Wed Jan 29 07:00:00 IST 2025: ## Murty Classical Library Celebrates Decade of Preserving India’s Literary Heritage
**Bengaluru, January 29, 2025** – The Murty Classical Library of India (MCLI) celebrated its 10th anniversary on Tuesday with the release of “Ten Indian Classics,” a new collection of translations. Founder Rohan Murty highlighted the growing challenge of preserving India’s classical languages and literature, emphasizing the need for innovative approaches alongside traditional scholarship.
MCLI, one of the world’s largest active translation projects, has published 50 volumes spanning 14 languages, representing 2,500 years of Indian literary tradition. These texts are now used in over 80 universities globally.
Murty acknowledged the success in introducing Indian classics to a wider international audience but stressed the need for greater engagement within India itself. He proposed utilizing language models – AI tools trained on MCLI translations – as a safeguard against future linguistic loss, clarifying that these models would supplement, not replace, human scholarship. He described this approach as an “insurance policy” for future generations.
The library’s efforts are critical given the decline in scholars fluent in classical languages and their replacement by English-speaking professionals. Murty believes that language models, combined with expert human translation, can help preserve millions of untranslated texts. The long-term goal remains to foster both international appreciation and renewed domestic engagement with India’s rich literary heritage.
First Piper 