 1853.
Brown's grammar book of Telugu in 1840
Telugu to English and English to Telugu dictionaries (తెలుగు-ఆంగ్ల నిఘంటువు, ఆంగ్ల-తెలుగు నిఘంటువు) in 1852 and 1854.
Vemana Satakam (వేమన శతకము) (verses of Vemana): Second collection of 1164 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1839.
Other publishings
He had prepared commentaries for all of the published works so that non-scholars can understand them. Some of the publishings sponsored by him are:
Tale of Nala by Raghava in 1841.
The Calamities of Harischandra by Gaurana Mantri in 1842.
He also left many press ready copies like Basavapurana, PanDitaaraadhya Charitra, Ranganaatha Ramayanam, 'Uttara Raamaayanam, Vijaya Vilasam, Sarangadhara Charitra, Hari Vamsam, Kasi Khandam, Aniruddha Charitra, Kuchelopakhyaanam, Radhika Santvanam, Vikramaarka charitra etc. They were published by different institutions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh after his death.
He also collected poems of Sumathi Satakam and Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy published it in 1973 acknowledging him. This is similar to Vemana Satakam that Brown published.
Style
He collected the stories and poems of common people and published them first. Though he was less interested in pedantic works, he also published many major Telugu works along with translations written by him or other copiers closely monitored by him. He prepared an index, a glossary and commentaries to all the works. Brown mentioned that the purpose of the commentary was to make the poems to be understood clearly without oral instructions. He also included many spoken words in his dictionary.
There is no concrete evidence that Brown introduced any more than Sandhi breaks for the Telugu alphabet. The 1906 Linguistics Survey of India does not credit Brown for change in alphabets or making it easy for pronunciation.
Death
He died in 1884 on 12 December at the age of eighty-seven.[citation needed] He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery (The General Cemetery of All Souls) in London.
^Peter L. Schmitthenner (2001). Telugu Resurgence: C.P. Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth-century South India. Manohar. p. 94. ISBN978-81-7304-291-1.
^Vijñāna Sarasvati. Vol. 1. The Institute. 1984. p. 54.
^"Janamaddi passes away". thehansindia.com. HMTV. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
^Peter L. Schmitthenner (2001). Telugu Resurgence: C.P. Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth-century South India. Manohar. pp. 66–7. ISBN978-81-7304-291-1.
^Vijñāna Sarasvati. Vol. 1. The Institute. 1984. p. 54.
^Peter L. Schmitthenner (2001). Telugu Resurgence: C.P. Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth-century South India. Manohar. pp. 109–11. ISBN978-81-7304-291-1.
^[1] 2 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Excerpts from the 1906 edition of Linguistic Survey of India (Telugu).
^Peter L. Schmitthenner (2001). Telugu Resurgence: C.P. Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth-century South India. Manohar. pp. 125–6. ISBN978-81-7304-291-1.
^Peter L. Schmitthenner (2001). Telugu Resurgence: C.P. Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth-century South India. Manohar. p. 167. ISBN978-81-7304-291-1.
^Trubner's American and Oriental literary record; Volumes 1–4; 2 November 1866; Pages 359–360
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Phillip Brown.
C. P. Brown history from Vepachedu research foundation
The restless British Pandit
Brown's Digital Online dictionary hosted at Univ. of Chicago, 2nd edition 1903
C P Brown Academy, Hyderabad
Extended Brown's online dictionary
Brown's Verses of Vemana
August 19, 2023
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Charles Philip Brown 10 November 1798 12 December 1884 was a British official of the East India Company He worked in what is now Andhra Pradesh and became an important scholarly figure in Telugu language literature Charles Philip BrownBorn 1798 11 10 10 November 1798Calcutta British IndiaDied12 December 1884 1884 12 12 aged 86 LondonOccupationCivil servantNationalityBritishEducationIndian Civil ServiceLiterary movementCollection of Telugu booksNotable worksTelugu dictionary Contents 1 Background 2 Biography 3 Legacy 3 1 Works 3 2 Other publishings 3 3 Style 3 4 Death 4 Awards and titles 5 See also 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksBackground EditTelugu literature was in a dormant phase in the 18th century for a number of social and political reasons a lack of creative Telugu poets prevailing illiteracy and the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire as patrons of Telugu literature Brown as official in the region collected and edited works He believed he had saved the heritage of the Telugu language In his own words Telugu literature was dying out the flame was flickering in the socket In 1825 I found Telugu literature dead In 30 years I raised it to life 1 2 Janamaddi Hanumath Sastri who has researched Brown s life established a library in Kadapa in his memory 3 Biography EditCharles Brown was born in Calcutta on 10 November 1798 His father David Brown was a manager of an orphanage and a missionary and scholar in many languages including Sanskrit Charles Brown moved back to England in 1812 after his father s death to obtain training from Haileybury College for a civil service position in India He returned to Madras on 4 August 1817 4 In 1820 Thomas Munro governor of Madras had ordered that every official should learn a local language Brown chose Telugu under the guidance of Velagapudi Kodandarama Panthulu citation needed and passed a Telugu examination as well as the civil service examination that year He became deputy to John Hanbury the collector of Kadapa Hanbury was fluent in Telugu and Brown continued to study 5 6 He was transferred to Machilipatnam in 1822 and then to Rajahmundry in 1825 Moved to Guntur at the beginning of the famine of 1832 3 he employed active methods while dealing with sceptical superiors in Madras 7 Brown was relieved from his duties in 1834 He went back to London and stayed there from 1835 to 1838 Brown returned to Madras again in 1837 as a translator of Persian for the East India Company and joined as a member of the Madras College Board He retired in 1854 because of health reasons and went back to London again He worked at London University as Telugu Professor for some time 4 Legacy Edit CP Brown s HandwritingWhile Brown concentrated on Telugu 8 he was a polyglot Other languages Brown is said to have known were Greek Latin Persian and Sanskrit He supported Telugu in three ways he produced his own works he recovered and discovered old works and he printed books in Telugu He financed himself and sometimes borrowed to do so He established two free schools in Cuddapah and two more in Machilipattanam Brown s interests turned to Vemana s writings in 1824 He studied Telugu meter and grammar under the guidance of Venkatasivasastri Tippabhatla and Advaitabrahmasastri Vatthyam He continued his study of Telugu literature in Rajahmundry from 1825 He collected rare manuscripts of Telugu kavyas poems and had them copied He also collected essays stories and poems that existed as an oral literature During his stay in London from 1835 he was employed by Horace Hayman Wilson in cataloguing South Indian language manuscripts from the East India House Library Ultimately many of those were sent back to Madras Friedrich August Rosen encouraged his work on Telugu prosody and had Brown s essay on it published in the Asiatic Journal There Brown advocated a more incisive approach less reliant on Indian traditions and levelled some criticisms at the old school of Henry Colebrooke Sir William Jones and William Yates 9 He published in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science on Colin Mackenzie s manuscript collection from 1838 to 1848 10 Works Edit Brown wrote 11 A Dictionary Telugu and English Telugu బ ర ణ య న ఘ ట వ Brownya Nighantuvu citation needed explaining the Colloquial Style used in Business and the Poetical Dialect with Explanations in English and in Telugu explaining the English Idioms and Phrases in Telugu with the Pronunciation of English Words With a Dictionary of Mixed Telugu also an Explanation of the Telugn Alphabet By Charles Philip Brown Three vols Madras 1852 54 A Grammar of the Telugu Language By Charles Philip Brown Second Edition much enlarged and improved Madras 1857 A Dictionary of the Mixed Dialects and Foreign Words used in Telugu with an Explanation of the Telugu Alphabet By C P Brown Madras 1854 The Telugu Reader being a series of Letters Private and on Business Police and Revenue Matters with an English Translation Notes explaining the Grammar and a little Lexicon By Charles Philip Brown Three Parts Madras 1852 A Little Lexicon explaining such Words as occur in the first three Chapters of the Telugu Reader and in the Telugu Dialogues By C P Brown Madras 1862 Dialogues in Telugu and English with a Grammatical Analysis By C P Brown Second Edition Madras 1853 The Zillah Dictionary in the Roman Character explaining the various Words used in Business in India By C P Brown Madras 1852 Disputations on Village Business the Original Telugu Record Edited by C P Brown Madras 1855 Andhra Geervana Chandamu ఆ ధ ర గ ర వ ణ చ దమ Prosody of Telugu and Sanskrit College Press Madras in 1827 Vemana Satakam వ మన శతకమ verses of Vemana Collection of 693 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1829 Lokam Cheta Vrayabadina Subha Vartamanamu ల క చ త వ ర యబడ న శ భ వర తమ నమ translation of bible stories in Telugu The Wars of the Rajas or Rajula Yuddhamulu ర జ ల య ద ధమ ల being the History of Anantapur Written in Telugu in or about the year 1750 1810 Translated into English by Charles Philip Brown Madras 1853 Brown s grammar book of Telugu in 1840 Telugu to English and English to Telugu dictionaries త ల గ ఆ గ ల న ఘ ట వ ఆ గ ల త ల గ న ఘ ట వ in 1852 and 1854 Vemana Satakam వ మన శతకమ verses of Vemana Second collection of 1164 poems by Vemana along with English Translation and glossary in 1839 Other publishings Edit He had prepared commentaries for all of the published works so that non scholars can understand them Some of the publishings sponsored by him are Tale of Nala by Raghava in 1841 The Calamities of Harischandra by Gaurana Mantri in 1842 Nannaya s Andhra Mahabharatam in 1843 Ramarajabhushanudu s Vasu Charitra in 1844 Peddana s Manu Charitra in 1851 Potana s Andhra Mahabhagavatam in 1848 along with Puranam Hayagreeva Sastry Tikkana s Andhra Mahabharatam in 1848 along with Puvvada Venkata Rao Srinatha s Palanadu Veera Charitra in 1852 He also left many press ready copies like Basavapurana PanDitaaraadhya Charitra Ranganaatha Ramayanam Uttara Raamaayanam Vijaya Vilasam Sarangadhara Charitra Hari Vamsam Kasi Khandam Aniruddha Charitra Kuchelopakhyaanam Radhika Santvanam Vikramaarka charitraetc They were published by different institutions in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh after his death He also collected poems of Sumathi Satakam and Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy published it in 1973 acknowledging him This is similar to Vemana Satakam that Brown published Style Edit He collected the stories and poems of common people and published them first Though he was less interested in pedantic works he also published many major Telugu works along with translations written by him or other copiers closely monitored by him He prepared an index a glossary and commentaries to all the works Brown mentioned that the purpose of the commentary was to make the poems to be understood clearly without oral instructions He also included many spoken words in his dictionary There is no concrete evidence that Brown introduced any more than Sandhi breaks for the Telugu alphabet The 1906 Linguistics Survey of India does not credit Brown for change in alphabets or making it easy for pronunciation Death Edit He died in 1884 on 12 December at the age of eighty seven citation needed He is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery The General Cemetery of All Souls in London Awards and titles EditHe is respected as Andhrabhashoddhaaraka saviour of Telugu citation needed A library building was constructed at Cuddapah on the site of Brown s Bungalow known in those days as Brown s College See also EditVemana Tyagaraja Arthur Cotton another beloved westerner by Telugu people a civil engineer Daniel Negers a French national who fell in love with Telugu culture Tenali Ramakrishna PotanaNotes Edit Peter L Schmitthenner 2001 Telugu Resurgence C P Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth century South India Manohar p 94 ISBN 978 81 7304 291 1 Vijnana Sarasvati Vol 1 The Institute 1984 p 54 Janamaddi passes away thehansindia com HMTV Retrieved 17 August 2016 a b Lane Poole 1889 Peter L Schmitthenner 2001 Telugu Resurgence C P Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth century South India Manohar pp 66 7 ISBN 978 81 7304 291 1 Vijnana Sarasvati Vol 1 The Institute 1984 p 54 Peter L Schmitthenner 2001 Telugu Resurgence C P Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth century South India Manohar pp 109 11 ISBN 978 81 7304 291 1 1 Archived 2 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine Excerpts from the 1906 edition of Linguistic Survey of India Telugu Peter L Schmitthenner 2001 Telugu Resurgence C P Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth century South India Manohar pp 125 6 ISBN 978 81 7304 291 1 Peter L Schmitthenner 2001 Telugu Resurgence C P Brown and Cultural Consolidation in Nineteenth century South India Manohar p 167 ISBN 978 81 7304 291 1 Trubner s American and Oriental literary record Volumes 1 4 2 November 1866 Pages 359 360References EditLane Poole Stanley 1886 Brown Charles Philip In Stephen Leslie ed Dictionary of National Biography Vol 7 London Smith Elder amp Co External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Phillip Brown C P Brown background C P Brown history from Vepachedu research foundation The restless British Pandit Brown s Digital Online dictionary hosted at Univ of Chicago 2nd edition 1903 C P Brown Academy Hyderabad Extended Brown s online dictionary Brown s online dictionary Brown s Verses of Vemana Cuddapah s pages on Charles Brown An article about Brown in Popular Telugu Magazine Rare picture of the legendary C P Brown Reviver of the Telugu literature Image now with TTD archives Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Philip Brown amp oldid 1169794957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
