marAThI bELA (jasmine)

[Swaminathan Madhuresan]

In Marathi language, bELA refers to jasmine flower.

In KannaDa, we express
`idu beLLagidE' for `this is white'; and
`idu biLiya baNNa' for `this color is white'.

 Note the jasmine is white in color, and KannaDa beLLe
and Tamil veLLai means 'white' color.

Then, is the jasmine `bELA' in Marathi related
to the Dravidian root for white (beLLe, veLLai)?

Does KannaDa and/or Telugu use `bELA/bEla' for mallige?

Swaminathan Madhuresan


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