Badagas of the Blue Mountains

I have strong religious feelings. Born as a HINDU as most Badagas are, I am very proud being a Hindu. But I respect other religions and some of my best friends are Muslims, Christians and Sikhs [courtesy Air Force].

But I am against any conversion from one religion to another by means of compulsion, force or inducement. Of late, it has become a ‘fashion’ for some Badagas to convert to Christianity for no rhyme or reason. But, many have done this, now I understand, due to inducement of money.

Worst is, when some of these ‘converts’ claim sole right to some very old Badaga Traditions and Customs. One such is, the funeral prayer – Karu Haruchodhu which forms an important part of funeral rites. It is claimed by an IDIOT called HN Devaraj of Otti Mora Hosahatty to be part of Bible. His booklet called ‘Pappa Parigaara Aagili’ is given to me by a concerned Hindu Badaga. Outrageous !

Will educated and knowledgeable elders among the Badaga Christians care to correct this offending practice?

RaviChandran Balraj has sent the following link

 http://www.tamilhindu.com/2011/06/nilgiris-baduga-struggle-against-conversion/

image from http://www.tamilhindu.com

To the ‘Tamil Hindu’ website owner : You have used some  photos which are copyright from my websites http://badaga.in and www.badaga.co without my permission. Pl give proper credit and mention the image source to avoid any legal action – Wg Cdr JP

நீலகிரியில் மதமாற்ற வைரஸ் – குமுறும் படுகர் சமுதாயம்

15 Jun 2011 | 

அண்மையில் ஜூனியர் விகடன் இதழில் வந்த ஒரு செய்தி கவனத்தை ஈர்த்தது.
அடிக்கிற வெயிலுக்கு ஆளாளுக்கு ஊட்டி யைத் தேடி ஓட… அங்கேயோ அதைவிட உஷ்ணமான விவகாரம் ஒன்று சுழன்று கொண்டு இருக்கிறது. அது, படுகர்கள்  நடத்தும் மத மாற்றத்துக்கு எதிரான போராட்டம்!
நீலகிரியின் மண்ணின் மைந்தர்களான படுகர் சமுதாய மக்கள், கட்டுப்பாடான வாழ்க்கை முறை, கலாசாரத்துடன், ‘எங்க வழி தனி வழி’ என்று வாழ்பவர்கள். அவர்களை, கிறிஸ்துவ மதத்தினர் கட்டாய மதமாற்றம் செய்வதாகத் தகவல்கள் பரவவே, சலசலப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது. இது தொடர்பாக, கடந்தமே 25-ம் தேதி நீலகிரி மாவட்ட ஆட்சியர் அலுவலகம் முன்பு,‘நாக்குபெட்டா படுகர் குல பாதுகாப்பு சங்கம்’ கண்டன ஆர்ப்பாட்டம் நடத்தியது……

read the full article here




On this day, 40 years ago, the greatest leader in the history of Badagas, Rao Bahadur Ari Gowder, departed from this world, after dedicating his life to the upliftment of Badagas and other suppressed people.

Even today, 40 years later, we remember him with gratitude.

[Read all about Ari Gowder here]

Having been a defence services officer [ I took voluntary retirement after 20 years of service], I have always nurtured the hope that there will be a General [Army], Admiral [Navy] or Air Chief Marshal [IAF]- the highest rank, from among the Badagas in the not so distant future. Mind you, it takes about 35 years  to reach the top as a commissioned officer.

Kodavas – Coorgis have had many who reached the very top – who can forget Field Marshal Cariappa?

And then, there was an email from shibu khadan who writes to ask “I want to join the defence,so can you give me some tips about ssb(PPDT)..” and hence this post.

Hello Shibu,

Thanks for your email. I am glad to know that you want to join the defence forces. I am giving the link below for career options in Indian Air Force.
http://careerairforce.nic.in/home.html

Pl do let me know your qualification so that I can give more info.

The basic quality you need to get through in SSB is self confidence. There is a huge shortage of officers, both men and women, in all the three arms of the defence services [Army, Navy and Air Force], so it is not very difficult to get through if you prepare a bit. Go through the SSB guides – plenty available in the book stores.

Pl do not hesitate to contact me for more guidance.

With best wishes,

Wg Cdr JP

BADAGAS – ON FLORA AND FAUNA

It is not well known that Badagas had attached a lot of importance to flora and fauna.

In fact most of the names of Badaga Hattis (Villages) are based on ‘Nature’.

For example , the name ‘ Hubbathalai ‘ ( a village near Aravankadu Railway Station) is based on a plant ‘HUBBE THALE ‘ or ‘ Bikka mora hatti ‘ (another village) gets the name after the tree BIKKE (a kind of olive?) MORA (tree)
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Bird or Flower ??

[The beautiful flower bird]

Badaga folklore is full of glory about Nature and their home land the Nilgiri Hills are endowed with rich flora and fauna, a true gift of mother NATURE. Of the many wild flowers, this particular one which grows on a short  trees near many villages, has always fascinated me. It appears that mother Nature created a bird as a flower….or… is it, a flower as a bird ? !

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[‘ A miniature pet ‘]

Another instance of Nature at its best. A catterpillar [-‘Kambli Poochi’] at our residence at Coonoor. The day after I took this snap, I was desperately trying to locate it again, but……it has just vanished !!

Another catterpillar -I call it ‘Lioness’ – captured in May 2011 at Coonoor

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One of the enchanting aspects of Badaga Language is its disarming simplicity. But though the sentences are swathed in sweetness of simple words, it can contain deep expressions of emotions conveyed in the proper usage of rhymes [holla – alla] or pair words [huttu – nattu] apart from other attributes. When the sweetness of this language is combined to carry the human expressions in the form of a poetry, it is a great pleasure to indulge oneself in a world of sheer bliss.

When I came across the following poem, my first reaction was, ‘how beautifully the love of a mother has been brought out’. That set me thinking that there may be many other ‘unsung’ poets among ourselves. How nice if their poems in BADAGA could find a wider audience? I am not talking about some KAVITHAI in Tamil or a poetry in English. BUT ONLY BADAGA POEMS. By the way what is the word in Badaga for poem & poetry? I am sure it is not kavithai or kavi . Cannot be kadhe (song) too. Then……..??

This poem titled ‘My Mother’ by Mohan( hope he reads this and sends more of his creations) beautifully describes the filial bond and eternal love a mother has for her son even in very adverse, trying and difficult situations. She could not find any fault nor found anything demeaning, in the one whom she had brought into this world,nurtured, carried on her hips, cared for and brought up even when the rest of world rejected and rediculed him. I have attempted an English translation and hope I have captured the essence of the deep feelings expressed in the poem.The author has really ‘ played’ with the rhyming Badaga words and forcefully brought out not only the sadness and silent suffering of a son but also the uncompromised love of a mother.

Read the complete poem here Enna Awai (My Mother)

Prof: Paul Hockings has sent the following comments:

Am glad to say that my book “Ancient Hindu Refugees” will be out in a year or so in A MUCH REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION. It presents new evidence for a move from Mysore villages in the late 16th century, and brings the story completely up to date. Several people have been enquiring about how many hattis there are: well, in our Dictionary of Badagu (1992) we already gave the complete list of 468 hattis divided between a number of u:ru. That has not changed, although some of those hattis were abandoned.

Badaga Proverbs – Doddharu SHLOKA

One of the fascinating and interesting aspects of Badaga [both people & language] is the free use of delightful but deep meaning proverbs called “ DODDARU SHLOKA”. When you engage an elderly Badaga into any conversation, you are sure to hear a lot of these proverbs thrown in to make / emphasis a point.

Prof. Paul Hockings, probably the most authentic researcher on and of Badaga lists more than a thousand Badaga proverbs, 1730 to be precise. May be he had extensively borrowed these from the unpublished manuscript of M.K.Bellie Gowder. He feels that 1730 could be a complete figure containing all the proverbs . See his book,’Counsel from the Ancients: Study of Badaga Proverbs, Prayers, Omens and Curses’. He has given the meaning in English as well thus making it easy to understand in a beautiful manner.

Though I find his collection extremely interesting and educative, I do not agree with some of the conclusions he draws on certain proverbs. For example, on the proverb, ‘Odhidhama Niddhana, Oddidhama Erandina’ [ஓதிதம நித்தன ஓடிதம எரிண்டின] .

Prof.Hockings interpretation is quite different to what I feel is the correct meaning. I think ‘a person who spends time learning and pondering (over a problem) is better than the one who runs away (in a hurry) and thus trips over. [Odhidhama – learned one , Niddhana – stops to ponder over[think] a problem, Oddidhama – one who runs away or is in a hurry, Erandina – trips over.

It is common practice for Badaga mothers to tell their young children ‘Oda beda , Erandiray’ – Donot run, you will trip over (a stone or any obstruction). That is ‘ do not be in a hurry and take a hasty decision’.

Another one is ‘Michidhavaga Morande Kolu Bangara’. The lady who does not listen to her husband /elders (Michidha Hemmathi) is bound to land up as a widow (when ‘Morande Kolu – a small stick of morende tree – replaces her jewellery (bangara) during the Ole Kattuva ritual of husband’s death / funeral ceremony). Prof.Hockings feels Mechidhavaga (see the difference between michidhava [மிச்சி தவ] – – one who does not listen and mechidhava [மெச்சிதவ] –  one who is appreciated by all – even a morende kolu is enough as jewellery.

Actual proverb could have been, ‘Michi Moranday kolu Bangara Beda, Mechi Morenday Kolu Bangara bay-kku’

Is it a case of beautiful wordplay (pun) by our ancestors??

I have listed a few of the proverbs here and hope to add more in future.

Badaga in ENGLISH script till a separate and exclusive Badaga Script becomes acceptable and easy to use

Though some friends may feel odd about my adopting an existing Language – English- and adapting it to write in Badaga, for the time being, I will stick to English to express in Badaga (Script).

I have used the excellent [free download] ‘Azhagi’-  transliterate software which when installed, lets you to type in English to convert  the same into Tamil, to show my ‘Badaga in English- Script’

The conventions used are;

1. Capital letter brings out emphasis – like o is just o but O is OH –ஒ ஓ or no is  நொ but nO is நோ
2. Extra ‘a’ is stretching the word – like kade is கடெ but  kaade is காடெ
3. Letters which are not in English alphabet but available in Badaga (and Tamil) can be accessed by using the shift key(Capital) – like l is ல but L is ள , n is ந but  N is ண் . zh is ழ
4. Capital S is ஸ, small s is ச (ch will also brings out ச)

Now some sentences typed in English and what they bring out in Tamil

• enna heNNU enna kaNNU maakke – என்ன ஹெண்ணு என்ன கண்ணு மாக்கெ- My daughter is like my eyes
• ELaya nOdi Edasa bE da – ஏளய நோடி ஏடச பேட – Donot ridicule the poor
• Kalla maaththi kaLLa alla – கல்ல மாத்தி கள்ள அல்ல – Kalla’s son is not a thief.
• Maadhi mammi madhi kettudhuve – மாதி மம்மி மதி கெட்டுதுவெ – Madhi aunty’s mind is gone
• KaadE, sattana kadE – காடே , சட்டன கடே – Kaaday, get ready fast.

Update :Sadly he was removed from the cabinet after a couple of months

To Honourable Minister of Tourism

Budhi Chandiran

(Manikkal, Manjoor)

for having been appointed as a minister in the New Tamilnadu Government!

Will the green tea leaves, on whom Badaga economy depends, get a better price?

Hope, the concrete jungles in the Nakku Betta Nilgiris will be turned into planned eco friendly green forests!

(Repeated from an earlier article)

I have been ‘dreaming’ of a new but ideal BADAGA HATTI built exclusively BY US & FOR US with the thoughts of those Badagas, living away from their hatti homes but whose hearts are always longing to have some connection with their ROOTS.

There are many big tea estates with vast areas of land that are for sale in the Nilgiris these days. Many of them originally belonged to Badagas.

Some of these are priced in the range of 4 to 5 lacs of Rupees per acre. So, for an area of 500 acres, the cost would be 25 Crores. It needs JUST 100 Badagas  to join together and invest Rs.25 lacs each, that is 62,500 US Dollars, to buy one of these tea estates. Or 200 / 300 Badagas with proportionately reduced investment.

In that land, an ideal Badaga hatti can be built for a 2000 / 3000 families. Each dwelling, with all the modern facilities, but in a typical Badaga ‘Gode Mane’ ( Cluster of apartments) concept  could be built for Rs.10 lacs. That is Rs.100/200/300 crores.

The investors will have the choice of bringing in ten of their friends/relatives, apart from recovering their initial investment, when all the apartments are sold.Depending on the area and other factors, the ‘New Hatti’ could be made to accommodate more families.

With a 10% margin of ‘profit’, the  amount generated can be used for maintenance and upkeep of the NEW HATTI.

Every apartment owner would be a stock holder of this ‘Cooperative Concept’.

There will be only a HETHE GUDI (Suthu Kal). The ‘New Hatti’ will have its own school, play grounds, walking tracks and sports complex cum community hall. A nursing home that would be converted to a ‘super speciality hospital’ in future.

And of course, a shopping complex – preference being given to apartment owners to own the shops on a lease basis.

Importantly, it will have its own – ‘Duvay’ – grave yard and the departed would be given a funeral funded by the entire hatti (as it happens in every hatti now).

The remaining land would be used for cultivation of vegetables – ‘holas’ on a lease basis with enough area earmarked for an environment friendly forest.

A huge IT complex could be built with a tie up with a top IT company, thus providing jobs and security.

And…many more thoughts keep flooding my mind.

Martin Luther King’s famous words, ‘I too have a dream’ echos….Dr.APJ Kalam, ex- President of India said, ‘Unless we DREAM we can achieve nothing’

Calling all Badagas….WE TOO CAN DARE TO DREAM !!