a simple (silly?) question (was Re: Metric Melodies)

[Srinivasan Pichumani]

	>Howard mentions that the
	>only Nambudiri in Varanasi, to his knowledge, involved
	>with the Vedas is a scholar in one of the Sanskrit
	>colleges in the city... and even he belongs to the
	>"OttilAta" sub-sect of Nambudiris who are not allowed
	>to receive the Vedas in the (oral) traditional manner.

	(You mean sub-caste?)

Yes... if you insist ! 

	I'm confused by the expression "to receive the vedas".

What I meant is that there are groups of Nambudiris, on
the whole a minority, who were traditionally not permitted 
to learn/recite the Vedas.  The explanation given is that 
these groups lost their "purity" at some point in history...
due to their involvement with medicine and healing, martial 
arts etc.

-Srini.