COVER STORY—A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME நகரத்தார்கள்—அன்றும் இன்றும் இன்றும்
purnima palaniyandi & annamalai natarajan, nj
உன் ஆழமே உன் உயரத்தின் அடையாளம், உன் மேர்கமள உன் கிடளகளின் பலம். உன் உரம் உன் அடிேரத்திலிருந்து ஆரம்பிக்கேில்டல, கண்ணுக்கு ததரியாத உன் ஆணிமேரிலிருந்து ஆரம்பிக்கிறது! உன் மேர்களுக்கு பூேியும் எல்டல இல்டல..
உன் கிடளகளுக்கு ோனமும் எல்டல இல்டல. - கேிமகா
Two years ago, the present NANAL team began the “Andrum Indrum” cover story series with this poem. We open the cover story of our last issue with the same poem. In our previous cover stories, we examined different aspects of Nagarathars - literature, weddings, business, food, philanthropy, and so on. In this cover story, we hope to describe and examine the identity of our community.
Our identity is a mixed bag of moral qualities, traditions, beliefs, customs, values, festivals, ceremonies - simply put, our way of life. As the poem states, the branches can only be as strong as the roots, and as tall as the depth of the roots. The onus lies on us to dig into our roots, examine where we come from, to determine where we are headed. What have we learnt in the long journey of our growth? What have we lost? And the most significant question is, how can we preserve our heritage and legacy?
Throughout this cover story we refer to sources listed
under the
‘References’ section to support our findings. To name a few - Caste and Tribes of Southern India by Edgar Thurston, Indigenous Banking In India by L.C. Jain, the Burma
Banking Committee
with information on Chettiars who lived in other countries, please contribute to the Wiki project outlined under ‘Preserving our heritage’ section in this cover story.
Origins of Nagarathars
Provincial Enquiry Report
(BPBEC), Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India by Davis West Rudner, Gender, Kinship & Property Rights. Nagarattar Womenhood in South India by Nishimura Yuko. We have focused our findings to the Chettiars in Burma for two reasons: one, due to abundance of resources available on Chettiars in Burma; and two, due to the scarcity of information on Chettiars who lived in other countries. If readers find credible resources
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The origins of our community have been transferred through folklore and legends; hence the veracity of this information cannot be verified by the authors. However, there is one common account narrated across many of the sources above. The Vaisyas of the Lunar race were living in Santhyapuri in Naganadu. They traded in precious stones and prayed to lord Vinayaka. On oppression from the local ruler they migrated in a body to Conjeeveram in Thondamandalam country. The king of Conjeeveram troubled them with heavy taxes and fines. This forced them to move again to Chola country, and they settled in East, West and South streets of Kaveripumpattanam. At this time, the Chola king
March 2012
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