இதழ்களில் சிற்பி

The Mediterranean connection
SIRPI BALASUBRAMANIAM

Theories abound on the origin and diffusion of the Dravidian race and its languages. Australian, African, Lemurian and Harappan origins have been widely discussed by anthropologists, historians and philologists again and again.

In 1963, a scholarly work Dravidian origins and the west by Dr. N. Lahovary, translated from his original French work, was published in English and sadly it did not receive the attention it richly deserved. In the words of eminent historian K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Lahovary seeks to demonstrate that just as the Indo-Aryan Languages of Northern India are related to the Indo-European languages of Northern and Eastern Europe, so also the Dravidian Languages of South India are more or less closely related to a near Eastern and Mediterranean agglutinative group of languages of Pre Indoa-European Times.

Mr. Lahovary tries to establish a close relationship between the oldest elements in Basque – a Pre-Indo-European Language which still survives in the Pyrenness on the border land between France and Spain. Mr. Lahovary is of the opinion that the near east (comprising Syria, Palestine, Persia, Mesopotamia with its extension to India ) is the cradle of the first civilization from where the ancestors of the Dravidians fanned out to the West and East in successive migrations.

The Worship of Mother Goddess, Aphonomenin, if Dravidians still survive in the sub-consciousness of the Mediterranean Christianity through the veneration paid to the ‘Black Virgin's' in Italy, Spain and France. The emblem of the Mother Goddess was fist and reminds us of Minakshi of Madurai. As mother of plants she is symbolised by the fig tree in Asia minor and in Mediterranean Europe. This symbolism finds and echo in the binding of peepul branches in the marriage court yards in Tamil country. The mother goddess is also connected with the serpent worship, in the Pre-Hellenic Mediterranean world and the worship of the serpent is still in existence in South India.

It is also said that other ties between the Pre – Indo – European civilisations of the Mediterranean and the Pre- Aryan India is noticeable in the Megalithic structure in the Dravidian India and the Mediterranean Europe. As found in ancient Mesopotamia and parts of Mediterranean world the placing of the dead in terra-cota jars was frequent in ancient South India.

Tamil or Dravida was probably Dramil or Dramiza in its oldest forms according to the author. The Lycians of Asia minor, a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean people called themselves Trimmili. Herodotus has noted that the Lucians, the Original inhabitants of Crete, were known by the name ‘Termilai.' After devoting a chapter on the similarities of phonetic peculiarities in Basque and Dravidian languages. Lahovary concludes that they have the closest ties among all the languages of the peri-mediterranean family.

When he deals with the structural and morphological parallels, the author is convinced of the essentially suffixial nature of basque and Dravidian which separates them from Western Hermitic. Dr. Lahovary sets apart half of the book giving example of etymological parallels. The reader will be surprised at the large number of common words in Basque and Dravidian languages.

Some examples: Dravidian and Basque – AL (male), Ar (male); Odal (body), Odal (blood); Mukku (nose), moko (beak); Kella (thief), Kaldar (thief); Ubbu (swelling), Ug-atz (breast); Wisar (sweat), Izerdi (sweat); Kuru (small), Korro (small); Alal (crying), Aldia (lament).

In spite of its short comings, Dr. Lahovary has unraveled the distant relationship between Dravidian languages and pre-Europen Languages especially Basque.When the book was published in 1963 in English, the author did not live to see the happy event.

THE HINDU

June 23, 2010------------------------------------
கவிஞர் சிற்பி பவள விழா குழு
கவிஞர் சிற்பி பாலசுப்ரமணியன் சாகித்திய அகாதமிப்பரிசை இரு முறை -கவிதைப்படைப்பிற்காகவும், மொழிபெயர்ப்பிற்காகவும்- பெற்றவர். சாகித்திய அகாதமியின் தமிழ்குழு ஒருங்கிணைப்பாளர்.

அவரின் பவள விழா 30.,31.07.2011, தேதிகளில் கோவையில் நடைபெற உள்ளது. அவ்வமயம் கவிஞர் சிற்பி பவள விழா மலர் ஒன்று சிறப்பான முறையில் வெளியிடப்பட உள்ளது.
அம்மலரில் தங்களின் வாழ்த்துச் செய்தி மேலான படைப்பு ஒன்று வெளிவர தங்களது கட்டுரை/கவிதை/நினைவுக்குறிப்பு மற்றும் தங்களிடம் இருக்கும் கவிஞர்  பற்றிய அரிய செய்திகள்/ புகைப்படங்கள் அனுப்பி உதவ வேண்டுகிறோம்.
தங்களது படைப்புகள், நன்கொடைகள் வருகிற 30.06.2011  தேதிக்குள் கிடைக்குமாறு அனுப்ப வேண்டிகிறோம்.

தங்கள் அன்பிற்குறிய,
கவிஞர் சிற்பி பவள விழா குழு


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