The Enlightenment in 19th-century South India: A European library in 19th-century India: the world of Enlightenment of King Serfoji II. This conference will be given by Madame Indira Viswanathan Peterson, emeritus professor of Asian studies at Mount Holyoke College (USA), under the presidency of Madame Romila Thapar. The subject is Prince Serfoji II of Tanjore, known as the "Prince of Lights" in South India, who maintained a vast and noble hall in the English style, supported by three rows of columns and designed with elegance. On one side were portraits of the Maratha dynasty. Ten large rows contained an impressive collection of French, English, German, Greek, and Latin books; two other rows were dedicated to manuscripts in Marathi and Sanskrit. In the adjacent room were an air pump, an electrostatic machine, an ivory skeleton, several astronomical instruments, and numerous shelves, many containing medical works, which were his favorite subject of study. He also displayed his precious collection of coins, paintings of flowers and natural history, and had an in-depth knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants collected in his herbarium (hortus siccus). His stables housed several magnificent English horses. The object of which he was most legitimately proud, and which constituted the most singular curiosity of an Indian court, was an English printing press operated by indigenous Christians. In his presence, they printed a sentence in Marathi in honor of the bishop's visit. To understand the significance of Serfoji's achievements, it is necessary to briefly outline the background of the turbulent India of the years 1780 to 1800, and to look at the exceptional education of the young prince. Serfoji was born in 1777 and lived until 1798, a time of great change in South India. Three times a week, Gericke, a European teacher, visited Serfoji at his home to give him lessons in English, arithmetic, and geography. In parallel, Serfoji continued to study Marathi, Tamil, and Sanskrit with his Indian tutor Dada Rao. He also regularly rode horses. His education reflected a broader humanist approach, influenced by Enlightenment ideals that emphasized reason, knowledge, and progress. Serfoji's commitment to learning continued after his childhood. From 1799 to 1834, he became a prominent scholar and humanist, connecting English astronomers with Brahman experts on the calculation of eclipses. He had works of medicine and natural sciences translated or adapted into Marathi or Tamil. His interest in medicine led him to obtain medical books, surgical instruments, colored anatomical plates, bones, and later a skeleton. C.S. John, head of the Lutheran mission in Tranquebar, even sent him the "prepared" body of a child to study the arteries and vessels. Dissecting a body was then an avant-garde idea in a country where this practice was considered impure. Mitchell, a European physician, developed a long correspondence with Serfoji, sending him advanced medical works and anatomical objects. Impressed by the colored anatomical plates, Serfoji had them translated into Marathi and printed to distribute throughout his principality. He established Dhanvantari Mahal, a center of integrated medicine that brought together Ayurvedic doctors and European medical practitioners. This was an extraordinary advance for his time. Serfoji's legacy is most clearly seen in the Sarasvati Mahal Library, his greatest contribution, which still exists within the Tanjore palace. It now houses about 50,000 manuscripts in Sanskrit, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, and other languages, about 65,000 printed works, and thousands of maps, paintings, miniatures, and archives. It can be considered one of the oldest public libraries in Asia. Many manuscripts have been digitized in recent years, and researchers from around the world come to work there. The Royal Palace Museum presents a beautiful collection of Chola bronzes as well as a memorial dedicated to Serfoji. The entire complex also includes a clock tower and the small Chandramouleeswarar temple—the family temple—within the fortified enclosure. Brihadisvara, a temple dedicated to Shiva, built by the Chola emperors in the early 11th century, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the palace is not perfectly restored, the collection of Chola bronzes, the Sarasvati Mahal Library, and the Brihadisvara temple are well worth visiting. However, some of Serfoji's other achievements, like his medical center and schools, have largely disappeared. Today, the focus of local artisan workshops is on creating icons of Hindu deities, a contrast to the scholarly and scientific pursuits of Serfoji. His story, though not widely known in Indian history textbooks, continues to inspire research and interest in the exchange of knowledge between India and Europe.