Prologue:
Saurashtra is primarily known as a region in western part of India and
people in the region speaks Gujarati language. Saurashtra is a language
in South India spoken by Suarshtrian community. Suarshtrian community
might have migrated Saurshtra region of Gujarat many centuries ago, but
have similarities in culture till date. Saurashtra in context to
language and community is written with some variations like Souarshtra,
Sourashtram, Soaurashrians etc. Suarshtra in context to region is also
known as Kathiawar and Sorath. This paper is substantially a compilation
of detail of the region, language and community captured from online
open sources on Wikipedia & various blogs to describe culture,
relation, commonality, linkages and contrast between western India’s
Saurashtra region and south India’s Sourashtrian community &
language.
Region:
“Saurashtra” is a geographical region situated in Gujarat’s semicircular
area located North West of Arabian Sea. Politically “Saurashtra” is
comprised of 7 districts namely, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar,
Jamnagar, Rajkot & Surendranagar. Referred to as Surashtra also
have some other names as well over a period of time, since the
Mahabharata and Vedic period, this region is mentioned again as
Surastrene, or Saraostus in the 1st century CE Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea. Saurashtra is a location of midwestern India, located on
the Peninsula Sea Gujrat Mapshore of Gujarat verbalise. The peninsula
is also called Kathiawar. The Peninsula is common with the Kachchh realm
which occupies the northward, Saurashtra or Sorath forming the southern
parceling; on eastern part, the Cambay gulf.
Language:
Saurashtra carrying alternate names and spellings like Saurashtram,
Sourashtra, Sowrashtra, pattunulkaarar, Palkar, Saurashtri etc. and also
the name of an Indo-Aryan language of Kathiawar-Saurashtra. Though
Saurashtra Language is not spoken in the Saurashtra region now, people
of this region who migrated to Southern India many centuries ago and who
is especially settled in towns like Madurai, Paramakudi, Salem, Tanjore
of Tamil Nadu and part of Andhra Pradesh still preserve and speak the
language “Saurashtra”. The script of this language is derived from the
Devanagari Script and shares similarities with modern day Gujarati.
However, after migration of this community in 11th century, Gujarati is
influenced by Arabic, Urdu, Portuguese, English and Parsian differs in
many respect with Surashtra language. On the other hand, the community
who travelled from Suarshtra to South India through Surat, Marathwada,
Ratnagairi, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh during several centuries took
colour from languages & cultures of all the regions they crossed.
Culture:
The people of Saurashtra are adventurous, brave, adept in trade and
commerce, and therefore they have established many commercial colonies
in foreign countries, from ancient times. The Saurashtrians had settled
in Africa, Mauratius, Ceylon (Shrilanka), Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia
(Java), Sumatra, Indo China, Cambodia, Malayasia and Philipines and
Fiji. The Saurashtrians are also spread over various parts of the Indian
homeland, taking prominent part in the commercial field, which is more
suitable to their nature. It is quite natural that the origin of many
words of trade, commerce, business and measurements found in various
Indian languages can be traced to Gujarati language.
The reference of Saurashtra found in the Mahabharat, ‘Arthashastra’ of
Chanakya, Deval Smriti and Buddha stories written during the 1st century
A.D. Clear references to Saurashtra in the stone inscriptions at
Girnar, of Maha Kshatrap Rudradama of 15O A.D, of the remains and
reminiscences of the people living at Rozdi (Shrinathgadh) near Gondal
in Saurashtra of 1850 B.C. and different strata of cultural life found
at various places prove that the culture of Saurashtra is 4,000 years
old.
Most places in the peninsula retain a small town feel, local cadences of
Gujarati called Kathiawadi, and a tradition of a daily siesta when
everything shuts down. The region abounds in religious shrines, wildlife
sanctuaries, palaces and relics of royal legacies. From the Asiatic
Lions of Gir and the Jain temples of Palitana to the ancient ruins
scattered in the Barda Hills and the laid-back Portuguese-influenced
enclave of Diu, the region offers a wide spectrum of fascinating places
to visit.
As poet Navalram observed, people from Saurashtra are hardy, well built
falks, daring, warlike and emotional. The community is said to be
sturdy, prolific and active race, have audacity, love of adventure, a
gay endurance , chivalry that often lead to buccaneering, exploration
but too often due to greed there are some enterprising characteristics
of people of Saursahtra. (Reference Rajputs of Suarsahtra by Shri
Virbhadrasinhji)
Meaning:
As per one school of thought, “Saurashtra” mean Sau + Rashtra (100
nations), but as per another school of thought, this is a fractured
speech of “Su-Rashtra” meaning Good Country. “Kathiawar” or “Kathiawad”
was popularised by Marathas in its reigme.
Saurashtra Geography:
Arabian see today lies between African and Saurashtra, but in early days
it was believed to be a wonder how western part of India (Gujarat)
matches exactly with eastern Africa, later geologist confirmed the
theory of one continent and its division into many continents and
geographical sub continents, many geologist believed that Saurashtra was
a part of Africa considering its Flora and Fauna, trees and animal
habitats.
If the mythological parts of Dwarka is said to be true then Dwarka must
have been fortified island and must have been surrounded by Arabian Sea,
that could be a reason why Lord Krishna choose Dwarka to be their
capital city, may be during Trassic age Africa and Indian sub–continent
might have been joined just by saurashtra and some eruption / volcanic
activity separated Saurashtra from Africa. Lion are the best example of
the connection also some of the southern village of Junagarh has
presence of African Negro Community, which could be an added example as
well.
Early Civilization:
Pre Christian era civilization like Mohenjo-Daro and Hadappa must have
flourished through Saurashtra as Saurashtra was the only connecting link
between Lothal and Sindh. Earthen ware from these civilisation are
found near Lakha-bawal in Jamnagar District. Evidence of port at Dholka
and Lothal confirms that there was sea between Saurashtra and Gujarat.
Saurashtra also Sorath) is a region of western India, located on the
Arabian Sea coast of Gujarat state. It consists of 7 districts of
Gujarat, including the district of Rajkot. It is a peninsula also called
Kathiawar after the Kathi Darbar who ruled part of the region once. The
peninsula is shared with the Kachchh region which occupies the north,
Saurashtra or Sorath forming the southern portion. The Saurastra or
Kathiwar region comprises the south western part of Gujarat state and
the districts included in this region are Rajkot, Junagadh, Bhavnagar,
Porbandar, Jamnagar, Amreli, Surendranagar, and some portions of
Ahmedabad District also fall under this area.
History:
Beyond the gulf of Baraca is that of Barygaza and the coast of the
country of Ariaca, which is the beginning of the Kingdom of Nambanus and
of all India. That part of it lying inland and adjoining Scythia is
called Abiria, but the coast is called Syrastrene. It is a fertile
country, yielding wheat and rice and sesame oil and clarified butter,
cotton and the Indian cloths made therefrom, of the coarser sorts. Very
many cattle are pastured there, and the men are of great stature and
black in color. The metropolis of this country is Minnagara, from which
much cotton cloth is brought down to Barygaza.
One of the greatest cluster of Jain monuments in Gujarat can be seen at
Palitana, near the east coast of Saurashtra, where one of the most
impressive temple complexes in India is situated on a sacred mountain
summit, the Shatrunjaya hill.The temples are set in nine enclosures
called Tuks, set on two ridges of the pinnacle, and some of the best
works of Jain temple architecture can be seen in the Khateshwar tuk. The
view of the temple cluster, with its massed domes and shikhars reaching
out to the sky, against a backdrop of hilly countryside and the river
Shatrunnnjaya is one of the greatest sights you can hope to see during a
tour of India. The historic 863 temple complex has exquisite carvings,
jewelled idols and detailed architecture, and an awesome aura of
devotion.
In the granite hills near Palitana, Sihore was the capital of the Gohil
Rajputs in the 17th century, and being the rulers of a prime coastland
often faced battles and skirmishe with neighbouring rulers. Sihore
Darbargadh was built to defend Gohilwad from the Kathi darbars of the
Kathiawad hinterlands. The main palace inside the fortifications has a
carved wooden facade and the rooms inside have wall paintings depicting
historic battles and other subjects. From the fort terraces can be seen
the granite hills, which provided superb natural defences for Sihore
Darbargadh, and hilltop watchtowers from where warnings could be flashed
to the inhabitants of the town. The Gohils moved their capital to
Bhavnagar and commissioned European architects like Sir William Emerson,
whose other works include Calcutta’s Victoria memorial, to built their
palaces and public buildings.
West of Palitana is Mount Girnar, which rises 3660 ft over MeanSea Level
on the outskirts of Junagadh city. The 12th century temples on the
summit are exquisitely carved and superbly designed. Near the foot of Mt
Girnar are relics of another religion, Buddhism, which like Jainism
preached non-violence. The edicts of emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan ruler
who helped spread Buddhism throughout south and south eastern Asia in
the 3rd century BC, have been inscribed on basalt rock enroute from
Girnar to Junagadh. The hills around Junagadh have Buddhist cave
complexes dating from the rule of the Kshtrapas. One of these is in the
Uparkot fort, which rises from a hill over Junagadh city. The Uparkot
was believed to be a walled citadel upto the 5th century AD and again
during Chudasama Rajput reign from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The
fort has a high wall strengthened by bastions, with a huge moat inside
the walls, granaries large enough to withstand a long siege, a Rajput
palace that the sultans partially converted to a mosque after their
conquest of Junagadh, Ottoman canons, and two imposing stepwells. The
Mughals conquered Gujarat from the sultans and their subhas(governors)
of Sorath were based in Uparkot fort. After the decline of Mughal power,
the subhas founded their own dynasty, taking on Babi as their last
name, and became the Nawabs of Junagadh. During their reign, Junagadh
saw the rise of numerous buildings including palaces, the imposing
Baha-ud-din college, the old maqbara and the fun-fairish 19th century
mausoleum complex. A selection of their howdahs, palanquins, textiles
and furnishings can be seen at the Durbarhall museum.
South of Junagadh is Somnath, well known for its temples. The Somnath
temple is believed to have been built by Gods and their
avtars(incarnations) but the earliest recorded phase in the history of
Somnath’s Shiva temple is the 10th century Solanki reign of Gujarat. The
temple was subjected to plunder and destruction by invaders over the
centuries, and each time the resilient devotees restored it to its
former glory. The present temple building was renovated in 1950 AD under
the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Near the temple is the
Prabhas Patan museum which houses architectural fragments and sculptures
from the original temple of Somnath. A Sun temple, lord Krishna
cenotaph and the Ahilya Holkar temple are other devotional monuments of
Somnath. Lord Shiva, while stating he was omnipresent, mentioned that
Somnath was one of his 12 important abodes, the reason the shore temple
here is revered as a Jyotirlinga. Somnath was invaded by King Mohmed
Gizni in 11th century. As one school of thought, khatri community, who
were expert in weaving fine silk cloths, migrated to save their art
& culture to South India now known as Palkars or Sourashtrians.
Like Somnath, Dwarka is one of the important Hindu shore temples,
attracting millions of pilgrims. From the architectural viewpoint, an
interesting temple is the Rukmani mandir, dated to the 12th and 13th
centuries. Marine excavations indicate the presence of an ancient city,
submerged by the sea.
Among the oldest temples extant in India are Ghumli, Gope and Bileshwar
in the hills of Barda, between the coastal cities of Porbandar and
Jamnagar. These temples date from the 7th to the 12th centuries and have
interesting detailing. The Vikia vav at Ghumli is among Saurashtra’s
most impressive step wells.
Kutch is another region that has impressive Hindu temples at Kera, Kotay
and Bhuvad , Jain temples at Badreshwar and Naliya, and shore temples
at Koteshwar, most of them dated to the 10th-13th century period. The
Jadeja Rajputs became the major power of Kutch in the 16th century and
over a period of four centuries forts and palaces were built in their
state. One of the grandest of these palaces is the Aina mahal in the
Darbargadh complex, which was embellished by Ram Singh, an artisan
shipwrecked in Europe.
Sorath:
For a long span of time, the name Sorath remained limited to the region
and later to the Muslim-ruled Princely State of Junagadh (“Junagarh” or
the “Old City”). During British rule, Junagadh and its neighboring
princely states were supervised by the Western India States Agency
(WISA). In 1947, Junagadh’s Muslim ruler desired to accede his territory
to Pakistan, but the predominantly Hindu population rebelled. He fled
to Pakistan, and a plebiscite was conducted, as a result of which the
kingdom was merged into the Indian Union.
Sorath/Saurashtra has a great spiritual heritage and has produced many
Saints and divine souls. For a brief list of some notable figures of
Saurashtra / Kathiawar, please refer to Notable characters and figures.
Saurashtra state:
After India’s independence in 1947, 217 princely states of Kathiawar,
including the former kingdom of Junagadh, were merged together to form
the state of Saurashtra on 15 February 1948. Initially, it was named
United State of Kathiawar which was renamed to Saurashtra State in
November 1948. The exercise took up a lot of Shri Vallabhbhai Patel’s
time to convince the local princes and petty subas (totalling 222 in
Saurashtra alone). However, Maharaja Krishnakumar Sinhji of Bhavnagar
State readily extended to offer his large and royal empire of Bhavnagar /
Gohilwar to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Bhavnagar became first in the
country to get merged into the union of India.
The capital of Saurashtra was Rajkot. Uchharangray Navalshankar Dhebar
(1905–1977), who later went on to become President of the Indian
National Congress between 1955 and ’59, became Saurashtra’s first Chief
Minister. He was succeeded by Rasiklal Umedchand Parikh (b.1910) on 19
December 1954.
On November 1, 1956, Saurashtra was merged into Bombay state. In 1960
Bombay state was divided along linguistic lines into the new states of
Gujarat and Maharashtra. The territory of Saurashtra, including that of
the former kingdom of Sorath or Junagadh, is now part of the state of
Gujarat.
Sourashtra as community:
Sourashtra or “Sourashtras” refers to a community of people who had
their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all
major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is
considered as their cultural Headquarters, but have also settled in
Bangalore of Karnataka and,in Tirupati of Andhra Pradesh. After 20th
century, some families have settled in Mumbai, New Delhi and in foreign
countries like USA, UK, Dubai, Singapore etc.
The origin of the name date backs to the time when the ancestors of
theses people inhabited the kingdom of Saurashtra in Gujarat State. The
Tamil name by which these people is known in Southern India is
Patnūlkarar, that is silk-thread workers or weavers who speak
“Pattunuli” or “Khatri”, a dialect of Gujarati. The details about
Sourashtra community is discussed by A.J. Saunders. Dr.Uchdia Norihiko
of KOBE, Japan, came to Madurai in 1972 and stayed for two years to do
post doctoral research as a Senior Fellow in Linguistics under the
auspices of Annamalai University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. With help
from O.S.Subramanian, Dr. Uchdia Norihiko is working on ‘Origin and
Development of Sourashtra Language’. A.J. Saunders has authored ‘Oral
Literature of Saurashtrans’ (1979), The Language of the Saurashtrans in
Tirupati (1983), A Saurashtra-English Dictionary (1990).
Sourashtra, also known as Palkar. Sowrashtra, Saurashtram, is an
Indo-Aryan language derived from Sauraseni Prakrit. The Ethnologue puts
the number of speakers at 510,000 (1997 IMA), although the actual number
could be double this figure or even more.
“Equivalent of Saurashtra in the Linguistic Survey has been recorded as
Saurashtri which is yet another name of Patnuli dialect of Gujarati
spoken by the silk weaving community of Madurai who are considered to
have migrated from Gujarat to the south several centuries ago. On the
basis of current preference for the name of their mother tongue, we
have, however, adopted the name ‘Saurashtra’ and not Saurashtri. On
account of several generations of association in the Dravidian Language
area, the speech is supposed to have been strongly affected by Dravidian
traits. We preferred to call that dialect of Gujarati with such traits
as Saurashtra. … Regarding Saurashtra, however, some interest has been
shown, of late, on the technical aspects of this variety while the
inclination to affiliate it with Marathi is also visible among some
scholars. In any case, some authoritative work on this variety of
language remains to be done. Pending the same, however, we have to keep
it under Gujarati according to the Linguistic Survey.” vide Census of
India 1961 Vol.I INDIA Part II –C (ii) Language Tables, Published by the
Manager of Publications, Civil Lines, Delhi, pp. CCXLIV + 554, (1967).
Oral tradition says that they have migrated on the fall of ‘Somanath
Temple’ when Gazni Mohammed invaded and plundered Hindu Temples. It is
said they lived for about two centuries in Devagiri and later moved to
Vijayanagar Empire at the invitation of the Kings. They manufactured
fine silk garments for the use of Kings and their families and were
engaged in Silk trade.
When Nayak Kings started to rule Madurai, they were invited by the
Madurai Nayak Kings and were given accommodation around Thirumalai Nayak
Palace, Madurai, where even now there are many Sourashtra families
living. The migration might have taken place in various groups at
different times and they settled in many places in Tamil Nadu. Later
Hyder Ali invited some families from Thanjavur to settle in
Srirangapattanam in Karnataka. Those people are now in Bangalore after
the fall of Srirangapattanam and they are called as ‘Jamkhaanadavaru’.
Similarly some families went to Andhra and settled in Tirupati. Because
of lack of frequent communications, there are so many dialect variations
in this Language. The majority of people are settled in Madurai.
In history they are referred to as Patkar, Pattegar, Patvekar and
Patnulkarar. In Tamil the weaving community is referred to as
‘Kaikkolar’. In Tamil Nadu State they are called Sourashtra
(Patnulkarar) or merely Palkar. Edgar Thurston refers this Community as
Pattunulkaran. The details about Sourashtra community are discussed by
A.J. Saunders. A History of the Sourashtras in Southern India by the
Sourashtra Literary Societies of Madura and Madras was published on 17
January 1891 under the Chairmanship of Sri T.M.Ramaswamaiyo, the
Secretary being Sri K.V.Subbaiyo. In that book, it is stated that the
following books were consulted: Dr.Balfour Encyclopedia of India, Ramesh
Chander Dutt’s Ancient India, Alexander Cunnigham’s Ancient Geography
of India, Tod’s Rajasthan, Professor Lassen on Prakrita Languages,
Bombay Gazeteer, Researches of the Asiatic Society, A Grammar of the
Gondian Languages.
The Ethnologue puts the number of speakers at 310,000 (1997 IMA),
although the actual number could be double tor even three times this
figure or even more because many people wrongly stated their mother
tongue as Tamil in census enumeration as it is not taught in school and
it remained mainly a spoken language, though Literature are available in
Sourashtra, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Roman and Devanagari Scripts. Now
Journals in Sourashtra script are published, such as Bhashabhimani,
Zeek, Jaabaali, and Sourashtra Mithran.
Classification:
Sourashtram is classified under Indo-European Family – Aryan Sub Family
-Indo-Aryan Branch – Inner Sub Branch Central Group-and pending some
authoritative work, is tentatively grouped under Gujarati according to
Linguistic Survey of India. vide Census of India 1961 Volume I INDIA
Part II-C (ii) Language Tables p.ccxvii,published by The Manager of
Publications, Civil Lines, Delhi, 1967.
“Saurāshtra is, through and through, an Indo-Aryan language. Sourāshtran
publications are sufficient proof that it is an adequate medium for
literary expression” vide The Saurashtrans of South India, By
Dr.H.N.Randle, Plate VIII, published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society, London October, 1944. “sou” in Hindi means 100 and “rashtra”
refers to region so in general sourashtra refers to a province of 100
regions. Another meaning for Sourashtram is WEALTHY KINGDOM. That is why
Mohamed Gazni invaded Saurashtra and looted Somanath Temple and carried
away the treasures.
“Sourashtra Brahamanargal Sarithiram” is a well renowned book in Tamil
which descirbes about their ancestry, how they descended south during
ghazini’s invasion. Mostly they are categorized as Brahmins and when
there was argument between them and Tamil Brahmins during “Upakarma” at
vaigai river, madurai, they were arrested and presented in nayakkar’s
court. Local Brahmins claimed that Sourashtra people were doing same
kind of rituals as Brahmins and they want to understand how ritual they
were. Thirumalai Nayakar ordered a debate to test their knowledge on
Vedas and Upanishads. Without any doubt, Sourashtra Brahmins were able
to answer all questions with rich explanations and Nayakar ordered a
“Pattayam” stating that Sourashtras are considered as Brahmins and they
have right to use Iyers and Iyengars surname. This “Pattayam” is still
found evident in Sourashtra Club, Madurai.
Geographical distribution:
The speakers of the Saurashtra language, known as Saurashtrians,
maintain a predominant presence in Madurai, a city, also known as
‘Temple City’ in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. Though official
figures are hard to come by, it is believed that the Saurashtra
population is anywhere between one-fifth and one-fourth of the city’s
total population.
Also Saurashtrians, maintain a predominant presence throughout the Tamil
Nadu Starting from Salem, a city, To be believed to have derived its
name from the Tamil word Selai(Sari) (a traditional Dress worn by Women)
because of the Saurashtrians weavers used to weave Silk sarees (Pattu
Selai). Still many of the Saurashtrians residing in main land Salem
(Areas including Ponnamapet, Ammapet) Used to weave Silk Dhoties. Silver
leg chains are produced in (Shevapet) Salem and it exported to all over
world. They also present in the Districts of Namakkal, Dindigul,
Madurai, Vellore, Tirunelveli.
It is not known how many groups migrated from North India to South
India. But because of absence of contact among the groups for a long
time, dialect variations have emerged based on the place of their
settlement. The alternate name of Sourashtra is PALKAR which term is
used colloquially among them. But all Associations are named as
Sourashtra Sabha/Association only.
Though there is little historical evidence available to support the
argument that the Saurashtrians lived in the Saurashtra region of
Gujarat in Western India, folklore, and recent linguistic and genetic
researches have been able to establish, that this region was indeed once
the habitat of the Saurashtrians. However, their language has more
similarities with Marathi and Konkani, both Indo-Aryan languages of
Western India, than it does with Modern Gujarati, the language of
present-day Gujarat. Linguists have been able to explain why it is so:
Both Saurashtra and Gujarati branched off from a common parent, and have
since taken completely different paths to modernity. Gujarati came
under the influence of Hindi, Persian, and Arabic, whereas Saurashtra,
taking off from Gujarat before it had made any Muslim contact, was
influenced by Marathi, Konkani, Kannada, Telugu, and finally, Tamil. It
has been acknowledged that Persian and Arabic have had only limited
influence on Marathi and Konkani, and this is why they still retain a
good amount of vocabulary and grammar derived from Sanskrit, as compared
to other daughter languages of Sanskrit. It is possible that the
vocabulary and grammar shared between Modern Saurashtra and Marathi is
what was originally derived from Sanskrit.
The southward flight of the Saurashtrians seems to have been triggered
by the frequent Muslim invasions, most notably by Mahmud of Ghazni, of
their homeland and the instability caused by it. No details are
available whether it was a mass migration and when it took place. They
found safe haven in the Vijayanagar Kingdom, with its capital at Hampi
in present-day Karnataka, which was then expanding southwards. Weaving
being their traditional occupation, they were able to win the attention
of the Emperor and were soon elevated to the position of royal weavers.
Telugu and Kannada were the court languages, though other languages such
as Sanskrit and Tamil were also in use. It was during this period that
Saurashtra started absorbing Telugu and Kannada words into its lexicon.
Vijayanagar rulers had the practice of appointing Governors, known as
Nayaks, to manage far-flung regions of the empire. When Madurai and
Thanjavur were annexed to the empire, Governors were appointed to
administer the new territories. A part of the Saurashtra community may
have moved to Madurai and Thanjavur at the time to serve the Governors.
The Vijayanagar empire collapsed after more than two centuries of rule,
in 1565, after the Sultans of Deccan Confederacy won the battle of
Talikota, thus opening up southern India for Muslim conquest. Soon
afterwards, the Governors of Madurai and Thanjavur declared themselves
the new rulers of the respective territories.
The Saurashtrians had to migrate again since they no longer enjoyed the
royal patronage they were used to, and so, once again, were on the move.
As there were Saurashtrians already present in Madurai and Thanjavur,
it was only natural that they migrated further south to join their folks
living there. The language would undergo one last alteration, this time
influenced by Tamil, to bring it to its modern form. To this day,
Saurashtrians are densely populated around the Royal Palace of
Thirumalai Nayak, the greatest of the Nayak Rulers that ruled Madurai.
There are good number of people staying in Mumbai(Maharashtra) in a
place called Cheeta Camp and also in other parts of the city, but they
all migrated from Salem etc. places within a period of a century.
Marathi-speaking community in Thanjavur is different than Saurashtrians.
The Marathi community arrived in Thanjavur during King Serfoji’s reign
and they are culturally and linguistically distinct from Saurashtrians.
The greatest of the Nayak Rulers had great liking for silk wears and as
the Saurashtrians were specialists in the weaving trade, they were
invited by the King for weaving special silk clothings for the palace
dwellers and that is how they settled around the palace of Thirumalai
Nayak.
Sourashtra Vijayaaptham:
Sourashtra Vijayaaptham denotes the era of Sourashtra Migration. It
commences from Tamil Calendar Chitrai 1st. It is derived from
subtracting 1312 from the Gregorian Calendar year. It is 697 from 14
April 2009 to 13 April 2010. It is not known how the Era started. But
currently it is stated in the Almanac Panchangam and people are using
it.
Sourashtra Writing System:
The language has had its own script for centuries, the earliest one
available from 1880. Dr. H.N. Randle has written an article ‘An
Indo-Aryan Language of South India—Saurashtra Bhasha’ in the Bulletin of
School of Oriental and African Studies (BSOAS) 11 Part 1 p. 104-121 and
Part II p. 310-327 (1943–46)Published by Cambridge University Press on
behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies.
This language is not taught in schools and hence had been confined to
being merely a spoken language. But many great works like Bhagavath Gita
and Tirukkural were translated into Sourashtram. It is now a literary
language. Sahitya Akademi has recognized this language by conferring
Bhasha Samman awards to Sourashtra Scholars. Most Saurashtrians are
bilingual in their mother tongue and Tamil and are more comfortable
using their second language for all practical written communication
though of late, some of them started writing in Sourashtram using
Sourashtra script.
There is an ongoing debate within the Saurashtra community regarding the
use of the script for the Sourashtra language right from 1920 when a
resolution was passed to adopt Devanagari Script for Sourashtra
Language. Though some of the books were printed in Devanagari script, it
failed to register the growth of the language. But in practice because
of lack of printing facilities, books are continued to be printed in
Tamil Script with diacritic marks with superscript number for the
consonants ka, ca, Ta, ta and pa and adding a colon to na, ma, ra, and
la for aspirated forms, which are peculiar to the Sourashtra language.
For writing Sourashtram using Devanagari Script, one require seven
additional symbols to denote the short vowels ‘e’ and ‘o’ and four
symbols for aspirated forms viz. nha, mha, rha and lha. We also require
one more symbol to mark the sound of ‘half yakara’ which is peculiar to
the Sourashtra language. The books printed in Devanagari Script were
discarded because they did not represent the sounds properly.
The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Allahabad by his letter
No.123/5/1/62/1559 dated November 21, 1964 Communicated to Sourashtra
Vidya Peetam, Madurai that the State Government were of the view that as
only one book in Sourashtra Language had so far been submitted by
Sourashtra Vidya Peetam for scrutiny, there was no point in examining
the merits of only one book specially when the question regarding the
usage of script – Hindi or Sourashtram, was still unsettled, and that
the question of text books in Sourashtram might well lie over till a
large number of books is available for scrutiny and for being prescribed
as text books in Schools. The Leaders in the Community could not
realize the importance of teaching of mother tongue in schools and did
not evince interest in production of textbooks in Sourashtram for class
use. But, now an awareness has arisen in the Community, and Sourashtra
Vidya Peetam wants to teach the Sourashtra language through multimedia
as suggested by Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in his 42nd
Report for the year (July 2003 to June 2004). Of late in internet, many
Sourashtra Yahoo groups in their website use the Roman script for the
Sourashtra language. A journal, Bhashabhimani, is published from
Madurai, in Sourashtra Script. Another journal, ‘Jaabaali’, is also
published by the same Editor of Bhashabhimani from Madurai. The ‘Zeeg’
Sourashtra script practice Magazine is also published from Madurai only.
All the three journals support the Sourashtra script only. There is no
journal in Devanagari.
Dialects:
Each of the traditional Saurashtrian settlements has its own dialect.
Since there is not a central linguistic body governing the rules, and
establishing what is standard and what is not, each dialect speaker
considers his own the standard form. Because people were not used to
write their language, proper study of the dialect variations were not
undertaken. Recently only an awareness has arisen and people are slowly
practicing written Sourashtram. Dictionaries have been compiled, but
dialect variations are not properly noted. One Saurashtra-English
Dictionary by Uchida Norihiko is available. Saurashtra-Tamil-English
Dictionary one by K.R.Sethuraman (in Tamil Script) and another by
T.V.Kubendran (in Sourashtra, Tamil and Roman script) are available.
Sourashtra Vidya Peetam:
Sourashtra Vidya Peetam is the oldest body which is working for the
cause of the language by preserving the Script and the old literature.
The earliest Sourashtra Book printed in Sourashtra Script available now
is SOURASHTRANADHI by Pandit Lakshmanachariyar (1880). T.M.Rama Rai is
the doyen of the development of Sourashtra Script and Literature.He
published many books in Sourashtra Script and wrote Grammar and Text
books in Sourashtram.
Sourashtra Evolution:
Sourashtra though refers to a migrated community, also refers to the
language spoken by the Sourashtra community people (or Sourashtrians).
During their migration from the north-western region of bharada khanda
(ancient Indian peninsular region or present day Gujarath), they adapted
to the regional and cultural aspects of the particular region they
reside. In this way, Sourashtrians acquired proficeincy in the regional
languages but without loosing their own language. When various
technologies developed, they never failed to record their literature
with the modern developments. Around 1850s to accomplish the vision of
Sourashtra Literary Laurels, due to the hardwork of several visionaries
for more than four decades a unique writing system developed which
represents the originality, signficant features of Sourashtra language.
Sourashtrians are mostly silk weavers and silk thread merchants,
originated in the Saurashtra region (present day Gujarat, and parts of
Maharashtra) in Northern India and later settled in Madurai and
surrounding regions of Tamilnadu, few centuries ago.
The origin is certain, and research has proved the current day
Sourashtra spoken by us is a modern form of pre-Gujarati spoken
thousands of years ago. “…Their home language (Sourashtra language) is
still a modern form of the old Saurashtri or Pre-Gujarati as it was over
a thousand years ago, which was the language they brought with them
through Maharashtra and Andra Desa to Tamilnadu. This language
preserves, naturally enough many archaic features of Gujarati and at the
same time shows influence of the sister Aryan languages of Konkani and
Marathi and of Dravidian Telugu besides of course Tamil which has now
virtually become the second mother tongue of the Sourashtrians….” says
Suneetkumar Chatterjee a famous linguist.
But the time period when they migrated from Saurashtra region to south is still uncertain. Following theory are prevalent:
Theory 1:
The first theory is that, during the times when the infamous Ghazani
Mohammed invaded Northern India from Afghanistan, a few families might
have migrated South to escape from the series of invasions.
Theory 2:
Another assumption is a few families that came with the entourage of
Shatrapathi Shivaji when he invaded south, might have stayed back to
form their own community.
Theory 3:
This is the most popular and widely accepted theory by historians.
During the Vijayanagaram Empire rule in Northern India, the Nayakars
ruled the South as part of the empire with Madurai as their capital.
During that period a few families from the Saurashtra region were called
into Madurai to be the “Royal Weavers” for the Nayakars. This would
explain very high concentration of Sourashtrians still today around the
Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal, the Nayakar’s Palace. Since Sourashtrians are
Silk Weavers by profession it would also disprove the theory that they
came with Shivaji.
Later Sourashtrians settled in Madurai, spread around to Trichy, Salem,
Kumbakonam and other surrounding areas as the population grew, but still
managed to keep their unique language, and culture intact. Current day
Sourashtrians, refer themselves as Tamilians as their identities and
still speak Sourashtra at home. An estimated half a million
Sourashtrians are living now mostly in Tamilnadu and a few are spread
around all over the world.
Unique characteristics of the Saurashtrians in South India:
This history of the Greater Saurashtra and Greater Gujarat is very
glorious and interesting. In this history of the Greater Saurashtra, it
is remarkable that the Saurashtrians who have settled in South India are
distinguished clearly, in some important aspects, from the other
Saurashtrians who have migrated to other places inside or outside India.
There are some unique characteristics, which draw our special
attention.
Firstly, the Saurashtrians who have migrated to other places have not
gone there collectively in larger groups at a time; while the
Saurashtrians in South India have migrated there in larger collective
groups at a time in a planned manner.
Secondly, these Saurashtrians in South India had gone there, equipped
with the art of weaving silken cloth. The whole community or tribe has
got remarkable skill in this single profession, and yet their mode of
living as well as their family-names are obviously Brahminical. They are
introducing themselves even to day as Saurashtri Brahmins. The other
Saurashtrians who have migrated to other places have not taken with them
a collective industry or art and the groups of Brahminical mode of
living have not gone elsewhere in a collective manner.
Thirdly, the Saurashtrians who have migrated to other provinces or
foreign countries have been in some sort of direct contact with the
original homeland. For example, the Saurashtrians who had migrated to
Africa have always returned (at least some of them and at least for some
time) to the homeland sooner or later. In the case when these
Saurashtrians have lost the link with the homeland, they have not been
able to preserve the linguistic and cultural heritage of the homeland.
On the contrary the Saurashtrians in South India have lost all the
direct contact with their homeland, to such an extent that for some
time, they did not know exactly where the homeland Saurashtra was
geographically situated ; but even then they have been proud of being
Saurashtrians and with a sense of pride they have preserved the old
language and culture of Saurashtra. They knew only a few years ago where
the homeland Saurashtra was exactly situated. Even now some of them
have a notion that South Gujarat is a part of Saurashtra (3 bookmark).
Even though they had lost the correct geographical location of the
homeland Saurashtra, they had not forgotten or lost the language and
culture of Saurashtra. They have persevered strongly to preserve the
linguistic and cultural tradition of Saurashtra as it existed eight
hundred years ago when they migrated from Saurashtra. No other
Saurashtra migrants have preserved the tradition to this extent inspite
of their being cut off completely from the homeland. They forgot the
exact geography of the homeland, but the pride of the homeland was a
life-force with them; the original language and culture were never
obliterated.
New light on the form of the old language of Saurashtra :
If one study the linguistic, literary and cultural tradition of the
Saurashtrians in South India, it is found, to a certain extent, very
obviously, the Marathi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu influence, external as
well as internal, in its formation. If we can isolate this influence,
it is probable that a study of the residual material will throw a new
light on the language, literature and culture of Saurashtra as it
existed eight hundred years ago. The English colonists who have migrated
to Iceland and other islands have preserved in a pure form some special
characteristics of the old English language such as old pronunciations
and typical form of the old English language. This has supplied some
important material for tracing the evolution of the English language.
Similarly the study of the Southern Saurashtri language can supply some
important material pertaining to the old language of Saurashtra and
Gujarat. The Parsis who have migrated from Persia to Gujarat have
adopted the Gujarati language almost as the mother tongue, and they have
not continued the usage of their original language even in their intra
group communication. But the Southern Saurashtrians have preserved very
strongly their original linguistic traditions. Their pride of being
Saurashtrians and their insistence on being called Saurashtrians are
very strong. They had lost the geographical idea of their original
homeland Saurashtra.