Migration of Rajus-Truths and half truths

Migration of Rajus-Truths and half truths
True-The Raju community are a martial race and are kshathriyas: and a certain clan among them is an off-shoot of a family from a dynasty.But so are a half dozen other communities; 
The army today is not caste specific;Yet is more popular among certain communities than others-with this difference from the armies of erst-while rulers:When there was a war,every body fought-the casteless madigas were legendary in their valour. What differentiates the kshathriyas  from the madigas was their right to rule,and establish dynasties.Here again,there have been dynasties established by so many communities-kammas,velamas yadavs and reddys-from among the Telugu speaking regions in Andhra.But none of them have distinguished themselves with an obsessive desire to identify themselves as the ruling class-not even the dynastic rulers whom the Rajus served!

Dynasties are in a constant flux,established and dissolved through intrigues in court,claims
to the throne by the next in line,or the commander of a weak king!That is how Vijayanagar 
came to be ruled by four dynasties,Sangama,Saluva,Thuluva and Aravidu. Rajapalayam Rajus do not come from any of these dynasties.The Rajus from Rayalseema-the Ananthapur district that was part of the earlier Western Chalukyas must have served in the Vijayanagar army and after the war of Thalikotta moved south,looking for opportunities in the Madurai Nayak kingdom,that was already served by the military establishments of the 72 palayams. The Rajus must have served these palayams and enjoyed their patronage through land grants,as can be seen in their land holdings in these areas. Rajapalyam was never an independent military settlement,did not contribute to any wars with the Nawabs or the British! In fact, it did not exist then.It came into existence much later as a settlement of refugees who ventured into agriculture,through the patronage and munificence of the Polygers from Theni,Devaram to Thirunelveli and Kollam. The settlement came to be called as Palaya Palayam,when a fresh wave of migrants from the east of the Telugu kingdom,settled in Pudhu Palayam.

In wars,the loser negotiated peace with the victorious,in several ways-becoming a vassal,paying obeissance symbolically and in annual tax financially, was one.Another was establishing a relationship- trading away a daughter in marriage in exchange for peace!
Instances are plentiful in history-and this is the relationship between Rajus and Krishna Deva Raya!  (The man had an opportunity to acquire a harem!) Some of these war marriages were
honoured,others were not.Krishna Deva Raya's marriage to Jagan mohini of the Pusapadi 
Gajapathy dynasty was not honoured. A war that lasted 6 years and ended in loss of life,
honour and territory could not make a marriage of any sort. Vizianagar,spelt with a Z to differentiate it from Vijayanagar empire retained its animosity till the very end,and Pusapadi Chinna Raju,brother of a Maharaja,whom the Rajapalayam Rajus followed to their present location was from the remains of Vizianagar,devastated by continuous wars with the Nizam and the British,disputes over ascendancy to throne,taxes levied by the British and famine! A typical situation that triggers migration-of refugees!Pudhu Palayam was born,in the sixty years from when Sitarama Gajapathy Raju was exiled by the British in1793, to1845 ,when .Narayana Gajapathy Raju died heavily in debt in Varanasi.

The two settlements had their origin from different parts of the Telugu country,in different times and events in history.They remained two different entities,for over a century,and merged into Rajapalayam,perhaps by the end of the 19th century.They were agrarian and  annexed lands from temples,mutts ,and locals through persuasion,coercion and manipulation and are today  a thriving and industrious clan of businessmen and industrialists! Evidence for my statement??-Nil! That is why it is a blog and not a research paper!What prompted it?I came across several sites,with the claim that Rajus came here to administer peace, and maintain law and order in a conflict ridden region!Events make history and distortions become recorded history,projected by vested interests! It was never so easy as now with the advent of the Inter net!!A linguistic enquiry into the speech habits of the groups can prove what murky stories can only muddle further.

What we are not!

What we are not!
The caste title'Naicker' assumed by the community of kammas in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu is misleading.We grew up believing we were descendants of the great Nayak king Thirumalai Naicker. Youngsters of today believe so,none having cleared the misconception.There is a community college funded and run by the community in Madurai,under the name Mannar Thirumalai Naicker college!He is believed to be a balija;others believe he was at least part gollavar. Whatever he was,he was not kamma. Nor was the Nayak kingdom established by kammas.

The Maduai Nayak kingdom was divided into 72 palayams,of which only two were ruled by kamma chieftains:Kuruvi kulam,and Ilaiarasa Nendhal,both situated off the Rajapalayam-Kovilpatti road.Neykarappatti near Palani was perhaps a Zamin under the British.15 of the rest were maravar palayams. The rest barring a couple of kaundar palayams were ruled by the Telugu speaking Kambalathu Naickers,the most notable among them being Ettappa Naicker of Ettaiya puram and Katta Bomman of Panchalan Kurichi.

Look at the word Katta bomman!It was originally Getty Bomma!Remember being called 'getty bidda' meaning 'smart kid'!!The smart getty bommadu became Katta Bomman!!These Raja Kambalathu Naickers were the warriors and chieftains of the Nayak kingdom.Though fallen from that state,they have an interesting history.Tyranny of a multi-pronged translation,they are also called Thottiya Naicker!They were Thuluva Nayaks who served the Thuluva dynasty of the Vijayanagar empire!In the Tamil country,thuluva got corrupted as 'tholuva',which did not seem incongruous referring to herdsmen who owned huge herds of cattle. Tholuva got translated to 'dhoddy' in Telugu meaning'cattleshed'!The voiced 'dh' and 'd' became voiceless in Tamil and became 'thotti'! And that is the transformation of Thuluva Nayaks to Thottiya Naicker! Thuluva-tholuva-dhoddi-thotti-Thottiya Naicker!!

Originally herdsman,they have their own ways of worship!I remember the heavily decked boom boom madu,doing the rounds!A couple of years back,I had a confrontation with a 'samak kodangi'/kudu kuduppaikaran disturbing us in the middle of the night with his predictions.He had the nerve to come back during the day for his collections-extortion,actually!!.He was furious when I threatened to let my GSDs on him,if ever he returned to the street.Something didn't jel!!He seemed offended and angry,not threatened! It was later I found he was from a royal stock!!Sad indeed!!Their 'Thevarattam' celebrated as a folk dance now was actually,their martial art performed with swords!

But kammas were never royal!!You will have to trace your roots to Rudramba of Kakathiya Dynasty in Warangal in the 13th century  to claim your royal roots!!!Watch the movie!

migrant's language

Migrant Contribution to language
When two languages,two cultures co-exist for a time,they tend to assimilate aspects of each other,thus becoming richer-that is unless there is a fatwa prohibitng a 'contamination'.When a migrant population is seen as superior,the locals tend to imitate the ways of the intruder.If on the other hand the migrants are refugees,they are eager to merge with the locals and adapt.
The first to suffer change is speech,the migrant language accepts the sounds and later the words of the local language.The written script is lost and gradually the language loses its identity,unless the migrants themselves make an effort to retain their identity.In the case of the Telugu migration the word Telugu itself underwent a change,assimilating a medial nasal 'ng' to become Telungu. The feature may be seen in: vaadu-vaandu-meaning 'He'.'moodu-moondu-meaning 'three'/'husband'.

The migrant language also affects the local language.The word 'ayya' in Tamil refers to an affluent respected person in the social order,an elder.The founder of the Nayak rule in Madurai was referred to as Viswanatha Nayaka Ayyar. The remnant palayams even today are prefixed with Ayyan,such as Ayyan Kollankondan and Ayyan Singampatti.  The word Ayyar or Iyer as spelt today must have come to refer to a brahmin much later.The Telugu migrants who were Vaishnavites added yet another telugu honorific 'garu' and referred to them as 'ayyagaru'.The Tamil medial nasal 'ng'had its play and the word Iyengar refrring to a vaishnavite priest was born!
ayya--ayyar--iyer--Tamil
ayya--ayyagaru--ayyangaru--iyengar ,a telugu contribution to Vaishnavite Tamil.

Instances of the kind must be plenty.Requires thinking skills in association, to figure out.There is no way here to prove theory beyond doubt.But,a systematic linguistic enquiry will certainly throw up answers to where we come from,and establish our roots.

Naicker or Naidu?

My father had the caste name Naicker affixed to his name, as did most uncles and grand pas; and perhaps
all their ancestors.There was a tendency among the educated youngsters to change it to Naidu. It seemed socially more acceptable.However,they themselves did not affix either naidu or naicker to their own names,keeping  with the trend among all youngsters,whatever caste they belonged to.

We are kammas,a community found in Andhra and the districts of Virudhunagar,Thirunelveli,Coimbatore and
Vellore mostly.When confronted by this question,'Are we Naidu or Naicker?',I always brushed it off 'what does it matter?'And then it occurred to me that I should  find out as a responsible member of the community,and pass it on.This is what I found.

'Nayaka' in Sanskrit means a leader;:it was a title conferred on military chiefs, coveted and assumed by many in course of time.(There can't have been clans of leaders!If every one was to lead,who was to follow?)
The word underwent a mutation in the Tamil and Telugu speaking regions,depending on the more influential
factors prevailing in the region.In the regions,where Telugu was more prone to assimilation from Tamil,Nayaka took on the -er/-ar suffix,as seen in chettiar, kaundar,and mudhaliar,and became Naicker.
In regions where Telugu features were more influential 'Nayaka'became Nayakadu and later lost a syllable
to become Naidu.

Whichever title we don on,we share it with other communities. Naicker is a title by which the Rajakambalathar,Thottia Naicker,kattu Naicker and Vanniar are also known(the latter are Tamils from the northern districts)Naidu is a title by which kapu,velama,balija and gavara communities are also known.So,there really is no answer to 'are we naidus or naickers?'Suffice it to say we are kammas.

Kammas are also known as Rao and chaudhry in Andhra.But then brahmins,reddys and Mudaliars are also known as raos in Andhra and Karnataka. And there are Chaudhrys in Bengal too. Chauth is tax or toll;.a chaudhry is a tax collector-a middle level official perhaps.

Whatever our title signifies,we come from a respectable stock of land owners,kshathriyas and administrators and not peasants as the Sahithya Academy Award winning Venkatesan will have us believe!!.

Migration-A Nebulous story sans evidence

Migration leaves behind ghost towns and builds vibrant cities.Was there a Chennai-a Madras,by which name it was known till recently,300 yrs back?We do know however,a clutter of hamlets existed,which unified,expanded to become the Chennai,we see today. Saivite literature mentions Mylapore,Thruvanmiyur and Thiruvottiyur. Santhome and St.Thomas Mount tell a different story as does Royapetta. Migrant population bring with them tonnes of energy for prosperity for themselves and the city blooming around them.

Rajapalayam,where I live is witness to such a buoyancy,drawing people to it like a magnet.There is a rural to urban shift, villagers abandoning farm labour for factory work.The origin of Rajapalayam itself is rooted in migration-that of the migrant population of the Telugu speaking community of Rajus from Andhra-after whom the place takes its name.

Just when did this migration take place,from where?What were the pressures behind this migration?A wild guess made by all Telugu communities living in Tamil Nadu is that their ancestors must have fled southward to escape the atrocities of   muslim invasion.In other words,they were refugees! . Rajapalayam has a very different story to tell.The settlers claim to have been sent by no less a person than Krishna Devaraya; by the rulers of the Vijayanagaram empire after they were routed in the battle of Talikotta; invited by the last of the Madurai Nayaks to control the law and order situation.Well,the three events span over 200 yrs, through five generations!!Which of these is right?

Krishna Devaraya wrote Godha Charitha on the presiding deity of Srivilliputtur.Thirumalai Nayak was a devotee of Andal and had a palace in Srivilliputtur.Rani Mangammal,the legendary regent,who ruled on behalf of the last king,and suffered at his hands,had roads laid,choultries built in the entire region.But no mention is made of a Rajapalayam or its Mandaleshwar,( a title that would rank him along with Thirumalai Nayak himself!! )during their period!

The Polyger wars were fought in this vicinity:The first ever freedom fighter Puli Thevan fought the East India Company against Yussuf Khan,in several pitched battles,enlisting all the polygers of the region from 1755 to 1761 when he is captured.Kattabomman is hanged in the next war in 1799,soon followed by his brothers.And there is no mention of the warlords of Rajapalayam or its Mandaleshwar administering the region,controlling riots!

The Tinnevelly guezeteer1917 by H.R.Pate makes no mention of Rajapalayam. However,a Revathy submits a thesis on Palayams,listing Rajapalayam as one of the 72 palayams of the Nayak kingdom.I visit a few of the descendants of the Palayams to enquire. They respond with a polite snigger! So much for academic credibility! Have I kicked a hornest's  nest?

When there is no evidence in document,inscription,or literature,history becomes mired in mystery,distorted by vested interests!Will historians clarify?

Searching for my roots
I was born and brought up in Rajapalayam ,which 60 years back was only quarter its size now,with just about 25% of its present  population.My parents were from a village 15kms east of this town.I have met my grand parents,uncles,aunts and cousins,can't say I know them,or identify with them socially or culturally.An alienation process was set in motion as far back as 50 years.Though I speak the same regional variety of the language,I speak it differently,the inflection is very different as is the choice of words-the change brought about by a faster assimilation of the local languages-Tamil and a different caste specific variety of Telugu spoken by Rajus.

If there is so much alienation within a span of  50 years,one can only imagine the extent of alienation that must have occurred in the 500 years since the first wave of migration from the Telugu speaking regions of Andhra!An attempt at speaking in Telugu in a campus in Hyderabad, sensitive to`issues of language,caused peals of laughter! An academic exchange revealed that I spoke like some one who had dropped out and emerged after centuries speaking a fossilised language of ancient literature-a skeletal remains of it, as my vocabulary was hardly 200 word strong.I do not use several words my parents used,perhaps because I don't use the language as much as they did,living and interacting with people speaking several other languages.My son's Telugu must be just a 100 word strong.

Roots?What roots?!We have been uprooted and have put our roots elsewhere,and yet there is this yearning for the long forgotten lands.Retracing our steps requires effort,some academic rigour. We have  a system of gothras and family names to go by.Most family names are names of villages,the original migrants had left behind.But names of places also change in course of time!

There is perhaps a case in favour of the purists,who are passionate about preserving the purity of language.Herein lies our identity.Let us speak our mother tongues and learn the script and insist on our children learning it,even if they have to be proficient in the language of the state,a national and an international language.Not a great burden,linguists tell us.A child can learn many languages with ease before the age of 14.The part of the brain that fascilitates language learning loses its efficacy after that.So let us catch them young and keep alive our quaint habits,our oral traditions,if we are to retain our identity-in an alien climate.

Roots

Roots

Migration has been a periodic occurrence in history. Down the ages people have migrated voluntarily, or displaced by war famine and such other disasters. A recent migration from India, especially from Tamil Nadu, was that of the workers required to work in the colonies in inclement weather conditions-in the tea estates of Srilanka, the rubber plantations of Malaysia, the sugar plantations of South Africa, Mauritius and Fuji islands. Caught in the vortex of survival, they gave no thought to record for posterity details of their migration. Centuries later their descendants look for their roots, often with very little to go by.

Migrant communities merge with the local population, adopting their language, dress and food habits, eager to become them. And yet, there is a little something different, unique which they cling to, which clings to them. A surname, a ritual, an exotic cuisine, that has been handed down the line. There was an exchange group of students from Durban, who had come for an Indian experience. They had been told their ancestors were from Tamil Nadu. We found nothing Tamilian about them. They did not speak the language.

Yet a little probing both ways led to revelation and recognition. Surnames had undergone mutation, but were still discernible. Govendar was kaunder from west Tamil Nadu. Moodley was mudaliar and naidoo was naidu. More amusing information emerged, as we got talking about what they did different from other communities. Pichasi vridh, porridge prayer,and kavaadi were prayer rituals, unique to their clans. Much reflection after, we could comprehend these as Purattasi viradham, offering of ragi kanji to amman, and kavadi procession taken out to worship lord Murugan!

There is an unprecedented extent of migration now, with youngsters exploring global opportunities, assimilating a global culture.distancing themselves from their roots, in their eagerness to get acclimatised to their new environment. If and when their descendants try to trace their roots, will they have traces of their parent culture to guide their search? I am sure the 60 plus of my generation are with me. Will you take with you and pass on to your children our music, our dance forms, our ways of worship,our rituals, our festivals, our cuisine, so that in another two centuries, your descendants won't have to search for their roots? Will you pass on your Indian identity, through precept and practice, your language, your folk art, and your literature, so your children may not look at it as 'foreign'?

I am a descendant migrant from centuries back, from where I do not know, speaking a language 200 word strong-which the main stream speakers do not recognise-looking for my roots!