Some things quintessentially have a sense of belonging to a particular place and people. Take pongal, for instance. It is sold everywhere - from roadside eateries to famous restaurants - in the city. But still it is hard to come across the right, tasty and inexpensive variety of pongals tamarind, tomato, coconut - than at small eateries in the Dinamani Talkies area, which are run by the Sourashtras, the founders of this fast food of a busy handlooms age.
King of pongals
Pongal and Sourashtras are like synonyms. The king of their pongals is "puliyodharai" or "ambhad bhath" in their language. Non-Sourashtras somehow fail to make this simple dish to perfection.
Of all the vegetarian eateries, including those without a name board, the famous ones are Nagalakshmi Annexe near Alankar Theatre and Revathy Tiffin Centre on Krishnapuram First Street. Till two decades back, it was Mangala Vilas that ruled the roost, old timers say. With their huge numbers, these joints have silently drowned the noisy parotta stalls in the Keezha Vaasal area.
The Sourashtras have made a mark in the non-vegetarian milieu as well. Panaimarathu biriyani hotel off Thavittu Sandhai is renowned. It is a routine for people in the busy wholesale areas of East Madurai to start their evenings with another invention of Madurai Sourashtras, `pangara paan bhairi' or `mullu murungai elai adai,' bought hot and soft off pushcarts. It is believed to be an instant cure for dry cough.
Bun halwa
Says businessman K.S. Ramasamy: "We do not use much coconut in our food." Whenever former Chief Minister Kamaraj visited Madurai, he used to ask for idlis made in mud pot (tovli phalar) at a place near DM Court," he recalls. The "bun halwa" made from big rusk bread - a delicacy prepared during special occasions at home - is another sell-out. These days it is available at a sweet shop near Therkku Vaasal bus stop.
After food, comes cinema. Tamil films have always provided the much-needed respite to working men and women after a hard day's toil in the looms. It is no surprise then that Sourashtras have built many of the famous theatres in the city.
Says T.K. Subramanian, retired Tamil professor and pattimandram speaker: "Sourashtras have been not only a faithful audience of music and movies all along, but performers par excellence too. Apart from playback singer T.M. Soundararajan, who stands tall among all famous Madurai Sourashtras in the film world, there are many others who have been enriching the cultural scene. Many were exponents in violin, mridangam and veena. But with police restrictions and other avenues of entertainment like TV and cinema, the audience to the late night events is dwindling now."
Freedom struggle
Sourashtras have taken active part in the freedom struggle as well. When Rajaji took out a padayatra from Tiruchi to Vedaranyam from Tiruchi, 10 of the 46 participants were Sourashtras. Says G. R. Mahadevan, retired former vice principal, "N.M.R. Subburaman, fondly called as `Madurai Gandhi,' though coming from a family of high standing stooped to clean the toilets at a Dalits colony in Madurai, following the Mahatma's ideals not only in words but also in deeds."
"His benevolence could be gauged from the fact that he let Madurai Kamaraj University use his sprawling bungalow in posh Chokkikulam for a rent of Re. 1 a month on a 99-year lease. Yet another noteworthy and widely prevalent practice in our community is eye donation," he adds.
Another amazing fact is that the Sourashtra language has thrived for several centuries despite being only a spoken language. Not many new materials are written in Sourashtra to keep the language of this oldest migrant society of Tamil Nadu alive. The only solution, perhaps, is the wide promotion of a well-structured `lipi' (script) to the language.
Similarly, the traditional methods in textile production are fast fading into oblivion. Points out Mr. Ramasamy, "There used to be a time when women used to sit at their doorstep tying the knots on cloth (for dyeing to make the Sungudi sari) over a chat with neighbours who'll also be doing the same. These women passed on the laborious technique from one generation to another."
Likewise there were many techniques - like boiling senna leaves (alla paan) in water in the dyeing process to get fade resistant fast colours. Now, the younger generation is more interested in IT and other fields. So, many skills of our old people are dying with them."
Source - The Hindu MetroPlus
King of pongals
Pongal and Sourashtras are like synonyms. The king of their pongals is "puliyodharai" or "ambhad bhath" in their language. Non-Sourashtras somehow fail to make this simple dish to perfection.
Of all the vegetarian eateries, including those without a name board, the famous ones are Nagalakshmi Annexe near Alankar Theatre and Revathy Tiffin Centre on Krishnapuram First Street. Till two decades back, it was Mangala Vilas that ruled the roost, old timers say. With their huge numbers, these joints have silently drowned the noisy parotta stalls in the Keezha Vaasal area.
The Sourashtras have made a mark in the non-vegetarian milieu as well. Panaimarathu biriyani hotel off Thavittu Sandhai is renowned. It is a routine for people in the busy wholesale areas of East Madurai to start their evenings with another invention of Madurai Sourashtras, `pangara paan bhairi' or `mullu murungai elai adai,' bought hot and soft off pushcarts. It is believed to be an instant cure for dry cough.
Bun halwa
Says businessman K.S. Ramasamy: "We do not use much coconut in our food." Whenever former Chief Minister Kamaraj visited Madurai, he used to ask for idlis made in mud pot (tovli phalar) at a place near DM Court," he recalls. The "bun halwa" made from big rusk bread - a delicacy prepared during special occasions at home - is another sell-out. These days it is available at a sweet shop near Therkku Vaasal bus stop.
After food, comes cinema. Tamil films have always provided the much-needed respite to working men and women after a hard day's toil in the looms. It is no surprise then that Sourashtras have built many of the famous theatres in the city.
Says T.K. Subramanian, retired Tamil professor and pattimandram speaker: "Sourashtras have been not only a faithful audience of music and movies all along, but performers par excellence too. Apart from playback singer T.M. Soundararajan, who stands tall among all famous Madurai Sourashtras in the film world, there are many others who have been enriching the cultural scene. Many were exponents in violin, mridangam and veena. But with police restrictions and other avenues of entertainment like TV and cinema, the audience to the late night events is dwindling now."
Freedom struggle
Sourashtras have taken active part in the freedom struggle as well. When Rajaji took out a padayatra from Tiruchi to Vedaranyam from Tiruchi, 10 of the 46 participants were Sourashtras. Says G. R. Mahadevan, retired former vice principal, "N.M.R. Subburaman, fondly called as `Madurai Gandhi,' though coming from a family of high standing stooped to clean the toilets at a Dalits colony in Madurai, following the Mahatma's ideals not only in words but also in deeds."
"His benevolence could be gauged from the fact that he let Madurai Kamaraj University use his sprawling bungalow in posh Chokkikulam for a rent of Re. 1 a month on a 99-year lease. Yet another noteworthy and widely prevalent practice in our community is eye donation," he adds.
Another amazing fact is that the Sourashtra language has thrived for several centuries despite being only a spoken language. Not many new materials are written in Sourashtra to keep the language of this oldest migrant society of Tamil Nadu alive. The only solution, perhaps, is the wide promotion of a well-structured `lipi' (script) to the language.
Similarly, the traditional methods in textile production are fast fading into oblivion. Points out Mr. Ramasamy, "There used to be a time when women used to sit at their doorstep tying the knots on cloth (for dyeing to make the Sungudi sari) over a chat with neighbours who'll also be doing the same. These women passed on the laborious technique from one generation to another."
Likewise there were many techniques - like boiling senna leaves (alla paan) in water in the dyeing process to get fade resistant fast colours. Now, the younger generation is more interested in IT and other fields. So, many skills of our old people are dying with them."
Source - The Hindu MetroPlus
Thanks for the traditional post...
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