Gujarati in Tamil script (Was: interesting experience)

[RM. Krishnan]

At 09:49 AM 9/1/00 -0400, you wrote:
><< 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.

not gujarati brahmans, but saurashtra hand-loom weavers who were brought to
Madurai by the legendary King Thirumala Naik (17th/18th century) for making
silk fabrics, since this expertise was lacking in his principality. These
weavers were once called 'Pattu nuul kaarar - persons who work with silk
yarn' in Tamil. These people adapted  a brahmin surname 'Iyer' as a means
to claim higher position in the caste hierarchy.Otherwise, they would have
been equated with native weavers, a low position in the then society.

It is true that they wrote their saurashtri documents in Tamil script.
Today they are very much tamilized.They are very much prevalent in Madurai,
KumbakooNam, Maanaamadurai and Salem. Many well-known personalities in
Tamilnadu have come from this august community.

With regards,
RM.Krishnan

>Allen Thrasher