A brief history of Christians in coastal Tamil Nadu
A picturesque Manapad, the cradle of coastal Christianity in Tamil Nadu.
| ஏலே கீச்சான் வெந்தாச்சு – நம்ம சூச பொண்ணும் வந்தாச்சு ஹே ஈசா வரம் பொழிஞ்சாச்சு | Mate, the tiger fish curry is done cooking and Joseph’s girl is here. Jesus has showered his blessings |
| Elay = Mate; Keechan = Tigerfish, freshwater fish available in Tuticorin and Cuddalore | Joseph’s girl = Mary. In this case Beatrice |
This opening title song Elay Keechan, immediately brings to mind a certain people. Elay and Yekki are how you would address a boy or a girl in this coastal town. It’s a corruption of the Portuguese terms Ela and Equ.
How did the Portuguese come to influence the language, culture and religion of the fishermen here?
Mani Ratnam’s latest movie Kadal is about a fisherman from a village close to Tuticorin called Manapad. This is of immense interest to me, as I consider the place my cultural roots. Having grown up in bigger cities all my life, I always come back here, to figure out what makes me me. That journey of self-discovery is absolutely thrilling. I wanted to see if Mani Ratnam added to my understanding of myself through this movie.
Let me introduce my cultural heritage to you then, via a popular song. A 1973 movie Do Phool saw Mehmood singing and dancing to a funny Tamil song. The Hindi speaking population ingloriously mutilated a Tamil song in Muthu Kodi Kawari Hada much less understood what it meant. Apparently Mehmood used to love mimicking Nagesh and Asha Bhosle loved LR Eswari and the song and dance in Do Phool was a remake of another tamil song called Muthu Kullika Varigala from a 1967 Tamil movie: Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi.
What does Muthu Kulikka Vaarigala mean?
Muthu Kulikka Vaarigala, in Tamil means Do you want to go deep sea fishing to harvest oysters for pearls?
urban bourbon 