[Note]: Tamil etc.

[Stephens]

----- Original Message -----
From: Periannan Chandrasekaran <perichandra at YAHOO.COM>
To: <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
Sent: 24 May, 1999 2:57 PM
Subject: Re: [Note]: Tamil etc.


> "sundharat telugkin2il pAtticaittu tONikaL oTTi viLaiyADi varuvOm"
> -->"we shall row the boats singing songs in beautiful Telugu".
>
> man2On2maNIyam piLLai sang (mid 20th century):
> "... kaLi teluGkum kavin2 malayALam ..."
> -->" sweet telugu and beautiful malayALam"

> And one etymology for the word Telugu popular in Tamil circles
> is that it is derived from "tEn2" = honey




I would call this "confidence in oneself". If one is confident, he/she has
no problem acknowledging what is good in others.




> Tamil Nadu state has  no incidences of religious riots; or of
> linguistic riots
> where non-Tamils were hurt; unlike in Bangalore of Karnataka where these
days it has become routine
> to attack non-Kanndaigas.



I have to say Tamils are very generous in this regard. I have personally
experienced/witnessed this.

When I was travelling in a city bus from Parry's corner to Annanagar in
Madras, a Kannadiga asked the bus conductor of the bus we were travelling in
where she should get down. The conductor, knowing no kannada, tried his best
to answer her using bits of  English, Telugu, Tamil, Malaylam etc.

Compare this to my experience in Bangalore. Some years ago I had to go from
Jayamahal to Sivaji nagar, I was new to Bangalore (not even a month), got
into a bus and asked the conductor for a ticket to Sivaji Nagar. My
misfortune, at that time English was the only language I could communicate
with him in. He asked me if I knew Kannada, I said no, he stopped the bus
and asked me to get off the bus.

I would like to add here, this may be an isolated incident, the action of
one ignoramus. I do have many Kannadiga friends and can speak Kannada quite
well now :)

I believe these sort of communal feelings are recent developments, probably
less than 200 years old.

Sujatha