Upon reaching the T point , walking down from the town gate, one turns left and you hit the
Queens Street.
Second left from here takes you to the Ziegenbalg House. This is the Admiral Street
I was very excited and looked forward to seeing the printing set up.
Vinod, seen in the photo above , was gracious enough to give us a demonstration :
Most of the buildings here are restored. Its only in the photographs one gets a glimpse of the original structure. I guess this kind of restoration work is essential or else they might crumble and fall.
History then would stand erased. 2004 Tsunami had a role to play in destroying some of the old edifices as well as the houses of local people and fishermen,
But what does not appeal to me is the fact that the restoration work makes the structures take on a pristine new look. How can 400 year old buildings look this way in the present time?
Restoration work should keep this in mind and that would be true test of their craft.
Ziegenbalg, a 23 year old Protestant missionary , arrived in Tranquebar on July 9 , 1706.
He was a born linguist and quickly learnt Tamil.
He was keen on the new printing technology rather than preaching and conversion . Am sure that's not what the King had in mind!!
By 1713, he was able to set up his printing press.
A printer named Johanne Adler came to Tranquebar the same year to help Ziegenbalg with his printing press work... Adler set up a "type-making " factory near Tranquebar to supply Ziegenbalg's press. In 1715, he started a paper mill in the village. And then Adler opened a printing ink making factory nearby. Now Ziegenbalg printing factory had all that it needed !
Thats pretty much how India got its first printing press.
He translated the Bible into Tamil.
Queens Street.
Second left from here takes you to the Ziegenbalg House. This is the Admiral Street
I was very excited and looked forward to seeing the printing set up.
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| Walking towards the Ziegenbalg House |
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| Ziegenbalg , the man who started it all |
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| Old Chapel |
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| Printing room |
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| The first printing machine prototype though the earlier one was in wood |
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| The printout comes out like the one displayed above in red |
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| Printing machine in metal. The earlier period machine was made in wood |
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| Print letters |
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| Vinod seeting up the printing machine. |
Vinod, seen in the photo above , was gracious enough to give us a demonstration :
Most of the buildings here are restored. Its only in the photographs one gets a glimpse of the original structure. I guess this kind of restoration work is essential or else they might crumble and fall.
History then would stand erased. 2004 Tsunami had a role to play in destroying some of the old edifices as well as the houses of local people and fishermen,
But what does not appeal to me is the fact that the restoration work makes the structures take on a pristine new look. How can 400 year old buildings look this way in the present time?
Restoration work should keep this in mind and that would be true test of their craft.
Ziegenbalg, a 23 year old Protestant missionary , arrived in Tranquebar on July 9 , 1706.
He was a born linguist and quickly learnt Tamil.
He was keen on the new printing technology rather than preaching and conversion . Am sure that's not what the King had in mind!!
By 1713, he was able to set up his printing press.
A printer named Johanne Adler came to Tranquebar the same year to help Ziegenbalg with his printing press work... Adler set up a "type-making " factory near Tranquebar to supply Ziegenbalg's press. In 1715, he started a paper mill in the village. And then Adler opened a printing ink making factory nearby. Now Ziegenbalg printing factory had all that it needed !
Thats pretty much how India got its first printing press.
He translated the Bible into Tamil.
Ziegenbalg and Heinrich began preaching and baptized their first converts about ten months later.
Their work was opposed both by militant Hindus and by the local Danish authorities.
In 1707/08, Ziegenbalg spent four months in prison on a charge that by converting the natives, he was encouraging rebellion.
More than the opposition, he had to cope with the climatic conditions in India. Ziegenbalg wrote: “My skin was like a red cloth. The heat here is very great, especially during April, May and June, in which season the wind blows from the inland so strongly that it seems as if the heat comes straight out of the oven”.
Having battled with bad health all his life , he died on 23 February 1719 at the age of 37.
He lies buried at the New Jerusalem Chruch, which he helped establish in 1718
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