Travelling Southward
on July 18, 2008
Theme: coimbatore : hindi : kerala : malayalam : palakkad : south : tamil naduAnanth Venkatesh
- The Palakkad Fort
My voyage to Kerala and Tamil Nadu was an exemplary one. Jet Airways and Jet Life ensured that. The people there, in whose bungalows I was lodged, along with my paternal relatives, were sufficiently jocund. Palakkad is a Tamil-majority city. That was a revelation, much to my surprise. I had data on the age-old presence of Tamils in Palakkad. But I always felt that Tamils constituted a significantly scanty minority community in Kerala. Nonetheless, the presence of the Tamils was omnipresent. The installation of messages, in Tamil as well as Malayalam, on socially consequential placards, in various sites of Palakkad, was unexpected. Even the Malayalis in Palakkad understood Tamil. The Tamils could converse in pristine Malayalam as well as their own mother tongue. The amalgamation of Tamils with Keralite culture was praiseworthily comprehensive. Probably, the non-Marathis in Mumbai could learn a slight quantity of lessons from the Tamils in this regard. The Tamils in Palakkad have even incorporated some Malayalam words into their idiom. For example, ‘samaadhaanum’ (which means ‘content’, similar to the Hindi word ‘samaadhaan’), ‘sumuhyum’ ( which means ‘time’, again close to the Hindi word, ‘sumuhy’), etc. It was delightful, listening to the confluence of Tamil and Malayalam in the spoken vocabularies of the Tamils. The Malayalis superficially do not seem to have grudges against the Tamils, who are a reasonably affluent community. The Malayalis also appreciate the efforts put forth by the Tamils in Palakkad to integrate suitably with the Malayalam civilisation.
There were no stray dogs roaming around aimlessly in Palakkad menacing the pedestrians. What a relief! The absence of tobacco stains, which have sullied the reputation of Mumbai and aggravated the countenance of its roads and walls, in Palakkad was truly commendable. It was testament to the civility of the people and their consciousness regarding these matters. The wonderfully extensive network of streets was mostly bereft of potholes, underlying the infrastructural enhancement that has occurred in these areas.
———————————
Yes, Palakkad is not a Mumbai. It is devoid of grandiose malls and other outlets owned by business conglomerates. The outfits of females are pleasantly conventional. The generous innocence of rural Palakkadites is inconceivable. One feels that their arrival in a chiefly self-centred metropolis like Mumbai will unbearably shock and painfully mar them. The dissimilarity between the mores and etiquettes of the North and South of India was amply blatant. The sometimes laidback approach of the Keralites on routine chores might irk the Mumbaikars, who are habituated to executing their lives in a frenzied manner. Such is the frenetic disposition of Mumbai that relaxation is out of bounds for most Mumbaikars. However, this slackness is not alien to the society of modern Kerala. It has become an intrinsic constituent of many lives there.
Nonetheless, the really irksome part of Palakkad, for which the people cannot be blamed, was its excruciatingly muggy weather. Geographically, Palakkad is apt for the creation of an unforgivingly sultry climate, which only exacerbates in the summer. The visitors to Palakkad will have to display endurance and, more so, if you happen to journey to Palakkad in the ruthless Indian summer. Otherwise, Palakkad, Thrissur and Guruvayoor, three places that I traveled to, are beautiful areas worth a look! These areas are not in sync with the concretisation of Mumbai and it is this very quality that makes them huggable.
Ugliness was only perceptible in the immense amount of offensive posters of vulgar Malayalam movies, belonging to grades ‘B,C and D’.
Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu is an enormously sophisticated city in terms of infrastructure. The roads are largely spotless. The most endearing facet, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, was the adherence to norms by the people. Cars were not unashamedly parked on the corners of streets as abundantly as in Mumbai. The vehicles never irritatingly crossed the road dividers while waiting at a traffic signal, a phenomenon increasingly seen in Mumbai. It reminded me of the statement made by the Delhi Lt. Governor, Tejinder Khanna, a few months back, in which he loathed the inclination of North Indians to pay disobedience to the rules. While the barefaced generalisation might be unfair, there is a significant quantity of meritoriousness in the comment. The hotels, outlets, malls and luxurious lifestyle shops in Coimbatore were exceedingly reminiscent of Mumbai.
Yes, underneath this astonishing tranquilness and visually pleasurable vistas in Coimbatore, there might be present some quantity of loathsome tendencies in the society of Coimbatore. But such is the tale of every society and city globally and nationally.
The trip to Southern India substantially assisted me in gaining a perspective on the divergences between the North and South. The unwillingness of the Southerners, especially of the Tamils, to accept the enlightening Hindi as the national language, is now more understood by me than was in the past and I empathise with the cause of the anti-Hindi ‘Tamil brigade’. However, I will determinedly stick to my belief that the inspiring Hindi is and should always remain established as the national language of India. It must be understood and spoken by all Indians to instill a sense of linguistic unity amongst us. However, it must not be at the cost of the extermination and alienation of the indigenous languages of the various provinces of India.
- Busy Elephant. Photo by Ananth
Palakkad Fort photo by rajeshvj
![[del.icio.us]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Technorati]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Twitter]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Email]](http://theyoungindia.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Comments
This is by far a simpler story when compared to the political stories. And it shows your range as a writer.
The sentences are shorter here and well constructed…they suit the content very (very) well.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Please use the right protocol when using pictures from flickr. The photo itself should be a link to the photographer’s collection on flickr. This can be easily done – Click on ‘All Sizes’ in the toolbar above the picture. Choose the size, copy the html code generated by flickr, below the picture, and paste it in the blog.
Thank you.
YIDone.
Although mentioning and linking the photographer's name to flickr is a better idea.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Thanks for your personal story! I quite enjoyed reading it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Ananth Venkatesh
February 25th, 2011 at 13:58
Hola Shelia Cantillo,
I welcome your happiness due to my article. This is the first time that I have inscribed an account related to my sojourn.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Beautifully written. However, I have a bone to pick with you on the issue of Hindi being the National Language of India.
I am a Tamilian whose family has settled in Calcutta for the last 70 years. My first language in school was Hindi, the language I spoke at home was English and most of my friends have always been Bengali. Consequently, I read, write and speak in Hindi, Bengali and English perfectly fluently.
My one regret is I never learnt to speak Tamil properly, let alone read or write in it.
I see that you are willing to say that “However, I will determinedly stick to my belief that the inspiring Hindi is and should always remain established as the national language of India. It must be understood and spoken by all Indians to instill a sense of linguistic unity amongst us. However, it must not be at the cost of the extermination and alienation of the indigenous languages of the various provinces of India.” and my question to you is this. If linguistic unity is the intent of having Hindi as the National Language, why not have English as the National Language (instead of just as the Official Language) ? That way , we have 3 advantages:-
a) People from the South (and here I should add West Bengal had quite strongly objected to Hindi being the National Language as well, as well as people in the North-Eastern States) would have to learn another language, just like people would have to all over India. The way the system works now is unforgivable in its persecution of people whose mother-tongue is not Hindi. This way EVERYONE would have to learn a new language, not just some unfortunates who happen to have been born in a part of the country where the mother tongue isn’t Hindi.
b) In an increasingly globalised world, where English is the de facto lingua franca, EVERYONE in India would be able to communicate what they want – and, on a side note, we would continue to enjoy our relative language superiority over China.
c) It would provide the sense of “linguistic unity” among us, which was the whole purpose of having an official language in the first place.
I believe this solution and its advantages have been pointed out before. Unfortunately, they are always shouted down and dismissed by misguided people (most, if not all, of whom are North Indian politicians) whose avowed reason for doing so is that English was the language of our despised rulers, while concealing the real reason that they would find it hard to sell this idea to their voters (who constitute the vast majority of the voting block in our country) and also because they need to hide behind the cloak of “patriotism” to mask their corrupt ways(here I include politicians of every single part of India, especially the South Indian ones and the ones from the East).
I strongly feel that it is NOT fair to force people to learn something they don’t want to, when so many millions of their countrymen do not have to learn to do so.
In any case “linguistic unity” never existed in India, and we survived long before the idea of such unity was first mooted and will continue to survive and get along long after the idea will be forgotten. I think it needs more than a language to unite a people. I think what we need is the spirit of being Indian, such as was captured by our Cricket Team when they won the World Cup.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Hello…. Nice to see that certain zones of my article gave you cheerfulness….
…. This article was written by me in April 2008….. In the last 4 years, there has been an evolution of my view on this issue….. an evolution that is natural as someone grows… as I have matured more in the last 4 years, my philosophical evolution on this matter now makes me say that the constitutionalization of Hindi as the NATIONAL LANGUAGE may be counterproductive…. this is a regrettable reality…. so, there is no need to institutionalize Hindi as the NATIONAL LANGUAGE….. but the central government and the governments of the Hindi provinces/states should continue to promote Hindi throughout the Indian land by establishing Hindi centers for the propagation of Hindi (‘standard Hindi’ that is under the parentage of Sanskrit)…. Mechanisms need to be there to permit the Hindi provincial governments to establish secondary and primary schools in the non-Hindi provinces….. Hindi must be taught in these schools created by the Hindi state governments in the non-Hindi states of India….. In these schools, the non-Hindi provincial history and civilization also must be taught to the students….. For example, in a secondary school installed in AP by the MP government, the Hindi language and culture can be presented to the students in the form of subjects… At the same time, the Telugu language, its mores, its history and its traditions can also be included in the secondary syllabus of this MP government’s school in AP…. English can be the third language in this school….. Now, such a system may be existing in some areas of India but it needs to be extended more thoroughly….. It is no good to teach French or Sanskrit or German for 3 years (from 8th to 10th)…. not much about the language will go into the head of most of the students in these three years…. Also, the non-Hindi provincial governments need to have the support of the same mechanisms to bring about schools in the Hindi areas of India….in these schools, languages/cultures such as Tamil/Bengali/Telugu/Kannada/Malayalam, etc. can be taught alongside English and Hindi…… The EDUCATION MINISTRY of the CENTRAL GOVERNMENT and of the STATE GOVERNMENTS respectively need to collaborate meticulously to ensure the interstate diffusion of the various languages of India alongside Hindi and English….. for example, there must be secondary schools of the Kerala Government in Uttarakhand, in which the Malayalam language/history is taught passionately alongside Hindi and English…… As regards foreign languages such as French, German, Portuguese and Spanish in public schools in India, I feel that it doesn’t serve any constructive purpose to have French or Spanish taught only for 3 years in the secondary academic system (8th to 10th)… the Indian State, in its entirety, needs to instill enough respect for its linguistic opulence in the Indian student mentality… then, we can inform our students about the overseas languages…. for overseas languages, there need to be international secondary schools established in Indian soil by the Indian public sector/private sector……. the foreign public/private sector also need to be allowed to set up foreign schools in Indian territory to spread foreign linguistic awareness in India……. this is happening a bit in India already but the pace of it needs to be strengthened and with assiduousness…. 
…. And I must say, I did learn to write in Tamil in 2008… the Tamil script is gorgeous and easy to comprehend……. I mean it….. It is like a design that is beautiful to see…… 
…..
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]
Hello Baasna, I forgot to add to my abovementioned response that my comment may seem like a semi elaborate EDUCATIONAL REFORM BILL… but, essentially, my aforementioned comment is a reflection of my philosophical evolution on this linguistic matter… it is an issue, to which I am attached….. so much can be done in India to increase linguistic awareness in India about the wealth of Indian languages…. also, foreign languages can be taught in India with even more vigor in many more foreign linguistic hubs in India……. certain Western nations have such excellent foreign linguistic infrastructure…. diverse foreign languages are taught in France, Germany, Netherlands, Britain, America, Spain, etc. India too needs to be and can be such a foreign linguistic hub……
……
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
[Reply]