A doorway into Tamil

Auroville Today: What inspired you to bring out this magazine?

Meenakshi: Many non-Tamil Aurovilians cannot speak Tamil. This realization has always haunted me and so, in the past, I have taken many steps to try to remedy it. The most successful attempts were when I was teaching Tamil one-on-one to people like Ruud Lohman, Barbara and Christine. They all had to speak Tamil daily with their workers and this need pushed them to learn spoken Tamil.

Other people have also tried over the years to improve people’s Tamil. There have been classes by Shankar and others, and Claude of Auro-Traductions began bringing out a simple phrase book in the four languages Mother specified for Auroville. However, this soon stopped. We are all too busy. People come for one or two months for a class but then they have to take up a job to maintain themselves and they drift away.

Actually, I have discovered that even native-born Tamils have no real knowledge of their language. Because of the influence of movies and television, what is spoken locally is an impoverished form: the depth and spirituality of the Tamil language is missing.

For many years I have been bringing out a magazine in Tamil which tries to remedy this deficiency. Then I thought, why don’t we do something in English for both the local people and for non-Tamil Aurovilians? So Harini and I started the first magazine in English, which was also called Vaasal. We wrote about the ancient history of Auroville, we introduced Tamil poetry and life in the village. However, Harini had no time to continue.

But this gave me the hope that something could be done in English. I was waiting for someone who was well versed in both languages who could help me to take the next steps. And then Jonathan came along.

Jonathan: My background is in music and languages. When I came to this area, I was told that Tamil is one of the world’s great classical languages. I was shocked because people always talk about Sanskrit as being one of these, not Tamil. However, after living for some time in the Adishakti community among dancers, actors and singers, I experienced some of the richness and beauty of South Indian culture and wanted to discover more.

I had heard about this wonderful Tamil poet, Meenakshi, so one day I went to her house unannounced and told her I thought she was the person I was looking for. Since then, I have learned so much from her. I learned that the first treatise on music and the arts Tamil was in Tamil, and that one of the ancient poems speaks of Tamil as being like ‘honey poured into the ears’. This is the true sound of classical Tamil.

The difficult thing for most people to understand is why it is important to learn Tamil. It is not simply to buy petrol in the local village; it is about discovering this vast ocean of literature and song.

Do you believe that if people understand the richness and beauty of the culture they will be more motivated to want to speak it?

Meenakshi: Very much so. For example, take the word ‘vaasal’. It means ‘doorway’, but this has many depths of meaning. It is from the root ‘vay’, mouth, the doorway of the face. It can also mean the entrance to Heaven and it is also about crossing thresholds, from the exterior to interior or from one stage of life to another.

The entrance of a house in Tamil Nadu is called ‘nillay vaasal’, the ‘standing knowledge’: it is the first thing to be constructed after the foundation. The nillay vaasal tells you about the situation of the house. If there are neem leaves above this door, it means there is a pox infection and you should not come inside. If there are mango leaves, it is an auspicious day. If there are banana leaves and fruit, it is a festivity and everybody is welcome.

In Tamil, many words have both a literal and an occult meaning. For example, ‘udkar’ means ‘sit’. But it is from ‘ud kar yar’, which means ‘Who are you inside?’ ‘Veedu’ is a house. But it comes from the root meaning ‘freedom’. So your house is the place that gives you freedom, that releases you from bondage. ‘Manaivi’ is wife, but also ‘foundation’. ‘Kanavan’ is the husband, but also the ‘third eye’ of the family.

Are these deeper meanings still understood by the local people?

Not by most of them. Certainly the younger generation do not know this, so the magazine will also be an eye-opener for them as well.

One of the reasons why some people are not so motivated to learn Tamil seems to be that the local culture and the way the language is spoken around here does not seem very elevated.

Meenaskshi: It is true that classical Tamil is not spoken around here. This is a region of folk culture: people do not write classical poetry but sing while they are working; it is music of daily life. The only place where I found some classical songs was at the Irumbai temple where the priest was reciting 7th century hymns. Otherwise, for classical culture you have to go further south, to places like Tanjore and Madurai.

But that culture is very rich. It’s worth remembering that Sri Aurobindo was an ardent student of Tamil. He wrote on the great Tamil poets and philosophers, and he even said that studying the roots of the Tamil language allowed him to understand the Veda better.

One of the most common reasons people give for not learning Tamil is it is too difficult, along with the fact that many of the local people have acquired some proficiency in understanding English.

Jonathan: Auroville is full of tremendous linguists, people who can speak three or four languages effortlessly, so the idea that Tamil is too difficult does not make sense. What is the block?

I think there are two things. The first thing is that when you are a good linguist you are used to finding languages easily. So I think that if you do not pick up Tamil immediately, you tend to be embarrassed and you would rather say you choose not to learn it than address the challenge.

Secondly, I think that sounds exist in Tamil that we cannot hear at first because we don’t have the ear for them. But if you understand that Tamil can be an adventure in discovering new sounds and music and rhythms, I think you find a new doorway into it. I found a wonderful partner in this endeavour in Krishna of Solitude Farm who just loves to celebrate Tamil for its sound.

For me, the main reason to try and say something appropriate in Tamil to a Tamil speaker is to make them smile: I want to make a heart moment out of it. Language has this magical power to turn an everyday situation into something joyous with just a single word.

But, above all, learning Tamil should be enjoyable.

Meenakshi: I experimented long ago with Tamil classes at Transition School. The classroom sessions didn’t work, so I realised that I had to access their five senses to help the students absorb the language. For the next class I asked them to come to my house and I told them we were going to make bhajji and chutney. As we prepared the food, I gave them the words for the ingredients. Then we made it and ate it together. It was a success.

Jonathan: To help learn language, I believe in daily practice. We can call it ‘Tamil yoga’!

Mennakshi: Actually, the different sounds of the Tamil consonants and letters emanate from different parts and chakras of the body. So even chanting the sounds is like a mantra as well as a breathing exercise.

What I learned from this issue of Vaasal is how little I know of Tamil customs and culture. For example, I didn’t realise that one should not ask direct questions in certain circumstances.

Meenakshi: You should not ask someone directly where they are going because it is believed it can cast a pall over a proposed journey. Also, you should not ask a direct question before going to bed that cannot be fulfilled. For example, if you ask your mother if there is more food, and there isn’t any, and then you die that night, for the rest of her life your mother will feel responsible. Again, if you are a Tamil man who sees a girl for the first time in preparation for a possible marriage, you will not say she is either ugly or beautiful. Everything has to be in moderation. That is why, in our culture, we don’t get excited about the greatness of great people or the smallness of small people.

As an Aurovilian, if a worker comes and gives you a marriage invitation you should not say you cannot come: they will not like this. You have to thank them and say you are happy to receive it.

Given the fact that there are more than 50 nationalities in Auroville, isn’t there an argument for evolving some kind of international language and code of conduct so we don’t have to navigate all these different cultural customs?

Meenakshi: It is happening, in Auroville a new language is emerging. But I think you should first understand a culture in its heritage and its depth before assimilating it into a new language. Just brushing it aside without bothering to know about it is not good.

Jonathan: This is a very important point. If a new language evolves, it should happen on an egalitarian basis so that one component, something drawn from one language, is not superior to another.

A concern about the loss of languages in the world today is that each language seems to tap into a slightly different perception and experience of the world, so that learning new languages is actually a way of expanding one’s experience. For example, I believe that Tamil has many words for the different stages of an unfurling of a flower whereas English only has one…

Meenakshi: True. And while there is no Tamil word for ‘ugliness’, we have many words for ‘beauty’.

Do you have plans for future issues of Vaasal?

Jonathan: We would like to come out every two months. For the next issue, Lourdes wants to speak to the lady who is the ‘funeral crier’ in Kuilapalayam. I’ve heard her sing. It’s extraordinary what a huge sound comes out of her when she sings.

Meenakshi: We also decided to interview more senior Tamil Aurovilians. In this issue, we were very happy to learn more about Mahalingam, who is one of the very few people alive today who met Sri Aurobindo. In future, we will also interview senior workers who have been at the inauguration of Auroville to find out how they see Auroville and its progress. And we won’t neglect the local folk elements. In this issue, for example, there is a story about a man who could not let his deceased wife go and how he finally managed to release her.

You could also invite people to write in with their questions about Tamil culture and language.

Jonathan: That’s a great idea. We will do a page of questions and answers each issue. We will also try to make a simple website.