In Tiruvallikeni, Tamil Brahmins, Kannadigas, Marwaris, Jains, Muslims, Christians all rise above differences and seek to promote the idea that each constituent makes a solid contribution to the area.
Contrast is what makes life in Tiruvallikeni interesting. Here, Tamil has different accents/slangs/dialects. It has continuously evolved and changed over the centuries and is still changing.
Even as local youths on the one side speak their ‘Kalaaikkal’ Tamil or Thanglish, the North Indians continue to speak their own ‘Marwari Tamil, ‘ Vootku mele vandhen ...’ Kannadigas are heard saying ‘Aaathukku Oghittu, nalaikku barthene …,’ a mixture of Tamil and Kannada. Mothers living around the Mada streets are indeed worried and hence send their children to the nearby Parthasarathy temple so that they learn to speak chaste Tamil called the Vaishnava Paribashai, spoken by the scholars there.
“ Adiyen Dasan ”' (I am the Lord’s servant) is the famous Vaishnavite form of greeting. “ Thirumeni Paanga ?” would translate as ‘Hope you are fine’ and “Adiyenoda Kudilinil Deval Ponnadi sattranum ” would mean ‘Please visit my home.’ Death in a typical Vaishnavite way would be put across like this - “ Swami Thirunaattukku Ezhundharuli Vittaar ” (Swami has passed away).
Want somebody to speak up? The word is ‘Sadhikka ’ (Serve). Even food items are identified in pure Tamil. Rice is Amudhu, cooked vegetable is Kariamudhu, Sambar is Negizh Kariamudhu, Rasam is Saatramudhu and Payasam is Thirukannaamudhu.
To this day, Vedic pundits and Vaishnavite scholars in and around the temple speak chaste Tamil and ensure that they do not mix words from other languages.
Dr. M.A. Venkatakrishnan (inset) says that although the temple rituals are based on the Vaikanasa Agamas, Naalayira Divya Prabhandham, suit of 4,000 hymns sung by Azhwars is the guiding spirit. It was Ramanujacharya, who decided that the temple utsavams and rituals should be based on the Prabhandam. For more than 700 years, this has been followed.
The two Brahmotsavams, Pagal Pathu which is called the Thirumozhi Thirunaal, and Raapathu, which is called the Thiruvaimozhi Thirunaal, are all based on Tamil pasurams. Dr. Venkatakrishnan says the pasuram ‘Pothintha Garudan Mel Kariyaan’ sung by Peyazhwar in Mundraam Thiruvandhaadi coincides with the Garuda sevai in this temple. Also, Thirumangai Azhwar has composed a Chitra Kavi called the ‘Thiruvezhukootrigai,’ in the gait of a temple car, which is sung during the Car festival.
Children, men and women in this area are well-versed in Divya Prabhandam, and are able to communicate with each other in chaste Tamil. Vaishnavite lads too have learnt the balancing act well. When they are at the temple, they speak Paribashai although once they are out, Thanglish takes over. Impressed by this, Sastra University is planning to introduce a course to promote Tamil in the Triplicane area. Dr. Venkatakrishnan will be the coordinator.
