Happy birthday, Mom..

We would come home at Hubbathalai and to your room [nadu -centre room, as we call it]...

Your face would brighten up seeing me, "bandu buttaya- you have come" you would say with a smile, reclining from the bed.

Mrs.Idyamma Bellie Gowder

[2-9-1912---13-7-2011]

"Harachu- bless me" I would say, bowing my head. You would place both your hands on my head and bless me with those beautiful words " ondu nooru saavira aagili, endhendhu somi ninaga olliya haracha kottu, sogava kottu barali - let one become a hundred thousands..may God give you good health and happiness..."

Then with a smirk,  and holding your hands,I would tell you,"Happy Birthday, mom..endhu ninna huttidha barasha, ardhaya -do you know that today is your birthday?"

You would act surprised, " athaya... is it so?...aesu barasha aathu - how many years?... ennu aesu kaala ebbadhu- how many more years to live?"

We, all your children, grand children and great grand children along with other relatives, would have celebrated your 100th Birthday in grand style.

Mom, you chose to leave us just a year short of a century.

Gone to 'another' world but never forgotten.

But wherever you are, we know, your blessings are with us always.

You were and are the inspiration for everything.

We miss you, mom !

Traditions kept alive by these brave Badaga ladies

What is extremely gratifying and gives a lot of happiness is see some brave - hearts Badaga ladies wearing traditional Badaga Jewellery. One such lady is Subbi Hethe of Thogalatty [near Kattabettu] with the mookkuthi and kivi chinna [read all about Badaga Jewellery here]. I had the pleasure of meeting her at Honneri a couple of days back.

Thank you, Subbi Hethe !

Badaga and Tamil

by   Dr.R.K.Haldorai

‘Even people with considerable education are often wholly unable to answer certain quite simple questions about their language. For most people language is primarily a tool to be used, rather than a subject for close and critical attention’ (Gleason 1974:1).Actually in a society which has unlettered language like Badaga, the study of language plays a major role to understand its ethnology, tradition, ethos, culture, tribal character etc., Other than language the society has very little records to show its antiquity etc., In many places we have to deduce certain things through language only. So it is inevitable to study the Badaga language at least to some extent when we try to say something about Badaga society.

Badaga is one among the 26 languages of the Dravidian family. Badaga, a tribal language of the Dravidian family preserved more of its archaic features. Its prolonged isolation might be the cause for this. However to understand these features we have to compare them with the ancient forms found in any other Dravidian language. Among Dravidian languages Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam are literary languages. They have recorded history. And also these languages were studied thoroughly by experts. Being that is the case; there is no doubt that we can have a clear picture of the Badaga terms when we compare them with the corresponding terms of the languages of the Dravidian family.

‘Tamil language being probably earliest cultivated of all the Dravidian idioms, the most copious and that which contains the largest portion and the richest variety of indubitably ancient forms, it is deservedly placed at the head of the list’ (Caldwell 1856:6).‘Tamil has usually been considered to be the Dravidian language which has preserved most traces of the original forms of speech from which all other Dravidian dialects are derived. It seems certain that no other Dravidian language has developed the common Dravidian principles with so great consistency as Tamil’ (Linguistic Survey of India, vol.iv. p.283).

‘Words of Dravidian origin occurring in all the languages are without any great difference of form. The original Dravidian speech seems to have split up in to these languages. Tamil is probably nearer to the original tongue than any other member of the group and it has preserved the older forms of the Dravidian roots knowledge of it is essential to the proper study of the South Indian languages’ (Brown, Telugu-English Dictionary,Int.).

Of course there are hundreds of common words in Badaga and Kannada. On the other part Kannada adopted Sanskrit words enormously. Whereas Sanskrit borrowing is less in Badaga and Tamil. Anyhow there are few borrowed items in Tamil too. In that case, we have to compare Badaga with indigenous things of Tamil and not with borrowed ones. I hope, then, we shall have a clear idea about Badaga when compare with Tamil. E.g. the word habba (festival) is found in Kannada and Badaga. But the prior form paruvam (season, the festival celebrated in a particular season) is found only in Tamil. In the same way the word maduve (marriage) is in Kannada and Badaga. But its older form vaduvai is attested in Tolkaappiam, the earliest available grammar of Tamil. Badaga ganige (finger-ring, signet-ring) is nothing but Tamil kanaiyaazhi. Badaga oppottu is nothing but Tamil orupozhudu. Badaga korali batta (small millet,setaria italica) is Tamil kuraal tinai.  Badaga baambullu (andropogon schananthus) is Tamil vizhalpul. Badaga sarangana (orderly,nicely) is nothing but Tamil siiraaga. Badaga ugilu (finger nail) is in literary Tamil ugir

              Badaga                                           Tamil 

• korambu (a last rite)               karumaandiram ;
• beggaayi (wind alone)            verum kaatru ;
• sutrigaayi (whirl wind)           suzhal kaarru       
• sere mee (drizzle rain)             saaralmazhai ;         
• hola (field)                                  pulam ;
• gudu,guttu (plough share)     kozhu ;                       
• kirugaayi (eastern wind)       kiizhkaarru ;
• karambe (curry leaf)               kariveeppu ;              
• netturu   (blood)                      neyttoor ;                 
• manaarna(heartful)               manamaara ;          
• maggilu (side)                          marungil ;                
• koolu (flute)                              kuzhal ;                     
• orage (equal age)                    oor agavai                     
• paame (story)                           pazhamai ;                
• hemmakka (women)              penmakkal
• heroodayya (Lord Siva)        peruvudaiyaar
• haayola (fertile land)             pazhanam
• neegilu (plough)                      naanjil
• angay (palm)                            agangai (agam+kai)
• pottuguude(small basket)      puttukkuudai
• emmehatty(buffalo camp)     erumaippatti
• koomekallu(sharp stone)        kuurmaikkal
• taave (fern)                               taagai ;                     
• batte (cloth)                              vattudai
• monakaalu (knee)                    muzhangaal
• darsepetti(granary box)           davasappetti

Like these many single and compound words are better known by comparing with Tamil. Other than word level, to our wonder, the glimpse of Badaga culture, tradition etc., are seen in Tamil literature. The thing is, we have to study it in depth to get the relevant points. For example, the good old marriage system of the Badagas was depicted in Sangam (aganaanuuru 86 and136) literature. Kannagi worship is similar to Badagas’ Hethe worship. The Tamil word peyaran or peeran (grand’son) indicates the usage of christening grandfather’s name to grandson. In the same way peyartti or peetti indicates the usage of naming grandmother’s name to granddaughter. To our astonishment, this practice is still vogue in Badaga. In Badaga society a new born male child gets first his grandfathers’ names(father’s father and mother’s father).In the same way a new born female child gets first her grandmothers’ names (father’s mother and mother’s mother).

In ancient Tamil society there was no caste system. The concept of karma was not there. It advocated neither vegetarianism nor sobriety (absent from toddy consumption). In the same way the society didn’t encourage renunciation. These are all relevant to Badaga society even today. The ancestor worship is common to both Badagas and ancient Tamils. More or less the religious activities are same for both Badagas and ancient Tamils. However the Badagas preserved and maintained the good old systems in every sphere of their life due their prolonged isolation. In this background, I hope the study of Tamil literature, grammar etc., will help us to describe Badaga thoroughly.

[Exclusive article]

Should we be really PROUD?

Here is an email from Vinoth Kumar that calls for our attention :

The points     raised byVinoth are very important. "Are we living in a fools' paradise? and not able to look beyond what we see?" Wg.Cdr JP

Hello Sir, This is regarding the word “PROUD” used by members in our BBM (Badagas of Blue Mountain). People have been using the word “proud” number of times, for ex, proud to be a badaga, proud to be from niligiri etc. Yes, no doubt we are all proud of ourselves being a badaga, but let us assess what have we done for making our community more proud. Obama acquired the presidency by using the word “change”, it was a big hit which elevated him to the highest profile in world. Now his tenure as president is gonna end and what has changed in US? nothing, coz he did not work towards what he meant. The word change is no more special now.  “NO ONE HAS CLIMBED A HILL JUST BY LOOKING AT IT”. We have to climb up the hill to reach the peak. We have lot of issues in our community which need immediate attention. Rather we saying ourselves proud, let us work towards making us more proud. We have lot of well educated people with good practical knowledge which is vital than being theoretical. I request all of you to come forward and share your ideas about our community and regarding your sector which might help our community in one otherway. We only speak about the good things in our community, lets discuss about the bad and make it good or at least better. I feel the below topics need to be given priority. 1. ECONOMY AND REAL ESTATE BUSSINESS: “Haasanoor oogi haala kudupudhuna, nilagiri neera kudiyaaku”, meaning nilagiri water is better than hassnoor milk which is known for its thickness and nutrient content. In Nilgiris, Every grain of soil is fertile and every blade of grass is green even in summer. Why are we running towards coimbatore and buying properties in exhorbitant prices? I accept we have to move to other cities because employment oppurtunities are less in our district. Its good we make our presence in other places by buying land, but not at the cost of selling what we have in our native. I know its not easy to maintain a tea estate as there is shortage of labor and moreover everyone wants to be a white collar worker than a blue collar. Apart from tea, the other crops like potato, garlic, carrot, radish, beetroot etc have become like lottery bussiness, it depends on luck than your hardwork. Partly, we can blame the El Nino and govt policies which is responsible for this debacle, at the end we are the losers. Lets forget the govt and do something on our own. We should stop following what our forefathers did five decades back. They had proper seasons, now there is no seasons, its summer 3/4th of the year and rest is winter. We have to change the crop pattern or even the crops. We should try semi arid crops or the arid crops like jatropha or croton. New roads have to be build to reach farms which are far. People who stay in cities please lease the land nearby village to the ones who do farming in villages rather than selling it to someone from outside for construction of villas. Either you can plant trees in farms which are far from villages which might help to please the rain gods and, in case, if govt allows logging in future you can make a kill out of it. Requested people: Agri experts to study crop pattern and panchayat presidents to lay new roads. 2. HEALTHCARE: Overall healthcare facilities have improved in our community and access to hospitals are better than earlier. Asthma was the only curse for our community in the past, but now its overtaken by other diseases, namely diabetes and cancer because of our sedentary lifestyle. It depends on individual, so I dont want to comment much on it. Organ donation, a topic raised by Mahalakshmi, thank you. Awareness has to be created in wide scale regarding this. This has to be done by all of us, should explain it properly to our family members and convince them. Requested people: All of us. 3.MARRIAGE: This is a critical and sensitive issue which has to be dealt carefully. First let us assess what is the reason for increasing intercaste marriages and increasing pecentage of unmarried people in our community. We cannot blame education, job outside our place, or the empowerment of our girls, coz now its a necessity for well being. The main factor to be blamed is we not being a social animal within our community. A decade back, people use to attend festivals and family occasions without a miss where girls and boys from different families meet, proposals happen easily. Now a days festivals are fading, people rarely meet others from village. We can give a number of reasons, travelling, leaves, or exams… but its mainly due to lack of interest. Regarding intercaste marriage as i commented in another thread, i will support it because due to exposure its normal for a girl or boy to fall in love with a person from another community and we are matured and responsible to take a decision on our own. Another reason for me to support intercaste marriage, if a girl or boy marries from another community, he or she will not be allowed to come into village, and at last we being nuclear families, the whole family has to leave the village, its a minus for our community. I thank Mahalakshmi for your comment on another thread, i respect your views, but on a longer run, this will not favor our community. Think like china in longer run than like india being a procrastinator. Requested people: All of us. 4.DEBT: Badagas WERE humble and down to earth, now its the opposite, people are becoming egoistic, as a result disputes are common. I know many who sell their property in native to buy a plot in coimbatore because his neighbor or a relative bought a plot in CBE. People in villages are into debt trap, kandhu vaddi (now a days saala is not at a concern), blame the climate pattern. There are many more problems to be discussed, lets do it and find solutions for them, rather venting only the issues. All of you might think I am a critic pointing only the negatives in our community, I dont bother, my only wish is our community as a whole should be a proud community without issues. As I said let us discuss the problems, the solution, a plan, and a strategy to achieve it.  Thank you, Vinoth Kumar [vina.vinasa@gmail.com]

Bagadas are amazing people on Earth

Dear JP,   I am a Christain from South Tamil Nadu. And I know you do not like Christians, as I see certain messages on your site. Of course, I visit your site frequently. Let me tell you something, which may be surprising to you.   I was born in a very orthodox Christian family. Now I am 33 years old. I was a very strong beliver of christianity. I never missed praying and reading Bible a day. I was so close to God. I thought I should die for Christ. I thought Christians were the best people in the world until I met a Badaga 1.5 years back.  I was simply moved by that person's character, hospitality, discipline, Sincerity, affection, honesty, cleanliness, decency and boldness. I have many Hindu friends, but I was only impressed after meeting a Badaga. I suddenly thought thinking, Jesus has asked us to have the above characters and a Badaga has got all these characters, whereas I have not met a single Christian with all these characters. So what is the use of following Christianity? From that day, I never read Bible, never pray to Jesus and never go to church.  My whole community, including my wife and parents were surprised with my change. They never knew that a Badaga was behind that. And I promise you that I and my Badaga friend never spoke about Christianity. The change came to me from my inner soul. No one changed me. Now I feel daily that I should have born in that community. I felt that it is a curse for not being born in Badaga community.  My ambition is to become rich and serve the badaga community. I want to join the community and be one among them.  But the messages in your website creates a hatred among Badagas on Christians. What will people like me do?   I want to learn Badaga language. I need a book. I heard that 2 people in Coonoor has written in Tamil. I searched entire coonnor. But in vain. Can you please help me on this regard. Thanks - AR I was quite amazed to receive this email from AR [I sincerely thank him for permitting to put this on our websites]. Two things strike me to be extraordinary. AR's frankness and his 'unabashed appreciation of Badagas'.   AR, hope  all Badagas will possess "character, hospitality, discipline, sincerity, affection, honesty, cleanliness, decency and boldness"  and live like the person you have described and bring changes in others. 'This particular individual'  makes  us all very proud.   And here are a couple of clarifications. I wonder why you feel that I do not like Christians and that my views create hatred.I am a proud Hindu but have great respect to all other religions. Some of my best and closest friends are Christians.   The only thing I am against is the forcible conversion of many Badagas to Christians which is threatening the very fabric of the Badaga Society [supposed to be endowed with all the great qualities you attribute to them].   There are a couple of books to 'learn Badaga' by Dr.Haldorai and  here are some of his  Books Published on Badaga  :    1. badagu oru diravida moli* (Badaga a Dravidian Language) (Tamil) 2. badagu molip palamoligal (Badaga Proverbs)  (Tamil and English meanings)  3. Badaga –English  Self  Instructor (English)  4. A Practical Key to the Badaga Language (English) for the complete list of books go here   Thanking AR once again and hope we Badagas also live up to possess  such great qualities. - Wg Cdr JP Hi JP, Saw the Posts.  Christians read Bible and Pray to have these characters. But without even knowing of Jesus, your people have these characters. Really I miss you all. One day you will definetely find me serving the Badaga community. After learning Badaga language, I will mail to you in Badaga language. That will be my next mail to you. But it will take some time. May be even 6 months. Bye till then.Thanks AR

Freedom

AUGUST FIFTEENTH

Independence day. Freedom from occupation of the land by aliens.Celebrations.	But what about freedom from exploitation of gender and hunger from fights over caste and religionfrom inequality based on creed  and region & Corruption	India, the great land of legends when are you going to be really FREE?

Badagas who make us proud

There are a few exceptional Badagas whose entrepreneurship and talents  can  take them to places anywhere in this globe. They succeed in whatever field they choose to go ahead with sheer hardwork and dedication. These Badagas are, an inspiration to all of us.

Lingan Krishnan  [I have never met him so far] is one such person. I was quite surprised but very happy to see his email to me in which he had mentioned that he is a practising lawyer In the Bombay High Court. Wow, a Badaga high court lawyer in Mumbai, was my first thought. Surprise did not end there when I learnt that he is also an ex-fauji. He has started a Trust that be of immense help to Badagas.

Thank you L. Krishna. You make us proud!

 

 Email from  Lingan Krishnan [lingan.krishnan@gmail.com], a Lawyer in Mumbai High Court

Hello Sir, I belong to Adigaratty Village and was  born on 10 May,1946. I do not recollect my father's face since  he breathed his last  when I was 8 years old. My mother, a poor soul, brought us  up (one elder brother and two younger sisters) and she too passed away  this year ie on 26th April, 2012. Every year, Theer Festival used to be celebrated in our village in a grand way, which continues even today. My mother used to compel me to attend the same but never I was able to do so.

 About 20 years back, one day while discussing about the festivals, Mom was bit up set for  my not visiting the Hatty at least  once  a year, and requested me to at least contribute the Theer Festival expenses fixed by our village Gowdars every year.That particular day I decided to keep her wishes alive and promised her that I would  contribute for the festival not only for one year but till my mother's last breath.

As per my mother's wishes, my little contribution towards the festival has been going on for the last twenty years and now. My Mom is no more now, hence I decided to continue my contribution till my death. While going through your web site I felt my mother was sitting with me and forcing me to do something for the common needy people.

Thanks for the unforgettable memories flashed back in my mind while going through the wonderful initiations and inspirations exposed vide your web site. With regards to my education and experiences.   have done M.A and LLB. Had put in 15 years service in the Army, In the Regiment of Artillery.  Joined  as Manager Administration in Lupin Laboratory and left Lupin after 13 Years of service to take up  the responsibilities of a GM with Cybertech Systems and Software Ltd through which I could visit US for six times.

I retired from Cybertech in the year 2007 after rendering 12 years of service and then started practicing Law. In Bombay, we started Bombay Badaga Association in the year 1990 and I was the President for 7years. Under  my command, we conducted quite a number of Tours and Picnics beside various programmes.  We released a Souvenir in the year 1995, and the interesting things to be  noted here is that, our Souvenir had the messages of celebrities of Politics, Cricket, Films, Police Big Vi gs and even Gazal Singers.

This combination  was my personal test and I had taken a month holiday from my job  to meet all those famous people ultimately with the aim of releasing an excellent Souvenir. Subsequently, the Souvenir got appreciated by Badaga Associations of Chennai, Balgalore, Coimbatore, Erode an many more individual personalities of our Baduga community. Some how due to various exigencies of services, my service to the community  could not  go further.

Now, after 15 years of interval, my mind again started revolving round the Social Welfare Activities and as such I got a Trust named    SENIOR CITIZEN WELFARE ASSOCIATION,THANE (WEST) registered,  under which, I have plans to help the aged people in various grounds.  Further details on this will follow.

The support extended from our N.G.O is listed below.  We plan to assist seniors in the following areas:

1.       Supporting and escorting the seniors during exigency
2.       Medical  assistance through NGO doctors
3.       Creating opportunities for the Seniors to engage themselves
4.       Classes for Yoga and Meditation
5.       Providing hygienic food at reasonable rates
6.       Financial assistance to the seniors
7.       Assisting in legal matters
8.       Anything related to real estate
9.       Arranging Mumbai Darshan/ Visit to Essel world

The extension of our NGO is to support the needy youth (will be executed at the later stage)
1.   Public speaking / Language classes
2.   Hostel facility for working class (ladies and gents separately)
3. conducting coaching clases for appearing in the IAS/IPS/Service selection boards

Based on this NGO I want to do some favours to the Badagas  staying abroad. Any thing required from Bombay like, transportation facilities, escorting relatives, children and even sight seeing arrangements can also be arranged by my NGO at Bombay. Any investment part in Moumbai or educational activities including placement etc can be arranged if any one needs it.

I really need your suggestions and guidance in this regards.

Regards
L.Krishnan