CHAPTER 18
The word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word "Pandu" meaning very old.The Pandyan or Pandian dynasty was an ancient Tamil dynasty, one of the three Tamil dynasties, the other two being the Chola and the Chera. The Pandya King, along with Chera King and Chola King, together were called as Three Crowned Kings of Tamilakam. The dynasty ruled parts of South India from around 600 BCE (Early Pandyan Kingdom) to first half of 17th century CE. They initially ruled their country Pandya Nadu from Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai. Fish being their flag, Pandyas were experts in water management, agriculture(mostly near river banks) and fisheries and they were eminent sailors and sea traders too. Pandyan was well known since ancient times, with contacts, even diplomatic, reaching the Roman Empire. The Pandyan empire was home to temples including Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and Nellaiappar Temple built on the bank of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli. The Pandya kings were called either Jatavarman or Maravarman Pandyan. From being Jains in their early ages, they became Shaivaits after some centuries of rule
According to the Epic Mahabharatha the legendary Malayadwaja Pandya, who sided with the Pandavas and took part in the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata, is described as follows in Karna Parva "Although knowing that the shafts (arrows) of the high souled son of Drona employed in shooting were really inexhaustible, yet Pandya, that bull among men, cut them all into pieces".
Malayadwaja Pandya and his queen Kanchanamala had one daughter Thataathagai alias Meenakshi who succeeded her father and reigned the kingdom successfully. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built after her. The city of Madurai was built around this temple. It is also notable that the etymology of the name Meenakshi came from two Tamil words Meen(Fish) and Akshi(Eye) which collectively means 'Fish Eyed'
Late 12th century
Like the Jews, who wandered the world for years in exile and without land, so did the Pandyans wander far from Madurai,their homeland after their king Vira pandyan was defeated by the great Aditya karikala chola and banished to Ceylon now called sri lanka.
The Cholas had now been dominant in south India for over 300 years and it reminded many of the Pandyan historians of their times under the Kalabhras, when they had lorded over them between the 3rd and 6th century and it had taken a mighty hero in the form of Kadungon pandyan to defeat the kalabhras along with the help of pallava king simhavishnu.The people of the land prayed for a hero to save them and redeem their lost pride which lay under the feet of the chola empire.
The famous and ancient Pandyan kingdom now lay under the rule of the mighty emperor Kulothunga Chola III of the Chola dynasty.Sadayavarman Kulasekaran was the king but in title only and he and the people of the kingdom knew where the real power lay but sadly there was not much anybody could do about it for the Chola empire was at its peak of power and glory at the hands of Kulothunga Chola III.
Many stayed back in their land, especially the poor and those for whom it mattered not who ruled them as it was the same story under every king. For those poor but hardy souls, eaking a living was work and war enough and so they plodded on relying only on mother earth, the sun,the monsoon rains and their own strength.
It is the same today for it matters not who or which party is in power in chennai and delhi for one has to work to survive and in the end that is what matters for poor and hard working people. Matters of politics and affairs of the state are left to the wise or so called wise and most hard working people just get on with their work and duties. for them sunrise means work and sunset means to lie on a mat and fall asleep. They sleep well, work hard and live but can the same be said about the rich. Do they sleep well in their soft beds and sheets of silk and satin.
malarnthum malaratha paathi malar pola valarum vizhi vanname
vanthu vidinthum vidiyatha kaalai pozhuthaga vilaintha kalai anname
nathiyil vilaiyadi kodiyil thalai seevi nadantha ilam thendrale
valar pothigai malar thondri madurai nagar kandu pozhintha tamizh mandrame
PASAMALAR
Avini was born to Nannan and ponni in a small village called Kurunji,outside madurai which was then called KOODAL,sometime during the late 12th century A.D. or C.E. Nannan was a farmer and he toiled and scraped a living on a small piece of land which had been in their family for generations.He and his wife lived in a small hut under a neem tree next to their land as did many others around them. The village survived maybe because more than money, the villager traded with each other the produce from their land and most tried to cultivate something different from what the neighbouring lands produced. Most of the villages in the times survived like this and the only time they met people from outside was when outsiders mostly the messengers from their king came to collect what they could collect and sadly they came many a time to also collect able bodied men and youngsters to wage wars. Funnily, this is what the germans did under hitler and the russians did under stalin. Time travels but the practices of men and wars remain the same.
The birth of Avini was a great event and everybody in the village had been waiting for the arrival of new life in the village of kurunji for it was a village of widows and old men and ponni became pregnant in her forties when most women had already finished with their child bearing phase and it was even more of a surprise for nannan was twenty years older than ponni and nobody thought they would be having sex or well that is how they clucked their tongues, smirked and raised their eyebrows when ponni's stomach started showing the swell of motherhood.But most of the villagers rather than dwell on hows and whys of the sex lives of the couple, welcomed and waited with bated breath for the arrival of a new child.
Avini was born in the month of july when summer had retreated and the monsoon rains came with the promise of better times. But hope and joy turned to gloom when it was found that the newborn was a girl and blind in both eyes. Yet the people of the village rallied around nannan and ponni and blessed the new arrival and left gifts that they could manage, like baskets of vegetables and fruits. The women were the ones who were most happy for though avini was blind she had a sweet voice and her cries touched the souls of the women for it reminded them of all their sons who had died in battles and their daughters who were all married and settled in nearby villages.
The village of kurunji had a population of about 80 and 50 of them were above 60.The oldest of them was Appanar iyya, who was nearly 90 years old and he was regarded their leader and as the person to go to whenever there rose a problem or debate. Unlike any of them, who had rarely crossed the boundaries of the village, Appanar iyya had been a sailor once in his younger days but that was long ago. Nowadays he spent most of his time roaming the forest and sometimes disappeared for many days. It was rumored that many a time he was found sitting alone talking to himself or talking loudly to trees and to thin air.
But Appanar iyya came to see the new child and holding her gently it was he gave her the name AVINI.
He chuckled when the baby held tightly to his fingers and looked at nannan and ponni and said ' I sense something about this child, something beautiful, so give her your best and treat her kindly. Being blind is maybe a blessing for all those who are blessed with sight, do not always use that sight for the greater good of this land and there is not much good happening that should be seen with our eyes. Too many wars and too much death and sometimes i wish i had been blind too, so that i would have been spared from witnessing all those killings in the many wars our clan had to fight.'
Avini grew up quickly and her parents and the people of the village realised that she was a very brave child and also had an uncanny sense of things and surroundings around her and even eerier sense of judgement. She sat on appanar iyya's lap as he listened to the villager's problems and whispered in his ears when she found someone lying by hearing their voices when they stated their case and problems. Her blindness had somehow reworked the circuits of her brain and it seemed to be performing at a higher level than normal beings. Yet the god of sight shunned her and she lived her life in the dark, although she knew day and night by the warmth and the cold and by the caws and cackles of birds and animals in the village.
"Part of the problem with the word 'disabilities' is that it immediately suggests an inability to see or hear or walk or do other things that many of us take for granted. But what of people who can't feel? Or talk about their feelings? Or manage their feelings in constructive ways? What of people who aren't able to form close and strong relationships? And people who cannot find fulfillment in their lives, or those who have lost hope, who live in disappointment and bitterness and find in life no joy, no love? These, it seems to me, are the real disabilities." Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember
Happy woman's day
Edited by s.satishkumar - 10 years ago
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
Hindi TV Shows
Current Affairs
