In a country where dialect changes every few kilometres, it is not uncommon to find a motley group nurturing a distinct Tanjore Marathi dialect.
Located in a predominantly Maharashtrian and Kannadiga area of Lingampally in Kacheguda, South Indian Maharashtrian Association (SIMA) is what its president A.K.T. Janak describes as, “a boutique organisation catering to the linguistic interest of Maharastrians who speak Tanjore Marathi. Interestingly it is a multi-lingual community with a pan Indian identity that takes the flavour of the language of the region where it is residing.”
About 400 years ago, Maharashtrians from Pune settled down in Thanjavur Maratha Kingdom during the time of Sivaji.
SIMA in Hyderabad comprises the descendants from these families, who speak Marathi dotted with Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu words.
Today the organisation boasts of 300 families in the twin cities, with another 200 in the other States and about 50 families abroad.
“We meet around once a month and on festivals. We celebrate Gudi Pawda, Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri as well,” says SIMA secretary S. Ramnath.
Come festivals and the flavour is zestful. Traditional Maharashtrian and Tamil cuisines come to the fore. “Puran poli, ‘Chinch bhat' or tamarind rice, ‘mandi sambhar bhat' (bisi bele bhat), ‘saar' (rasam) and ‘kadhi' are our traditional cuisines, which we prepare for pot luck during our get together,” says V. Brinda.
As for the ensemble, find the nine yards and Kanjeevarams worn by ladies of this community in the trademark ‘kashta' style for puja and festivals. “We are on the threshold of getting recognition as a linguistic entity on the lines of Konkanis and Tulus. We use Devanagari script but there is a definitive distinction between Maharashtrians and South Indian Maharashtrians,” says Mr. Janak.
Efforts are on to compile a dictionary of Tanjore Marathi words. The ongoing ‘Dakshini Marathi Punaruddharini' Project aims to record the dialect, as spoken in the beginning of the 21st Century and to have it included in the UNESCO's Red Book of Endangered Languages.
Founded in 1978 this organisation today celebrates its 33 years of formation. New families are enrolled as life members.
The membership extends to their children settled overseas. SIMA assists its members with a matrimonial service where a database of eligible men and women is maintained. SIMA is active in philanthropy as well.
“Sponsoring education of girl child and conducting health camps in Dr. Daware Upper Primary School and Vivek Vardhini Kanya Shala are some of the activities taken up by SIMA,” says Padmanabha Rao, one of the senior members of SIMA.
Merit scholarships are also set aside from the corpus fund. Members feel they can do further community service with financial support.
Functioning from the Karnataka Sahitya Mandir currently, two years ago the meetings were held in the members' houses. “We had petitioned for a plot of land a few years ago. But probably it was not considered,” says a member.
