Gujarati in Tamil script (Was: interesting experience)

[N. Ganesan]

Date: Fri, 01 Sep 2000 16:16:08 GMT
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 ><< I would like to see a single text where Tamil was
 >used to write Gujarati texts, ..>>
 >
 >Well, actually it was and is used to write Saurashtri, a form of
 >Gujarati used by Gujarati brahmans who moved to the Tamil country
 >many centuries ago.

Saurashtra "brahmins", who eat non-vegetarian food,
are analogous to the smiths/carpenters - the "visvakarma brahmins".
As Dr. Zydenbos mentioned once, the veerasaivism in the Deccan
redefined brahminhood in the South. In the Vijayanagar periods,
when Kannada chieftains in the start and later Telugu Nayakdoms
were ruling, the "left-handed" service castes, who are usually
"mobile" (jangama), competed with brahmins. And, claimed that
they too are brahmins imitating the samskara rituals, and wearing
the thread. Especially, in that heavily guarded skill - literacy.

There were many from Saurashtra community who were disciples
of Carnatic musicians like St. Tyagarajar. In Madurai,
Nadanagopalanayaki Swamikal was a Srivaishnavaite saint
who often cross-dressed like AaNTaaL, the only female Alvar.

The Vijayanagar era festival par excellence, the Vijayadasami
incorporates the two groups - sarasvati and aayudha pujas,
one for the brahmins, and the other for the "new" brahmins.
> From the visvakarma brahmins, many tamil poets - kaTikaimuttu,
cuppiratIpam, mAmpazak kavicciGkam, ... wrote in the
"little" kingdoms. KaTikamuttu taught Tamil to umaRuppulavar
who wrote the Islamic epic, cii.raappuraa.nam.
cuppiratIpam was the teacher to the Jesuit priest from Italy,
Veeramaamunivar.

These poets' works usually question the supremacy of brahmins.
Oftentimes the hero who drinks, goes after many dasis, and suffers
poverty and disease (VD) at the end and then miraculously saved
by God is a brahmin. This happens for the first time in Tamil
literature. Earlier, the heros are usually Vellalas, and the
brahmins are praised all the time in poetry. Well in concert with
the time-honored priest-peasant alliance, explained by
the late Burton Stein. OTOH, the literature from the Nayak
period often portrays the brahmin in poor light.
This originates from the Deccan where Veerassaivism starts out
anti-brahminical (See the introduction in Warriors of "Siva,
Velcheru Narayanarao). Periyar EVR Naicker whose mothertongue
is Kannada comes from Veerashaivaite background.

Many prabandhams from the Vijayanagar period remain unedited,
from mss. and the social, historic and literary study of these
works have not been done in depth.

Regards,
N. Ganesan





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