An Interview with Iravatham Mahadevan
A wide-ranging interview with Iravatham Mahadevan [1930-2018] home on January 17, 1998 with Omar Khan. The interview, held at Mr.
An essay which covers an indepth interview with scholar Iravatham Mahadevan and his response to Asko Parpola's study of the Indus Script and writing or communication system.
Early Life and Work
Q [uestion, by Omar Khan]: Where were you born and where did you grow up?
A [nswer, Iravatham Mahadevan]: Welcome to Madras Mr. Omar Khan. I am Iravatham Mahadevan.
The Indus Script
A: My early writings were a little premature, I now realize. I was over-enthusiastic. Like most other scholars in the field, I realized as time went on that it is an extraordinarily difficult problem.
The Cult Object or "Filter" and Soma
A: Apart from my concordance, the only other work of note I could mention to you is my proposal that the mysterious cult object that you find before the unicorn on the unicorn seals is a filter.
The Indus Script and the Brahmi Script
Q: What do you think the relationship is between the Indus script and the Brahmi script, since you know both of them?
A: Several scholars have said that there is a relationship between the two, that
Was the Indus Script One or Many Languages?
Q: Do you believe that the Indus script represented a single language or could it have represented a multiple number of languages?
A: This is a very interesting question.
Political and Social Organization of the Indus Civilization
Q: To have the same language over such a wide area and time, what does this imply about the political or social organization of the culture?
A: To me one conclusion is irresistible.
Writing on Palm Leaves or Cloth
Q: Don't you think they may have written on other objects, like palm leaves or cloth?
A: This has been suggested by Parpola and others, that they probably wrote on cloth or on leaves like birch
The Indus Fish Sign
Q: Lets come to the specific signs. What do you believe may be some of the best interpretations offered of certain signs?
A: Like all Dravidian scholars, I too began with Father Heras.
The Terminal Indus Sign
A: As regards the other signs, the position is even weaker. There is the famous terminal sign, the most frequent sign, which occupies ten to twelve percent of all Harappan writing.