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Thursday, June 30, 2005

Sourashtra- An introduction

X: So Deepa, what language do you speak at home..English?
Me: No..
X: Hindi?
me: No..
X: Let me guess then...Tamil?
Me: No ...It is Sourashtra ..
X: Isn't that in Gujarat? But you said your native is Madurai..
Me: Yea ..but we are not Gujaratis..we are Sourashtrians....and our mothertongue is Sourashtra.
X: Really? I haven't heard of such a language before. Tell me,what does it sound like?
Me: It is like a mixture of many Indian languages like Hindi ,marathi, Tamil,Sanskrit,Guj, Bengali,etc..
X: Oh, I see! Talk something in your language...What is "What is your name ?" in Sourashtra?
Me: It is " Thorey('th' as in 'thorough') naav kaaya(last 'a' as in 'about')?"

Here X is any person(usually my classmate) I have met till now.

The above conversation has been repeated several times in my 21 years of life. I end up requesting X not to murder the language right before my eyes( or ears).

X bites and chews the sentence and finds it difficult to pronounce the word 'kaaya' properly and makes it 'kaayaa' which in Hindi means 'body'. And if X happens to be a Tamilian, he would find it funny interpreting 'kaaya' as 'kaai',which in Tamil means a raw fruit.At school,usually , the very first words they would like to know are the Sourashtra words for monkey, donkey, fool, idiot, mad etc..which they can use to call their friends. I don't understand what thrill X gets by calling his friend a fool, in an alien language...may be it increases the victim's reaction time by the ' Zor ka jhatka dheeray say lagay' effect allowing X to save his skin.

You can check out www.sourashtra.com or www.palkar.org or simply click on the title for more info about the script or the glorious past of this beautiful language also known as Palkar('kar' rhymes with 'car').

Pronunciation is very important in every language as this is what gives it individuality. With a little different way of tongue movement you can make Tamil sound like English or English like Malayalam. But pronunciation,as I understand and feel, is the backbone of Palkar, because a tiny change can completely change the meaning or even sound disrespectful.

It is hard for me to imagine what it feels like to live in a place where my neighbours, classmates ,friends and every other person around me speaks in my mothertongue i.e., like how a Tamilian would feel in TamilNadu or a Malayali in Kerala and so on. But then, it gives a sense of uniqueness in that I speak a language which very few people know about.

Let me give a sneak peek ...

Here I will represent the 'A' for the 'aa' sound and 'a' for the sound of 'a' as in 'about'.

Take for eg. jAvA... it may be a programming language but in Palkar, it means 'podi'(as in Tamil). When pronounced as java, its meaning changes to 'ponga'(Tamil).

Some who have heard people speak this language may hear many hAi's in their speech...hAi means yes in Palkar . Interestingly, it means yes in Japanese too.

The word kowla ('kow' rhymes with 'cow') means crow(bird), khovla means 'cough' , gowla means 'cheek' and ghovla means 'a recess in a wall'.

Many has two different meanings, one is 'man' and the other is 'appidinnu'(Tamil). When pronounced as Maeni with stress on 'Mae', it means 'tell'.

The beauty and uniqueness of Palkar lies in the pronouncing of two consonants simultaneously. For eg.
Lhovo(red),
rhA(wait),
nhA(no),
Lhekka(account).
Mhotto(big or huge or elder)

Most of you must have watched the Tamil thriller movie "Athey kangal". There is a song in that movie just before the climax where the hero ,heroine and their friends sing this song"Pombalai oruthi irundalam"...which has these lines sung by the heroine and co..." Dhaak kerares, Dhaak kerares,Dhaak kerares" to which the hero and his grp. reply "Dhakkunoko,Dhakkunoko,Dhakkunoko". Well, that was Sourashtra. Dhaak means fear. The girls say that they are scared and the hero tells them not to fear.

When you translate the Tamil saying " Kazhudai in male perungayam " literally, it gives a funny phrase...ghedaD holla hingu meaning ' Kazhudai in male aeruvane' or ' I will climb a donkey' :-P...

45 comments:

Arbit said...

Interesting read..Never knew there is such thing as sourashtra..hai.

Deepa said...

Hi Karthik,

I see that you have made a good start to learn Palkar with the word 'hai'....Well begun is half done!

crsathish said...

pretty good intro to our sourashtra language.me too have explained 'n' no. of times abt the same story of 'palkar migration' to my friends and colleagues circles.

Adaengappa !! said...

Mai..Good to hear about you !!

Keep blogging !!

Anonymous said...

sourashtra-intdn,Deepa it is & u r very interesting i am proud of u i am also sourastrian but not like u.

Anonymous said...

sourashtra-intdn,Deepa it is & u r very interesting i am proud of u i am also sourastrian but not like u.

9:44 PM, July 25, 2005

Anonymous said...

This is me!

Hey Deepa!!

I am Dinesh, a smart?! 21 year old kid, living in New York...well not exactly..I am a student in the University of Michigan and I come to New York often to work during summer, to visit my bro etc. I was googling for "sourashtra blogs" and found your blog!!..strange huh?..I too speak sourashtra at home. But otherwise I dont get to spk..I converse in English or Hindi..I found out that you too spk sou,Hindi..I was thinking "Ye ladki kaun hai, bilkul hamare jaise".I always liked to meet new people...I dont wanna be vegetating all my life..And your name sounds familiar, wait wait....this is not the standard technique boys use!!..I mean it.you could email to thogulua@umich.edu if you also like making new friends!

Dinesh

Anonymous said...

Hi Dinesh,

Strangely, I too felt that ur name is very familiar....why you ask? Coz thats my brother's name...nice to meet you in my blog...did u chk out this site? www.sourashtra.in

Anonymous said...

Oi Deepa,

Good that you replied..my bro today showed me a sourashtra website where someone has composed a SOURASHTRA POP SONG!!..Boy, it was coooool...here is the link
http://kamse.com/soukey.htm

Enjoyyyy....BTW, I chked the sou site u had told me and created a Username (yet to be approved)...I was thinkin about giving u my email ID..but I was fearing that, if it appears on a website, I might become a victim of spams..but I cannot come back to your blog and chk ur reply comment!! everyday...and tell ur Bro that he's got the luckiest name in the univ (Mein nahi tho Kaun kahega yeise) ....and u pardon me for my tendency to write looooong comments.

Pradeep Kuttuva said...

I got to your blog after searching for sourashtra...Elle experience mogo ikkaki vaal hoyresi...I cant write very well in sourashtra like you...let me stick to english itself while writing...

Anyway..will visit your blog more..

Jagan said...

landed here thru maduraiarain . me too sourastrian ..and of course can relate to what you , maduraiarian have put on ur blogs ...way to go guys :-)

Jagan said...

got here thru maduraiarian's sowrastra blog . i remember leaving a comment here a while aga . cudnt find it for some some reason .neeways ..will look out for ur new posts :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi Deepa
Glad to fall on your blog after many search!!!I'm sourashtrian but I live in Paris in France. I don't know speaking sourashtrian coz I didn't learn it at home. But I am happy to find information on it and I really would like to learn !!! Keep blogging !!!!

குமரன் (Kumaran) said...

Hi Deepa. Was googling 'Sourashtra' and found your blog. Read this posting. Is nice. :-)

Anonymous said...

hi deepa,
i ve been searchin de net for long time now for some info on sourashtra language. i have a sourashtra friend from whom i learnt de language a bit. but i want to learn more. but dono how. i really love to learn a lot abt it. landing in ur blog gave me a real nice feel. i respect the love u have for ur language.
cheers.

Anonymous said...

Hi Deepa,
Thanks for posted the sourashtra information. I am very happy to see this information as a Sourashtrian.

Arunkumar ELR said...

hey deepa,

gr8 work yaar!!no doubt if u come out with a research paper on it.

NK said...

hello,

chokkat kam keras thumi..
thorae intro ourae languaguk ondae excellent work.... hats off... hmmmm ikko thinnu ella blog mogo savayani na... ondae chokkat website ourae languaguk open kerotho ello ondae chokkat inspiration... Ango meni ondae thani state riyath ikko chokkat rai!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes Sourashtra is a very strange case, I also wonder how you kept the language alive for so long without a script (not used anyways). I heard that there is variance between Sourashtra from Madurai and other places. Another interesting group are the Marathi speakers from Tanjore - similar to Sourashtra but their history is much clearer.
When Sourashtras moved to Madurai is a big mystery, with some English publications i.e. "The Sourashtra of Madura" circa 1910 state that the southward movement is very recent and others state it was in the era of the Kingdom of Magadha.

Anonymous said...

Hi..I am narmatha..I am in chennai....Though, I am a sourasthrian, I dont know much about that language...It is very interesting to see your blog...I want you to give more words and their meanings of our language...We join our hands to keep our language everlasting...
mail @ mogi.naru@gmail.com

KAMAL SILKS SAREES said...

hi deepa...good attempt...nice to see developing of our language...im also a sourastrian but never thought that to do like this....i would also like to see some of our alphebets in our language...can u do this for me pls.......

Anonymous said...

Hi Deepa,

Happened to come across your blog. BTW, I'm a saurashtrain from Madurai, now living in California.

I have had similar situations explaining our language, etc., etc.,

Before X asks to learn our language, I'll tell them to repeat "Gaai Kaai Khaai", and typical tamil speaking X can't pronounce it right!

Keep your good work.

Arun.

Anonymous said...

Hi Deepa,

This is Suresh,

Hats-off for opening a blog for developing our language,

It is 2009, lot of developments has taken in Sourashtra language,

Find the list below:

1. Sourashtra Languages lessons,if you type this word in www.youtube.com,

within 45 minutes you can start writing in Sourashtra language,

2. Okay, where to know what we write in Sourashtra language is correct or not ?

http://palkarblogs.com is available with Sourashtra language faculties to help you learn sourashtra language,

3. Then, now after doing these things, you may be able to familiarize in Sourashtra language, is there any medium to publish our creative writing,

Of course, yes,

Vishwa Sourashtram, first electronic journal in Sourashtra language,

www.sourashtra.info,

to submit your creative things in Sourashtra language,

mail to: likkinin.vs@sourashtra.info

4. Oh, I forget to convey the availability of sourashtra fonts,

sourashtra fonts are available for free downloading from the following links:

1. www.palkar.org
2. www.palkarblogs.com
3. www.sourashtra.info

What else, anyone can start giving their literary contribution in Sourashtra language,

Best of luck, Suresh

Anonymous said...

I am very happy to be an sowrastra

Sam said...

Hi Deepa,
I'm no Sourashtraian. But I desperately want to learn your language. Is there any systematic tutorial material available for learning Sourashtra?

Good-luck with your endeavors! :)
keep writing..

KAMAL SILKS SAREES said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ram Mahesh said...

hi deepa
namashkar
really a cool blog!!!!!!proud to know that this many sourashtrians are ready to join hands for our language!!!
happy to join u all!!!
thanks for this initiative deepa!!
gud one keep rocking...

anitha said...

hai deepa,
iam so proud to see our language in the internet. i have my family in my marriage and ihave not seen tham for the past 10 years. ialso was not able to speak this language. but iam now so happy to see so many friends here and recollect my memories all.kinldy keep in touch through my mail id. anita.jerald@gmail.com

Kesavaraja Krishnan said...

Hi this is Kesava raja from Madurai ur post about sourashtra language is super for more visit At www.sourashtraworld.in

Anonymous said...

Hi this is preethi, Nice to see this blog. Though im a sourashtrian, i donno more about our language. Could you please send me more words or tutorials or learning materials to me.?

My email id: preethikannan20@gmail.com

Unknown said...

HI,

WELL I HAVE A FAVOUR TO ASK MY GIRL IS A SAURASHTRIAN AND EVERY TIME I'M AT HER PLACE HER FOLKS TALK THE LANGUAGE I DO GET A BIT OF IT BUT AM LOST MOST THE TIMES
I'M A TAMILIAN AND THEY TALK TO ME IN TAMIL BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE ONE OF THOSE GUYS WHO ONLY EXPECT THE GIRLS TO CHANGE

I WANNA LEARN IT FOR HER AND BE A BETTER PART OF THE FAMILY...

SHE SPEAKS TAMIL SO I WANNA LEARN SAURASHTRA

ANY ONE IF YOU CAN SUGGEST ME AN SAURASHTRA TO ENGLISH TRANSLATOR WHERE IN THE PRONUNCIATION AN EXPLANATION ARE BOTH IN ENGLISH

LIKE HOW IT IS IN THIS BLOG
THAT "JAVA" IN SAURASHTRA IS PODI IN TAMIL SOMETHING LIKE THAT ...

PLS DO SEND ME LINK OR SUGGESTIONS LEARNING THROUGH ENGLISH

AS MY ABILITY TO READ TAMIL IS VERY BAD...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME

MiliGirl said...

hey bedki ,[translate hey girl :-0],
admire the way you have put ur views across,understandable to a total stranger of the language,though i ain't one .i am a person who is jus wondering how it wud be to read harry potter in sowrashtra ,great ,GIRL,loved it SMACKING WORK .

Unknown said...

need to learn sourashtra language through english script, please help.
my mail id- shyam.gsc@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi, Iam very curious to know, whats the word for cat in sourashtra language? Especially sourashtra from madurai. I want to know its pronunciation too... Is it possible to mail me the word and pronunciation??

My email pdharshinib@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi, i need to learn sourashtra language through english script and tamil script please help me.
my mail id- lavs1612@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

The word for cat is manjari. For comparison, in Marathi it is maanjara. The "a" gets truncated in Sourashtram because I suspect because it is a dialect and without the guidance of the printed word, dialects tend to morph quickly over time and geography.
Ramesh

Unknown said...

hi ,
i would like to wish my best friend's birthday in saurashtra to her can you help me ... tomorrow its her birthday
"hi my dear thanks for being with me in all my good and bad times,supporting and understanding me you are one of the nicest person i ever met i treasure our friendship love you... wishing you a very happy birthday"
i need this translated in saurashtra please

Anonymous said...

Gud to read. As my crush is a sourashtrian, I'm learning marathi all these days. OMG, so sourashtra language is different from marathi �� again from d beginning.. But dis blog s nice to read..

Anonymous said...

Hi, My name is Anshika and I would like to learn sourashtra. Can anyone tell me how can I do it online, specially from English or Hindi, as don't know Tamil. Thank you in advance!

Anonymous said...

Its me Anshika again, I would like to learn first how to speak sourashtra. Reading and writing is not important for now. Please help.
Thank you

Anonymous said...

www.palkarhorat.com ›

I found it good to learn... like tenses in sourashtra and so on

Unknown said...

I wanna learn sourashtra....where I can learn it from?

Pragatheeswaran S said...

Hello Ms. Deepa,

It's indeed pleasure to get to know about such articles. I was simply googling about our language and got this article.

Nice to get to know you though !

Unknown said...

I'm writing a book on self learning sourashtra through English!

Anonymous said...

Hi Deepa,

I have searched for many videos where I can learn sourashtra through English or Telugu. But I ended up finding none. I have came across your blog and found very interesting. I want to learn sourashtra, so I can talk with my close friend whose mother tongue is sourashtra. I can talk with her in English, but I believe some of the emotions can’t be conveyed the same way compared to her mother tongue. Can you please help me with any of the best ways I can learn sourashtra through English or Telugu? Thankyou.