Badagas of the Blue Mountains

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

BADAGA WORDS AND WRITINGS

Exclusive article by Dr. R.K.Haldorai

Family of languages is known as cognate languages, which means languages descended from common ancestor (origin). Because of the family relation, most of the words are formed in similar construction in cognate languages. Similarity is seen in grammar too.

The renowned Dravidian Etymological Dictionary, compiled by T.Burrow and M.B.Emeneau (available in internet too) gives the similar (cognate) words of Dravidian languages in one group. If we go through that we can notice the similarities of words within the family of languages. On etymological basis it grouped Dravidian words into 4572 entries. In that dictionary, to our dismay only thirteen Badaga words are included. Some twenty years back, I brought this to the notice of one of the editors, M.B.Emeneau. It is apparent that Badaga words are available for most of these entries. It is our ardent duty to collect words for these entries and make available with them. By this way one can find out the common origin of Badaga words. So, linguistically it is correct to uphold the common origin. The innovations and borrowings are to be dealt separately. Innovations are special features and in Badaga’s case the distinct language status is marked with its many such things. Usually language borrows vocabularies, mostly nouns; grammatical borrowing is near nil; verbs are borrowed very rarely.

The influence of neighboring languages on Badaga is to be seen with this background. And it is not right to conclude that a word or feature belongs to a dominant language when it is common in minor and dominant languages.

Basically language is spoken. Written language is nothing but the reflection of speech. Out of seven thousand languages spoken throughout the world only few hundred have scripts. On other hand, we cannot say that all the speakers of a language know its letters, which has written character. Among Dravidian languages only four are having their own scripts and Tulu and Kodagu adopted Kannada scripts. Anyhow script was vogue in Dravidian languages in their proto stage. That letter is called braami or tamizhi, from which letters of Indian languages, including Tamil and Kannada are derived. When we say Badaga is descended from Proto – Dravidian or Proto – South Dravidian, it is obvious that once it had letters. But because of long isolation in the Nilgiri plateau that had forgotten. Anyhow the words like bare (to write, letter, written document), baregaara (writer),  bareyagaara  (writer of our fate, god) , haNayal bare, nettiya bare (fate, written on ones fore – head), baretoDe (literacy), oodu (read), kallu (to study), ooleyakaara (messenger who brings documents written on palmyra leaf),etc., imply that writing was known to Badagas. Above all Badaga word muniya signifies as noble teacher and this is attested in one of the Badaga ballads. So, it is understood that teaching activities were also there and the word kallusu (make one to study, teach) makes known it.

( I must put on record my deep appreciation and gratitude to Dr.Haldorai for sending articles for publication in our websites. He is one of the original NATIVE researchers of our language and culture. Dr.Haldorai is being very proficient in Tamil also, some times I find some bias in his articles in favour of Tamil when he discusses certain issues. The difference between the articles of Dr.Haldorai and other ‘outsiders’ like Prof.Paul Hockings or M.B.Emeneau is that there is a definite authority and acceptance in what Haldorai says because he is a Badaga and obviously knows what he says. – Wg Cdr JP)

Badaga is an unique language…which still retains its old world charm. Unfortunately, the absence of a script has resulted in abuse of the language, what with ‘some learned and self proclaimed researchers’ claiming it to be a derivative of Tamil and others of Kannada.

It does not stop here, some ‘highly qualified/educated’ non – Badaga persons go as far as writing articles and books on Badaga language without understanding the basics or the fundamentals of this beautiful language. While we appreciate the interest and initiative shown by non Badagas to learn and write about Badaga, we feel angry when they give totally wrong information. Worse still, they have the audacity to ‘invite readers’ to ‘learn Badaga’. Shocking to say the least.

I came across a book in Tamil [courtesy – Saranavaraj] called “Arivom Badagar Mozhi’ அறிவோம் படகர் மொழி [ பழங்குடியினம் ] by Era.Jayalakshmi – published by Vijaya Pathippagam, Coimbatore.

It appears that Jayalakshmi’s only ‘qualification’ to write about Badaga is that she ‘found out’ in ” Badaga people’s spoken language, the greatness of old Tamil”  [ தமிழ் ‘படுக’ மக்கள் பேச்சு வழக்கில் தமிழின்  தொன்மையை கண்டறிந்தார் ] when she was serving  in the Ooty Municipality.

She starts off on a wrong note. In her preface, she claims that all Dravidian Languages are derivatives of Ancient Tamil. “Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam are languages that came out of the ‘blood’ of Tamil – கன்னடமும் களித்தெலுங்கும் கவியின் மலையாளமும் உன் உதிரத்தே உதித்தெழுந்து ஒன்று பல ஆயிடினும்..” she quotes Caldwel.

She goes on to say that like many Dravidian Languages ” BADAHAA – படஹா ” is only a spoken language. Note’ she does not even know that Badaga and Badagu – படக &  படுகு are never referred to as Badahaa. In her preface BADAHAA – “படஹா” is mentioned atleast eight times with quotation marks.

Here are some bloomers – deliberate or otherwise :-

In the book, what is your name [உன் பெயர் என்ன?] is given as: –

1.Enna eraru ena  இன்ன எசரு என? –  what is your name – உன் பெயர் என்ன? (This is the very first sentence in the book).
[It should have been :- Ninna hesaru yena – நின்ன ஹெசரு ஏன?]
2.uralvai esaru ena உறல்வை எசரு என? – what is mother’s name – அம்மாவின் பெயர் என்ன?
[should have been – Awwaiya hesaru yena – அவ்வைய ஹெசரு ஏன?]
3.Enaga paadi ariye – எனக பாடி அறியே –  I donot know how to sing – எனக்கு பாட தெரியாது
[should have been – Na kadai hegi ariye – ந கதை ஹேகி அறியே]

There are too many mistakes, all most in every page, to elaborate . In one word this book is PATHETIC.

The author, it appears, has never heard of proof reading or the Badaga words in the book are either meaningless or distorted. The icing on the cake is that she dedicates her book to those ‘researchers of languages -மொழி ஆராய்ச்சி  அறிஞர்கள் ‘.

It is high time, R.Lakshmi withdraws this book, consults a Badaga and do a proper proof reading and then dare to publish.

What do you do, laugh or cry??

[My request to Badaga Association in Coimbatore is, please contact/ visit the publishers Vijaya Pathippagam,20, Raja Street, Coimbatore -641001 phoen # 0422-2382614 / 2385614 [email -vijayapathippagam2007gmail.com], since the author’s email or address/contact numbers are not given, and ask them to take corrective steps].

****************

Prabhakar [email ; writerprabhakar@gmail.com] comments :

While the article by the particular author/publication needs to be condemned, I do not quite agree with the contention that Badaga is not a derivative of Tamil or Kannada. Can the administrator of this website speak an entire sentence in Badagu without using a word of Kannada or Tamil??? It is high time that we realized that Badaga is indeed a derivative /mixture of Kannada and Tamil. Realization is enlightenment. Moroever there is no ‘shame’ involved in it. I am a proud Badaga who takes pride in his unique culture and tradition, but am equally aware that my language is a unique mix of two other languages. If someone were to deny it then it would mean that Badaga precedes these two languages. If it has indeed preceded these two languages than it would have definitely had a script. So let us stop romanticising the origins of our language and accept reality.

Hello Prabhakar,

I am surprised and saddened by your conviction and contentions. I am not sure whether you have read my articles/posts/pages on our language. Well, I am convinced that Badaga is a separate language by itself – without a script [like so many other spoken languages]. While there is no denying the fact that Badaga and old (haliya) Kannada resemble a lot and of late there is great Tamil influence. This is probably, due to the fact, we belong to Tamil Nadu and many of us have studied in Tamil medium schools. Why Badaga, without a script, could not have preceded Kannada or Tamil, is not the question, but could it not have co- existed with Sen Tamizh – old Tamil and Haliya Kannada??

I did my schooling in Rao Bahadur Board High School, Hubbathalai where the medium of instruction was Tamil. I love Tamil and can boast, at the cost of modesty, that I was ranked sixth in the entire Tamil Nadu, Manavar Mandram examinations of 1963-64. Hence can read and write Tamil very well. I can’t say the same about Kannada.If you read my articles on Badaga Language, there is a lot of ref to Badaga in the Tamil Epics.

Incidentally Mrs.R.Jaylakshmi says in her book that Badaga is a ‘child’ of Tamil and goes on to quote that ‘Odhu -study’ is the same as in Sen Tamizh – Odhamal orunaalum irrukka vendaam -ஓதாமல் ஒருநாளும் இறுக்க வேண்டாம்’

By the way, in Badaga we say ‘bil kul’ for ‘definitely’ like “bilkul beda – definitely don’t want“. Bilkul is a Sanskrit word. Can we say that Badaga is a derivative of Sanskrit? Ungara and Majjige mean finger ring and butter milk in Telugu and Badaga. Is Badaga a derivative of Telugu?

Why are we still have the mind set to blindly accept what others have mentioned about our language or for that matter, even about our origin that we migrated from Mysore.

I notice that you have mentioned that you are a National award winning Journalist. Like to read your articles and if possible, reproduce them in my websites.

– Wg Cdr JP

Exercise for the brain

Below is a very private way to gauge how your memory compares to the last test. Some may think it is too easy but the ones with memory problems may have difficulty. Take the test presented here to determine if you’re losing it or not. The spaces below are so you don’t see the answers until you’ve made your answer.

OK, relax, clear your mind, breathe in, breathe out… and begin.

1. What do you put in a toaster?

Answer :You jumped to the answer thinking, easy, it is toast but the answer is Bread . If you said ‘toast’ ,give up now and do something else..

Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2.

2. Say ‘silk’ five times. Now spell ‘silk..’ What do cows drink?

Answer: Have you seen a cow drinking ? Cows drink water. If you said ‘milk,’ don’t attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat.. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said ‘water’, proceed to question 3.

3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?

Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said ‘green bricks,’ why are you still reading these??? If you said ‘glass,’ go on to Question 4.

4.It’s twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany ). Anyway, during the flight, two engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of ‘no man’s land’ between East Germany ! ! And West Germany … Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany , West Germany , Or no man’s land’?

Answer: You don’t bury ‘survivors’. If you said ANYTHING else, you’re a dunce and you must stop. If you said, ‘You don’t bury survivors’, proceed to the next question.

5. Without using a calculator, here’s the next question – You’re driving a bus from Sydney to Brisbane

In Sydney , 17 people get on the bus.
In Hornsby , 6 people get off the bus and 9 people get on.
In Kempsey , 2 people get off and 4 get on.
In Coffs Harbour , 11 people get off and 16 people get on.
In Byron Bay , 3 people get off and 5 people get on.
In Tweed Heads, 6 people get off and 3 get on.
You then arrive at Brisbane ..

Without scrolling back to review, how old is the bus driver?

Answer: Don’t you remember who was driving the bus??!!

If you pass this along to your friends, pray they do better than you.

You must have heard of the great mathematician Ramanujam’s Magic Square given below :

You add up any row, column, diagonal, or ‘four adjacent squares’, you will get 139.

The beauty is that the first row gives his Date Of Birth – 22 Dec 1887.

Well, inspired by this I made a magic square with my DOB 24 Apr 1948

Where the addition of the four numbers in each row, column, four corners, diagonal or small squares of adjacent numbers add upto 95.

If you look closely on the above two squares, you can realise that you can easily ‘crack this code’ and MAKE A MAGIC SQUARE with your DOB – where the four numbers will add upto a specific number.

Got it ? If you are too lazy to make your own magic square, send your DOB to me, I will make the magic square. You will find my email id elsewhere on this page.