Flashback - Yet again, Lord Brahma, The Top-Brass and Architect of all according to Hindu mythology has been a crucial point in opening a new chapter. The realization of his so-called connection with me and the significance of the characters he had put in place for my sanity check took years to realize. While Pushkar his hometown, a destiny fork & go-to-unwind spot in my life. Oh no am not god-fearing person I just love the vibe of some of the old cities , history and stories.
Its my first blog so the universe commands you to read it ;) Flashback Continues...
Sometime in winter of 2018, Pushkar has pushed me into an uncharted water again and made me
realize that I have been in shark infested water for so long and I didn’t see myself bleeding and
chewed. But I do love Great Whites, huge fan. Anyhow some good Samaritans known and
unknown came from all direction and threw life line. Some fell short, while some felt difficult to
hold, while some were clueless how to throw but to all the good souls who did take an effort in
thoughts and action, A tree size hug!. While one soul (Ashwat) pulled me out to do a wedding candid photography, which has been my profession since 2014, while my affair with camera dates back to the age when ISO was called ASA.
South Indians don't speak Hindi da
In a crowd, rarely you would have come across people speaking different language, And you would have found it difficult to place as what language is that. The strange sound and accent you would find it really disturbing as your mind races to place to them in the common category Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. Yes though south Indians don't speak Hindi we still can recognize its not from South (we love Bollywood though). But looking closely at the person who is talking in the strange language will make your mind go frenzy, It's your neighbor.
They were called 'Pattunoolkarar' once
When the infamous Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India, a community of people migrated to the South of India and settled in various parts. Once such city was Madurai, then ruled by the famous Thirumalai Nayak who welcomed them and allocated lands for their settlement. When Thirumalai Nayak asked about their skill, they showed him their needlework on Silk and it was not just a cloth weaving skill but it carried a sense of art. The colors and weaving were elegant , impressed by their skill the king helped them setup a livelyhood in their new home. Thus a new settlement was born and they were none other than Saurashtrians. With a language and customs of their own, they became an integral part of Madurai, Salem & Thanjavur. Oh yes and the language is based on Ramarai Script, it goes back to the Rig Vedic period lets not have a far fetched flashback .
What is different with the Marriage Customs?
Saurashtrians are similar to orthodox Brahmins so don't expect Mutton Biriyani, As of the rituals they follow Vaishnavite cult hence most of the rituals appear similar to Brahmins. But few do differ, like the Betrothal or Boulas function where the history of the last four generation is recited before fixing the marriage. There is no concept of Dowry system in this community although these days some do pay money to the bride's family, Yeap you heard it correct, sorry boys its good for a change. Then the most iconic thing is that both the families hire two separate wedding halls for each of the families to conduct their own rituals and during the time of tying the knot the groom & his family come to the hall where the bride resides to perform the knot ceremony, Once the wedding is done each families do depart to their own hall for food and further rituals. The two hall concept was completely new to me and was intrigued to know more on their customs, But as the day ends all i wanted was a chilled beer and kola-urundai while i go browse through the wonderful event frozen in my camera. A beer warming thanks to Ashwat.