I am not a Tamilian...I am sorry...I love everything Tamil, the language, the people, the food and where do I feel most at home? Yes, Tamilnadu...nowhere else...but then I do not speak Tamil at home...
Everyone I meet ask me where I am from, I tell them I am from Chennai but I speak Telugu at home...what part do they retain? That I am from Chennai hence I am a Tamilian, they forget the part where I tell them that I am Telugu speaking...
I want to tell everyone to take a look at these interesting websites...
1) Andhra Pradesh
2) Madras Presidency
Ok so what do you gather from it? First off, pre-Independence and parts of post independence (till 1956) Andhra was part of the whole Madras Presidency thingy hence people from Tamilnadu and Andhra intermingled pretty freely...oh and yes...before the British came down the kingdom's in the south like those of Chera, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara, Pallavas etc, were at constant war with each other often overlapping territories between Andhra, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka...which therefore means that Tamilians and Andhrites intermingled even then...there were many marriage alliances made to keep warring kingdoms in check...
Oh yes BTW, Tiyagaraja...one of the Trinity of Carnatic Music...is from Tanjavur which is in Tamilnadu but he is Telugu and lived between 18th and 19th century...hmm...read about him and if you have never heard his compositions now would be a good time...
So Therefore I prove my point that it is absolutely ok to be a Telugu (or golt) from Tamilnadu and only you as my friend or a blog reader or just someone whom I have randomly met at a random party is thick headed if you cannot get this still...In Chennai you will see tons of Telugu's living among Tamil's and they are rarely looked down or frowned upon...at least my family who have settled there for two generation never felt out of place...is the opposite ok in AP too? I don't know...you tell me...
Love
ART
12 comments:
Well, yeah... my best friends in Hyd are Tamilians (also know as Illads by some folk) and so are very close family friends of ours. And as far as i know, they're completely at home in Hyd and prefer Hyd over Chennai.
I am why can't people get the simple fact that you can live in a different state but speak a different language?
GRRRRR!
Thanks for teaching me the evolution of our community with links :)
hey venkatesh...
Anytime :)
by any chance do i know you?
:) If you go back to your blog on Meen Pidiththu Meendum...Dated - Tuesday, June 26, 2007.., You will find the answer. :)
Cheers
Simply couldn't agree more. I am no different from you,but something i cherish more is Tamil identity and TN. It never crossed my mind irrespective of my ancestors are from AP, i am self confessed Tamilphile.People would be surprised the people who love tamil more in TN would be from AP. Anyway Tamil is the mother of all Dravidian language so root still goes back there :) thats why!
Though I am not aware abt Tamils who migrated to AP during 1800s or 1900s, but know that there are few areas in Secunderabad, one of them like Padmarao Nagar, where a lot of 5th or 6th gen Tamils, esp. Mudaliars are settled, who are now like more Telugu outside than Tamil (like you, though they all speak in Tamil in home though). Couple of Tamil run Tamil schools, like Keyes High School, are also there, where you find Tam kids speak Telugu with other Tam kids in school and back in home Tamil. My search on "Secunderabad" in Wikipedia, reads under its demographics "Its (Secunderabad's) population consists a significant number of Tamilians (Mudaliars) who are also considered to be one of the first inhabitants of this city. In fact, it was under the rule of the Nizams & then subsequently under the British that this community was held in high respect for their efficient administrative and trading skills and thrived. The modern Tamil mudaliars community have managed to maintain their distinct identity & residing in areas such as Marredpally, Padmarao Nagar, Malkajgiri, Begumpet, Tarnaka, Sitaphalmandi, Warasiguda, Anandbagh,.etc. They run a popular girls school called "Keyes High's School" in addition to a few other schools & colleges. As a matter of fact, the popular residential area "Padma Rao Nagar" is named after Late Dewan Bahadur Padma Rao Mudaliar."
Arun...me too...I can read and write tamil but I cannot do the same with Telugu...never had the exposure or the need to learn to read or write Telugu...I like TN and I see all the good things there :)
Kasi...exactly my point...Tamil people in AP and Telugu people in TN have always been there...this is not new...but why can't people understand that??GRRRRR it gets very annoying when people think that I am a Tamilian because i am from TN...aren't there marwadi's in TN? so they will also be called Tamilians? Why should I sit down and take it?
Completely agree with you.. My point was to try and associate with a similar example that I've noticed in Hyderabad/Secunderabad. Also what you said applies to Saurashtrians in Madurai, Telugus in Coimbatore etc..They can't be just called Tamilians, and likewise as you said, most of them do share the passion and interest in Tamil as any other Tamil(ian) would :-) One of my Saurashtrian friends, apparently, was a topper in Tamil in the 12th class exams in Madurai district!
Totally agree with you Kasi...
tyagarajar is from warangal, not thanjavur; he wished to stay at thanjavur;
Arul upon Wiki-ing I see that he is from Khambam in Andhra and dies in Tanjavur.
Thanks for the correction.
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