In my blog, I used the title Tulu’research.’ The word’research’ is probably too pompous for a blog title. I chose the title word to give myself a boost of sincerity and seriousness in my blog work. Similarly, I believed that the word would earn the reader’s respect.
Similarly, I believe it is the blogger’s responsibility to define and describe some of the basic words used in the blog, such as Tulu, Tuluva, and Tulunad.
Tulunad (naaD=land) today is a melting pot of customs, castes, and communities, as well as a playground for a plethora of languages and sublanguages, cultures, and subcultures. It is a micro-India in both diversity and unity. Tulu is spoken by the people of Dakshina Kannada and southern Udupi districts in Karnataka, as well as parts of Kasargod district in Kerala. However, enterprising Tulu communities have spread throughout India and the world as employees, professionals, businessmen, and educators.
However, the concept of Tulunad is essentially a mythical aspiration, as there is no specific geographic boundary or socio-political entity that can be delineated as Tulunad. Tulunad exists only in the minds of Tulu speakers. Tulu people have been a part of Kannada kingdoms for several centuries and their current status remains the same. Sociopolitically, the notional Tulunad is defined as a Tulu-speaking region within the Indian state of Karnataka.
As a result, a Tuluva is anyone who speaks or writes in Tulu when the opportunity arises. He may communicate in Tulu because it is his mother tongue, because he needs to converse with another Tuluva, or simply because he enjoys doing so. So there are Tuluvas by birth and Tuluvas by choice, by definition. Tuluvas may have their own mother tongues, which they nurture and cherish in their hearts as all good humans do. Tuluvas may choose to communicate in Kannada, Havyaka, Nadava, Aregannada, Konkani, Beary, Koorgi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi Gujarathi, Hindi, English, or any other language of this land.
My definition of Tuluva includes all those who can or enjoy communicating in Tulu, and it should include both Tuluvas by birth and Tuluvas by association or choice. In the global village, a Tuluva has a telescopic multi-cultural identity because, in addition to being a Tuluva, he is also a Kannadiga. He is also an Indian, and in the sense of pervasive universal brotherhood, he is a global citizen.
Tulu language and culture have a nearly four thousand year history. Throughout this long period, Tulu has witnessed several episodes of human race migration, language evolution, and customs. Every Tuluva has the right to explore the hazy paths of distant past along which the Tulu language and cultures have evolved. The evolution of Tulu language and culture is inextricably linked with the evolution of India’s diverse languages and composite culture; in essence, it is the evolution of Karnataka as well as India.
The Tulu language and culture have suffered as a result of a lack of historical documentation. Putting together strands of historical evidence and compiling data is a difficult task. Analyses of Tulu language, words, and customs, as well as associated languages and cultures, are one way to accomplish this.
During 1982, my father, Budha Shivalli (1923-1982), compiled a book, ‘Tulu Patero’ (paatero=language), on the philology of Tulu language and grammar written in Tulu using Kannada script, which was eventually published in 2004. Linguists by education and linguists by choice or pure love of the language exist in the same way that “Tuluvas by birth and choice” do. Budha Shivalli was in the second category. I intend to provide a translation of his work in a separate blog linked to this blog for the benefit of those who are unable to read his original Tulu book. I’ll tell you more about it later.
During the editing and composition of Tulu Patero’s typescript in 2004, I felt that it needed a supplementary editorial in light of the developments from 1982 to 2004. I gathered information from books and the internet and synthesised my deductions and inferences into an editorial titled ‘Tulu nadath battina saadi’ (=Tulu’s Evolution). By choice and hobby, I am a philologist and linguist, just like my father. I am a geologist by trade and a philologist by passion for language.
The primary goal of the aforementioned editorial was to stimulate research into the historical evolution of Tulu language and culture, not to profit from sensationalism. However, some critics deemed the editorial ‘controversial,’ despite the absence of any further comments. Labeling a work as ‘controversial’ is a diplomatic way of declaring and recommending that the work is untrustworthy or unworthy of consideration.
So, I started this blog with the intention of providing a Tulu Patero translation. But, before diving into the actual translation, which requires a significant amount of spare time, attention, and patience, I thought I’d practise by reevaluating some of my favourite topics, previously published in Tulu in the form of the cited editorial. However, this bogging acts as a momentum or chain reaction, inducing you to contribute even more. Furthermore, I find that my ‘controversial’ thinking is quite different from Budha Shivalli’s rather puritan style. And the ‘controversial’ label that has been attached to me should not deter people from reading and referring to his work, which I consider to be an invaluable contribution. In light of this, the Tulu Patero will be on its own blog.
Returning to my blog, Tulu Research, I must admit that I have used terms like Tulu “tribes” in the style and meaning of other researchers on ancient races and groups. The term “tribe” refers to those early migrant families. It is not to be confused with the modern sociopolitical term ‘tribe,’ as in scheduled tribe or caste. A similar explanation applies to the contentious word derivation Bantu and Bant. It is intended for the etymological derivation of the original ancient word that is a profession indicator. No offence is meant to any communities that have adopted such names in recent years.
No disdain is ever expressed toward any of the groups because the author believes in universal brotherhood and human genetic equality.
Finding new friends to comment on my blog posts is one of the things I enjoy most about blogging. Manjunath Vadiari, who blogs about ‘Theories on Past Events,’ is a regular commenter on my posts. I enjoy reading the comments, including the dissents. Dissident views compel you to dig deeper and determine whether you made any incorrect assumptions or judgments during your studies.
The blogging ethics require that I make my intentions clear. The primary goal of my postings is to discover evolutionary trends in our historical heritage. The approach to discovering facts pertaining to the distant historical past may differ, as may the inferences drawn, but in the end, truth alone shall prevail. Satyameva Jayate!
To reaffirm my commitment to the sincere discovery of facts, I’d like to repeat what I wrote (1989) in the preface to my doctoral thesis on geology, under the strong and analytical influence of my mentor Prof. B. Krishna Rao:
“Accepting that for any problem there can be only one real and truthful answer, new avenues towards truth should be welcome, hoping that in the long run, only those ideas that stand test of the time will prevail. In the meanwhile, some of the concepts that aim at unraveling the truth or that may lead to new ideas elsewhere have to be encouraged.”
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