Badagas of the Blue Mountains

Badaga – is a separate language by itself

I have been steadfastly claiming that Badaga is an unique language by itself and not a derivative of any other Dravidian Language – I WILL WRITE MORE ON THE FOLLOWING SOON – Wg Cdr JP

Badaga language not a dialect of Kannada, claims French linguistic scholar

Shanta Thiagarajan, [Times of India] Dec 4, 2012,

UDHAGAMANDALAM: “The Badaga language, widely believed to be a dialect of Kannada, was the language of communication of ancient South Dravidians and shares similarities with the local Alu Kurumba tongue,” said Christiane Pilot-Raichoor, a linguistic French scholar from LACITO, a scientific research centre in Paris. She was in town recently to do some research work.

“Today, it is recognized as a separate language,” said Pilot-Raichoor, who has been working on the linguistic heritage of the Badaga language for the past two decades. According to her, there are too many important differences in the phonology and the grammar, differences in gender system, case system, verb classes, to claim a genetic relationship between Kannada and Badaga languages.

“Once our minds are freed from the idea that Badaga is a dialect of Kannada, it may become possible to consider more objectively the Alu Kurumba-Badaga linguistic relationship,” she said. Alu Kurumba shares most of the characteristic Nilgiri features including verb peculiarities of Badaga language. “Whatever resemblance it has to Kannada points to early medieval and older forms of the language. The core grammar in the Badaga language converges with other Nilgiris languages which can be traced to early south Dravidian features,” she explained. Continue reading →

To day, 4-12-2012, is the 120th birthday anniversary of one of the greatest sons of Badaga Community,

Rao Bahadur HB Ari Gowder.

For all that he has done for the community, let us remember him with respect and gratitude !

My sincere salutations to the great and reputed man of Badaga community.
 
“To be born as a gentleman is an accident..
To live as one is an achievement…”
 
He has lived and achieved. Every badaga should feel proud of him.
He will be living eternally in the hearts of  all of us.
 
Regards,
kethorai rajma

Badaga leader’s birth anniversary celebrated

The Hindu – Udhagamandalam, December 5, 2012

Badagas celebrated the 119th birth anniversary of H.B. Ari Gowder at the Nilgiris Cooperative Marketing Society (NCMS), off the Government Botanical Garden Road, here, on Tuesday.

Long considered as the uncrowned king of the Badagas, Mr. Gowder was born on December 4, 1893 and died on June 28, 1971. He hailed from Hubbathalai village near Aruvankadu

The head of the Thodhanadu Seemai Badaga Welfare Association T.M. Kulla Gowder recalled that Mr. Ari Gowder was a well known philanthropist, who was respected by not only the Badagas but also others. He was instrumental in the NCMS coming into being in the 1930s to protect farmers from middlemen and unscrupulous traders in the plains.

For over three decades he was its president and for long it was considered as one of the best of its kind.

By way of acknowledging his significant contribution his bust was unveiled on May 25, 1987, in the multi-purpose hall of the NCMS.

It is unfortunate but true. There are still a lot of ‘greedy’ Badagas who feel that ‘all  property’ should go ONLY to a son / sons and and not to the daughter/daughters. These people, many of them- ‘educated idiots’ of both genders, would justify their claim and contention by saying only a son CAN be warisu or heir. Needless to say, they are living in an ancient  world [when, in a  Badaga Family], girls were NOT treated as EQUALS  and like in any other Indian Community, they were sort of discriminated.

This flawed thinking is very much against the rule of the land. The Indian constitution and present rules and regulations ensure that GIRLS GET EQUAL SHARE of the properties of their parents and ancestors [as BOYS]. Any discrimination in this respect is a criminal offence punishable under law.

But still many ‘self appointed’ and hapless  Badaga kap leaders and Gowdas, live under a false notion that all property is for males only. This cancerous notion which is destroying the  harmonious Badaga family system needs to be cut and CUT NOW. Unfortunately, the people mainly responsible for this ‘cancer’, you guessed it, are females – wives,mothers and grand mothers with ulterior motives.

It is high time we start treating this cancer of Warisu with all the contempt it deserves and cut it off before it destroys the very fabric that is  uniting the community.

More, with many examples, will follow….

It is with deep regret we announce the demise of the First Badaga woman graduate
and 

Member of Parliament [1962-1967]

Mrs. Akkama Devi

(wife of Late H.B.Joghee Gowder)

sister in law of Rao Bahadur H.B.Ari Gowder
and
daughter in law of Rao Bahadur H.J. Bellie Gowder

Emarald Bhojan Hariharan is known to me through the interaction we have had , over the years, on the websites on BADAGA. Incisive, educative and the welfare of Badaga on top of all – are the hall marks of this young but wise ‘businessman’ Badaga. It is always a pleasure to receive his,  true Badaga ,letters expressing rare but true analysis on many subjects.

It is my pleasure to publish his letter /comments of 19-11-12. – Wg Cdr JP [ps: I am wring a separate post on the topic – Badaga Script – very soon]

Dear JP Anna,

Pleasure giving my opinions in your website, as always.

I had met Mr.Yogesh Raj of Kadasoley Village (Near Thalakundha) about a month ago and come to understand that he had researched for close to 4 decades and arrived at a script for our Badugu language. Showing a keen interest in understanding the script, I was pleasantly surprised to attend the first official classroom session on Nov 4th, 2012 at Coimbatore organised by an upcoming Badugu Welfare Society headed by Mr.Singhan Sathu of Godalatty Village.

The script is quite unique and able to address all forms of phonology and pronounciations in our mother tongue Badugu. It will be my greatest pleasure to introduce this great man to another great man (you!) and take pleasure in seeing two individuals whom i admire a lot interact with each other. I was always searching for a mission to contribute to our community. I finally have one, to take all efforts to help this beautifully crafted and synthesized Badugu script reach as many people as possible in my lifetime.

Tales of Ari Gowder are profound in the Badugu country, my paternal grandmother, all of 98 and living with me has told quite tales of the …of the great man’s deeds. Every time I cross the Ari Gowder bridge separating TN and Karnataka on the way to Mysore, I smile unto myself looking at his name engraved atop the bridge. Those are happy moments in my life. In the recent past, our community is slowly moving away from the basic tenets which made us live as one, our honesty, sincerity, love and respect for fellow human beings.

In the rat race of life, I am worried about where we are heading in the future.

As a responsible son of the Badugunadu soil, I am looking upon your goodself to promote our Badugu script which will help us all feel proud and unite us one, bringing us many tangible and intangible benefits along the way.

Thank you!                                                                      

__________________________________________________

Kethorai Rajamma, the well known  KV teacher who is responsible for shaping many a young mind with positive changes writes :

The fine letter ,drafted so beautifully, speaks volumes. It carries loads of concern towards our community and our fellow beings. I too had felt.. Of late we are running on our toes not knowing our destination. Changes are inevitable..

“One who changes with the change, survives..
One who changes after the change, succeeds..
One who causes the change, leads….”

JP, your effort for positive changes is sparkling..Let us look forward for the amazing results…

regard,
Kethorai rajma  

Pa -> – Ha [ப – ஹ] change in Badaga

Exclusive from Dr.R.K.Haldorai

The initial ha- ஹ – sound of the Badaga words confused its speakers many a time. Of course, there is a phonological point to be noted.

The present Badaga has a tendency to drop the initial ha- ஹ  -sound altogether. Due to this, the words once pronounced with h – sound are without that now. Hence those words which had initial ha- sound are now vowel initial sounds. ha sound is totally foreign to Dravidian languages. Therefore its use is equivalent to dropping the initial consonants altogether (Father Henry Heras 1936).
Example

• hallu – allu -ஹல்லு – அல்லு  tooth
  haalu – aalu – ஹாலு – ஆலு milk
  hiTTu – iTTu – ஹிட்டு இட்டு – food
  hiiru – iiru – ஹிரு இரு-  to split
  hullu – ullu – ஹல்லு உல்லு grass
  huuyi – uuyi – ஹுய் ஊய் – tamarind
• heTTe – eTTe – ஹெட்டே எட்டே – hen
  heegu – eegu – ஹேகு ஏகு -to tell
• hoge – oge – ஹொகே ஒகெ – smoke
• Hogu – Ogu – ஹோகு ஓகு – to go

As a special feature among Dravidian Languages Kannada language attested p – > h– change; a change which occurred quite early (Kulli 1976:304). This change is found in Badaga language too. This aspect has been adduced as an argument for settling Badaga language’s relationship with Kannada and even for deeming it a dialect of Kannada.
Since pa -> ha – change is common to Kannada and Badaga, scholars tried to fix the date of separation of Badaga language. On the basis that Badaga diverged from Kannada only after the old Kannada initial pa – , changed to middle and modern Kannada initial h – (Emeneau 1965 :18,19). They ignored the fact that in spite of attested p -> h – change , Badaga still has many words in use with initial p – ,many in basic in nature.

( E.g. paTTu -பட்டு  towel , payilu -பயிலு sprout, paTTe – பட்டேbark, paame – பாமே  story, payere – பேரே buttermilk, paaTTa koDe – பாட்டே கொடே umbrella of palmyra leaves)
The Kannada Encyclopaedia (KE) analyses this Badaga feature in brief and points out that all initial p – words are not changed into initial h – words in Badaga. Many initial p – words are in daily use in Badaga.

In Kannada p – > h – change began after 10th century. Hence Badaga might have diverged from Kannada prior to 10th century A.D.

The Kannada Encyclopaedia [KE] therefore assigns Badaga the status of an autonomous language (Nayak 1983 :412). Differing from Emeneau and others KE holds that Badaga might have diverged from Kannada even earlier than 10th century.

Kannada dictionary (Butcher 1983) recorded many initial p – and h – words, including some which are mere variants of the same words. Among these, Badaga language retained initial p – instead of initial h -.

Example

Kannada> puccu – huccu [puchchu huchchu] – புச்சு ஹுச்சு  (foolishness) : Badaga. puccu [puchchu]
Ka. paLi, haLi – பளி ஹளி (blame,rebuke ) : Ba. paLi
Ka. pusi, husi புசி ஹுசி (falsehood,lie ) : Ba. poy, puyyi -பொய்
Ka. pooTe, hooTe போட்டே ஹோட்டே (hollow of a tree) : Ba. pooTe  போட்டே(hollow)
Ka. pisuku, hisuku பிசுக்கு ஹிசுக்கு (to squeeze ) :Ba. பிசுக்கு -pisuku

In some cases Badaga substitutes s – for the h – found in Kannada words.

E.g. Ka. heDe (the expanded hood of a snake ) : Ba. seDe
Ka. huLi (sour ) : Ba. suLLe
Ka. hiju (to rend ) : Ba. suli
Ka. hore (neighbourhood, vicinity ) : Ba. saare

In few words PDr.(Proto Dravidian) p – changes into b – in Badaga.

E.g. Ka. pakkaLe (a kind of vessel) : Ba. baggare
Ka. paNi (stick, bat) : Ba. baNe
Ta. pambaram (top) : Ba. bombare
Ta. pakkam (shelter) : Ba. bakka

In a few places the initial p – and h – forms of the same word are use in Badaga but with
different meaning.

E.g. pace (green) : hacce (half-boiled, unripe, tender etc.,)
piri (to separate ) : hiri (to demolish)
piccu (to scatter) : hiccu ( to squirt )
poru (to endure ) : hour (to bear, carry or the head)
poTTu (simpleton ) : hoTTu (chaff, husk)

p – > h – is a share innovation found in Kannada and Badaga languages but with the following special features in Badaga.
1. Many initial p – words are in use in Badaga language and they are basic in nature
2. Unlike Kannada, all initial p- words are not changed into initial h – words in Badaga.
3. In a few places s – replaces h – in Badaga.
4. In a few places p – and h – form the same words are in different meanings in Badaga.

It is not correct, therefore to hold p – > h – change as a major criterion in settling the relationship of the Badaga language with Kannada.

Gourmets’ worry over vanishing traditional foods, tastes

Article by Arun P Mathew, Times Of India | Nov 3, 2012

COIMBATORE: Ever heard of Sutta Gassu Sandage? It is one of the vanishing food items of badaga community of the Nilgiris. Taking part in a national seminar on ‘Heritage Foods of India’ at AJK College of Arts and Science here, senior chef H N Vijivan of Taj Vivanta Hotel in Coimbatore said the delicious badaga food item is made out of potato. Potatoes with skin are cooked over live charcoal, cleaned and salt and spices applied on it to make sutta gassu sandage.

According to him, there are over 20 exceptional varieties of food items of badagas and they need to be introduced to the gourmets across the world. Mouth-watering delicacies include ganjikke (boiled wheat pearls in an earthenware pot mixed with jaggery and coconut), eragi hittu (finger-millet balls made out of raggi flour, hot water and salt), badagaru koi uthakka (badaga chicken curry) and belle boungue sandage (roasted garlic chutney). Read the complete article here

Seen below on the left is ‘Thuppadittu – Ennayhittu’ and on the right is Eragi Hittu with Avaray Udakka and soppu’

Have you visited the page on Badaga Recipes ?

In a mood to listen to some fab Badaga Songs [‘My Choice’] as you browse the posts…click on the pix and choose the song in the new window that opens up…

Badaga Songs

I have never had the fortune of meeting her so far. Only, the media reports about her receiving an award from the President of India, made me proud being a native of the Nilgiris & a Badaga. And take notice.

If you sit back and think of ONE teacher of our school  whose teachings & advise has made us what we are today, we feel so happy and grateful to have studied under her/him. This ‘guru’s’ teachings touch our lives in many ways.

When I wrote about her in my websites, the response from her students and others was huge and I realised ‘HOW ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN SO MANY LIVES’.

That great person is Mrs.Rajamma from Kethorai Village, Rajma Mam to her students.

Recently when I received the following  email from her, appreciating the work on these websites, I felt humbled. I can feel how powerful her words and teachings would have been.

I take the liberty of publishing her letter to put on record my deep gratitude and I am sure she will remain a powerful influence in many more lives.

Dear JP,
 
Greetings. Hope my mail finds you in good health and cheers. Nice to read a lot of issues about our community in your web site.
 

“A lot of things go unquestioned..
Several questions go unanswered…
Many words go unsaid..
A number of words go unheard..
Some dreams are buried alive…”
 
WE CALL IT LIFE.
 
WHAT LIFE HAS  IN STORE FOR US TOMORROW , NO ONE KNOWS.

In this mysterious life , a very few people like you leave an ever lasting mark for their life time. You are doing a wonderful job. Keep it up. …
 
Take care. My best wishes for you will remain always.
 
With regards,
 Rajma

[photo courtesy – The Hindu]

JP adds :

It is said that, “If you educate a boy, you educate an individual but if you educate a girl, you educate an entire family.

Indeed, GIRL POWER IS GREAT POWER