It is sad that meanings of certain Kongu Tamil expressions are required even for a reader of Coimbatore!
In urban Coimbatore, one can hardly come across Kongu Tamil expressions like ‘Aasaaram’ for ‘Hall’ ‘Velichennai’ for ‘Coconut oil’, ‘Appichi’ or ‘Appaaru’ for grandpa and ‘Amichi’ or ‘Amaththa’ or ‘Appaththa’ for grandma, thanks to the advent of modernity, which has almost wiped out Kongu’s own cultural products including its honey-sweet Tamil dialect. However, a short story collection ‘Appathaalum Oru Kalyananamum’ (Paternal grandma and a wedding) penned by the late writer Ma. Natarasan, has documented the unique Kongu Tamil expressions so naturally through the conversations arising out of the context in all the 14 short stories in the book, like his previous works like ‘Kandhaayam’ and ‘Oor Kalanju Pochu’, Ma. Na’s new short story collection also takes a reader a trip into the wonderful rural world of Kongunadu and introduces him the innocent characters, who are idiomatically called ‘Vella Cholam (white corns) in Kongu dialect.
As implied by the African poet Abioseh Nicol in his poem ‘The Continent that lies within us’ that one’s country is not just a geographical land stretch, but an idea, which he can carry wherever he goes, Ma .Na has ‘carried’ his native village Mandhiripalayam near Chenjerimalai in his mind and heart, despite his life in modern Coimbatore for decades since his days of being a Tamil professor in CBM College. His short stories are not deliberate creations but discoveries from the day-to-day incidents in the lives of his kith and kin at Mandhiripalayam.
Evaluating the reality in Ma. Na’s writing, veteran Tamil scholar and critic Professor, the late, Ma. Ra. Po. Gurusamy has written in his foreword to the book that the writer’s natural use of Kongu dialect in his short stories can easily inspire a reader and interest him to use them in his speech. As advised by Ma. Ra. Po, the author has allotted a few pages at the end of the book and explained some exclusive Kongu Tamil expressions in order to make a reader understand their meanings. The vocabularies ‘Pottaatam Iru’ for ‘Be quite’ ‘Naalaasarithiyaa’ for ‘In due course’, ‘Othaasayaa’ for ‘In support of’ and ‘Vesanam’ for ‘Grief’ are a few interesting Kongu Tamil expressions, which Ma. Na has explained in the annexure. Still, it’s a great pity that such a glossary is required even for a reader of Coimbatore to know the meanings of his own native language!
Though the writer is sincere in penning his short stories, the publisher, who brought out the book ‘ Appaththaalum Oru Kalyanamum’ has committed an error in the book wrapper by printing the picture of a southern district old woman with her ‘Paambadams’ (Heavy ear ornaments) hanging down her ears - a style which has not been in vogue among the grannies of rural Kongunadu.
As implied by the African poet Abioseh Nicol in his poem ‘The Continent that lies within us’ that one’s country is not just a geographical land stretch, but an idea, which he can carry wherever he goes, Ma .Na has ‘carried’ his native village Mandhiripalayam near Chenjerimalai in his mind and heart, despite his life in modern Coimbatore for decades since his days of being a Tamil professor in CBM College. His short stories are not deliberate creations but discoveries from the day-to-day incidents in the lives of his kith and kin at Mandhiripalayam.
Evaluating the reality in Ma. Na’s writing, veteran Tamil scholar and critic Professor, the late, Ma. Ra. Po. Gurusamy has written in his foreword to the book that the writer’s natural use of Kongu dialect in his short stories can easily inspire a reader and interest him to use them in his speech. As advised by Ma. Ra. Po, the author has allotted a few pages at the end of the book and explained some exclusive Kongu Tamil expressions in order to make a reader understand their meanings. The vocabularies ‘Pottaatam Iru’ for ‘Be quite’ ‘Naalaasarithiyaa’ for ‘In due course’, ‘Othaasayaa’ for ‘In support of’ and ‘Vesanam’ for ‘Grief’ are a few interesting Kongu Tamil expressions, which Ma. Na has explained in the annexure. Still, it’s a great pity that such a glossary is required even for a reader of Coimbatore to know the meanings of his own native language!
Though the writer is sincere in penning his short stories, the publisher, who brought out the book ‘ Appaththaalum Oru Kalyanamum’ has committed an error in the book wrapper by printing the picture of a southern district old woman with her ‘Paambadams’ (Heavy ear ornaments) hanging down her ears - a style which has not been in vogue among the grannies of rural Kongunadu.