new literature

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

I was browsing through and organizing my personal archives of the past 6

months.

 

Sifting through various "bhakti-list/SDDS" posts of many members I could not

help wondering if we are not seeing the emergence of a new language amongst

ourselves.

 

Most members make generous use of Sanskrit and Tamil expressions in their

learned and interesting posts. It is a wonder how beautifully sometimes

these Sanskrit and Tamil expressions blend with English in some your posts

(I will post examples later)!!

 

I confess I consider myself neither a literatteur nor a SriVaishnava in the

true sense of the word. But I am a 'rasika" and firmly believe that the

hallmark of SriVaishnavism is its 100% "literary character".

 

Tell me, dear friends, what would our faith and people be, indeed, without

the precious poesy of an Andal, a Desikan, a Kuresan or a Bhattar !! I have

yet to come across a SriVaishnava who is also not literary-minded ... who

melts at the sound of poetry, who is carried away ....by a mere phrase, a

simple lyric and a hymn .... into a paroxysm of devout pleasure !!

 

In my dictionary, dear friends, the "brahman", too loves verse !! For it is

"shabdam" that reveals and revels in Truth !!

 

By ALL MEANS and ALWAYS, dear friends, will I personally continue to welcome

and encourage lay and popular "literary feeling" in SriVaishnavism !

 

We all know that sometime during the 7th and 14th centuries Sanskrit came to

be profusely used by our 'acharyas' in several of their Tamil works. The

style of writing evolved slowly into what came to be called "mani-pravAlam".

Several extraordinary works of literature were born therefrom.

 

And then the style suddenly went out of fashion and became virtually extinct

for no good reason. Both religion and literature lost a source of treasure.

 

Now, today everywhere, dear friends, in SriVaishnava communities both in

India and elsewhere, as can be witnessed even in the "bhakti-list" posts,

there is a clear trend of people using, generously and comfortably, the

majesty of the English language too in their Sanskrit/Tamil appreciation of

SriVaishnavite subject-matter !!

 

The style may sound odd but nobody is really complaining and in fact they

are sometimes enjoying it, too, isn't it ?!!

 

Who knows, dear friends, by combining the beauties of 3 different languages

we are perhaps witnesses on the threshold of a new phase of development in

the history of SriVaishnava literature !! We may yet see the evolution, in a

few hundred years from now, of a new style of writing called

"anglo-mani-pravalam"!!

 

Please do not laugh away or "pooh-pooh" this idea of mine, dear friends !!

It might sound cranky but may well be prophetic --- as most prophetic ideas

of the world are!! Perhaps our great, great grandchildren may bear it out in

some distant future !

 

What is wrong with such a style anyway ?! What was wrong with the

"mani-pravAla" literary-form when it first emerged ?!

 

You tell me.

 

sudarshan

[Guest guest]

Mr. Sudarshan writes:

>Who knows, dear friends, by combining the beauties of 3 different languages

>we are perhaps witnesses on the threshold of a new phase of development in

>the history of SriVaishnava literature !! We may yet see the evolution, in a

>few hundred years from now, of a new style of writing called

>"anglo-mani-pravalam"!!

 

A wonderful concept, Mr. Sudarshan. I would like to add that this could

even be extended to speaking. An interesting example of a hybrid

manipravalam can be found among SriVaishnavas in Andhra. While Telugu and

English serve as the primary means of casual conversation among our families

in Andhra, many of them very easily, and without hesitation, utilize Tamil

words and phrases to refer to such sacred aspects of life as family, food,

holidays, and of course the Lord and His worship. Thus, words like Perumal,

Sarrumarai, Koil, Thiruman, Aradhanai, Chithappa, Paati, Maami, Teertham,

Saadham, etc., are eloquently interwoven with Telugu to produce a

distinctive dialect that would clearly identify one as being a follower of

the SriVaishnava paramparai.

 

The use of these seemingly simple Tamil words and phrases is taken quite

seriously. My wife's grandmother becomes very upset if the rice in her home

is called "anum" rather than "saadham." And, I once received a memorable

lecture from an uncle of mine when I referred to a specific temple ritual as

"abhisheka."

 

Language is a very powerful force in the preservation and identification of

a culture. While we may not be able to pass all the riches of our languages

to future generations, I would like to suggest that we make the conscious

attempt to use even such simple words as those described above such that our

progeny in the US and elsewhere can connect to the unique nuances of our

heritage. I would like to think that one day Anglo-manipravalam would be as

distinctive as the Yiddish-English spoken among the Jews.

 

Daasanu Daasan,

 

Mohan

[Guest guest]

Can anyone tell me where I could access to a Manipravalam (Sanskrit-Tamil) Dictionery ? I am interested in translating the works of Acharya Pillai lokacharya.

[astro_tech]

thanks for sharing