நுரைச்சோலை

Morawaka

மொரவக்க
Moravaka

Mora+waka

The side of Mora trees (Nephelium longanum)

Waka

From Wakkang: Part, portion, share (Sinhala); Vaakkam: A place name suffix meaning, side, surroundings, adjacent area, locality etc. (Tamil, especially coastal areas around Chennai); Paakkam: A neighbouring hamlet, fishermen’s colonies (Pre-Pallavan Tamil Index); A hamlet (Tamil, Changkam Diction, Mathuraikkaagnchi 137); A hamlet of the hill tract (Tamil, Changkam Diction, Ku’runthokai 339:2-3); A hamlet of the coastal tract (Tamil, Changkam Diction, Natti’nai 111:9); Village, seaside village, town (Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 4047); Vaku: (verb) To divide, separate, apportion; Vakuppu: (noun) Section, division (Tamil, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 5202); Vakukka: (verb) To divide; Vaka: Division, property (Malayalam, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 5202); Paku: (verb) Divide, separate, split; Pakal: (noun) Dividing, share; Pakir: (noun) Share, section, piece, portion; Pakuthi: (noun) Portion; Pangku: Part, share (Tamil, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 3808); Paangkar: Side, neighbourhood (Tamil, DED 4053)

Mora

A tree producing sweet or sub-acid fruits, Nephelium longanum (Sinhala); Murali, Mura’li, Nurai: Name of the same tree in Eezham Tamil (See column on Nuraichchoalai)

As could be seen from the table above, the Sinhala place name suffix Waka is a cognate of the Tamil place name suffixes Vaakkam and Paakkam and the Malayalam term Vaka. All of them are Dravidian and are derivates of the verb roots Vaku and Paku (V and P interchange, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 5202, 3808).

But, there are interesting points of observation.

The Sinahala place name suffix Waka mostly occurs in the southern and hilly parts of the island where as the Tamil suffix Vaakkam is found in the coastal areas of northern Tamil Nadu. Neither Vaakkam nor Paakkam is found in Eezham Tamil place names.

In contemporary Tamil Nadu Vaakkam and Paakkam are generally considered as suffixes of coastal place names. Only in the Changkam Tamil literary traditions Paakkam comes as a toponymic suffix of the hill country (Ku’runthokai 339: 2-3), in addition to the coastal tract. It also generally means a village in the Changkam literature. More interestingly, the closest parallel to the Sinhala term Waka, with identical shade of meaning, is found in the Malayalam term Vaka.

The suffix is one of the many examples for the presence of a Dravidian substratum in the Sinhala place names and its close relationship with old Tamil and Malayalam.

See column on Nuraichchoalai for discussions on the prefix of the place name Mora, which is a tree producing sweet or sub acid fruits (Nephelium longanum).

Morawaka, a part or side of land that was once having the Mora trees, became a rubber plantation and is now a tea estate in the Matara district of Southern Province.


Some related place names:

Sita-waka: (S’eeta-waka): The cool side or the chilly side. Another possibility is that the side or part was named after one of the following plants: Cordia myxa, a small tree; Aloe vulgaris, a sort of aloe; or Marsilea quadrifolia a plant also called Diya-æmbul æmbiliya. Sitawaka is near Avissawella in the Colombo district of Western Province. It was the capital of a kingdom in the 16th century.

Dena-waka: The side of cowherds (pasture land) or the part that was bestowed. This is a place near Pelmadulla in the Ratnapura district of Sabaragamuwa Province. There are two parts of the place; Uda-kada, the upper part and Pata-kada, the lower part (Kade: Side; Kannada, Dravidian Etymological Dictionary 1109; Pathi: Be low-lying as land; Pathivu: Depression, Tamil, DED 3911)


Some place names around Chennai:

Purasai-vaakkam: The side, part or locality of Purasu trees

Puzhuthi-vaakkam: The side or part of dusty earth.

Koddi-vaakkam: The side where Koddi yam grows

Ma’n’ni-vaakkam: The sandy side


Paakkam in Changkam literature:

1. Village in general: “Kad ko’ndik-kudip-paakkaththu…” (Mathuraikkaagnchi 137)
2. Village in a hilly place: “Chaaral ku’ravar paakkaththu izhitharum…” (Ku’runthokai 339: 2-3)
3. Village in a coastal place: “Perungkazhip-paakkam kallena..” (Natti’nai 111:9)

First published: Friday, 20 August 2010, 22:44 

Nuraichchoalai

நுரைச்சோலை
Nuraiccōlai

Nurai+choalai

The grove of Nurai (Murali) trees (Nephelium longanum)

Revised: Thu, 01 Nov 2007

Nurai	(Eastern Province Tamil dialect), Murali, Mura'li (Vanni Tamil dialect), Mora (Sinhala): A tree, bearing fruits similar to lychee. Dragon's Eye, Soapberry, Nephelium longanum, Dimocarpus longan, Euphoria longan, Euphoria malaiensis, Euphoria sinensis, Euphoria verruculosa of the Sapindaceae family
Choalai	Grove

Nurai / Murali / Mora (Nephelium longanum / Dimocarpus longan): A matured tree [Courtesy: TopTropicals.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: foliage [Courtesy: aycronto.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Flowering [Courtesy: TopTropicals.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Unripe fruits [Courtesy: TopTropicals.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: A bunch of ripe fruits [Courtesy: usda.gov]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Leaves, fruits and seeds [Courtesy: montosogardens.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora fruits: Peeled skin and translucent flesh [Courtesy: Wikipedia, photo by Surukuku (Nelson Ramos-Lopes)]

Nurai / Murali / Mora fruit: Cross section [Courtesy: Wikipedia, photo by Surukuku (Nelson Ramos-Lopes)]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Stem and bark [Courtesy: botanypictures.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: As a pruned and cultivated crop [Courtesy: TopTropicals.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora in the Alamany Farmer's Market, U.S.A [Courtesy: Plantworld.org]

Nurai or Murali (Nephelium longanum / Dimocarpus longan), is a wild, evergreen, fruit-bearing tree of the family of Ramboutan and Lychee (Sapindaceae).

It is considered to be a native of Southern China, Southeast Asia including Assam of India, Southwest India (Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka. It is widely found in Sri Lanka in the dry zone as well as wet zone forests.

The tree and its fruit are known by various names: Nurai in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, Murali or Mura'li in Vanni, Mora in Sinhala, Chem-poovam / Chem-poovan / Kaaddup-poovam in the dialects of Tamil Nadu, Mata-kuching in Malaysia, Leng-keng in Indonesia, Lung-ngan (Dragon's Eye) and Pin-yin (Round Meat) in Chinese.

This shady tree of dark green foliage can grow up to 50 feet. It bears fruits between July and September. The fruits appear in bunches and in abundance. A matured tree can produce up to 200 kg of fruits in a season.

In tropical environs, the fruiting cycle of the tree is erratic. A gap of a couple of years or more could be there in between two occasions of good yield. This is noticed in Sri Lanka too. But, the saying in Vanni that the tree bears fruits only once in twelve years is an exaggeration.

The globular fruit of unique flavour and sweet taste has a thin brown skin, which can be peeled easily. The flesh is translucent, containing a hard, shiny black seed, which is white at its base. The seed and the flesh also can be separated easily. The fruit resembles very much the lychee, but is smaller in size. It is often considered a poor cousin (little brother or slave in the Chinese accounts) of lychee (Nephelium litchi / Litchi chinensis).

When the skin is removed, the black seed, seen through the white translucent flesh, make the fruit to look like an eyeball. The Chinese term Lung-ngan and its rendering in English Dragon's Eye, along with another English name Cat's Eye, have come from this feature of the fruit.

The powdered seeds when mixed with water produce foam. This can be used as Shampoo. The Tamil term Nurai, prevailing in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka seemed to have originated from this attribute of the seeds. Nurai means foam in Tamil. Note that one of the English names for the tree is Soapberry.

The Vanni Tamil term Murali and the Sinhala name Mora for the tree and its fruit seem to be cognates sharing common origins.

Probable old Tamil words of etymological connection from the Changkam diction are Muruku and Murunthu. Relevant shades of meaning for Muruku are honey, toddy and pleasant smell. Murunthu is whiteness or tender white sprout. The Sinhala words Meeraa (sweet toddy), Meerita (sweetness) and the Dhivehi (Maldivian) word Meeru (sweetness) also can be brought in here for comparison. Another obsolete Tamil word that can be cited is Ma'rukai, which is a synonym for Nungku, the sweet jelly of the seeds of tender palmyra fruit (Winslow's Tamil Dictionary). Nungku resembles the translucent flesh of Nurai / Murali fruit.

Ethnological writings of the colonial times record that the Veddas of Sri Lanka used the bark of the Mora tree as a substitute for arecanut (John Baily, 1863). This could be an evidence to assign Sri Lanka as one of the natural habitats of the tree.

It is one of the sacred trees protected in the Kaavus (sacred groves) of Kerala.

The Murali fruit in its wild settings of Vanni is immortalized in Nilakki'li, a significant Sri Lankan Tamil novel written by Balamanoharan in the early 1970s.

The fruit still remains wild in Sri Lanka, whereas elsewhere it has become a cultivated crop of export potentialities. The domesticated trees are induced by environmental control, irrigation and chemicals to bear fruits in abundance every year. The trees are pruned for keeping at reachable height. The produce is refrigerated, canned and dried for marketing. The fruit is a good source of potassium and is low in calories.

In herbal medicine, especially in the Chinese school, the produces of the tree are used in the treatment of a wide range of ailments, fever, insomnia, allergies, diabetes, cardiovascular complaints and so on.

The wood is used in making furniture.

Choalai, the suffix of the place name, meaning grove, is an old Tamil word of Changkam diction (Natti'nai as well as Chilappathikaaram and Ma'nimeakalai).

Nuraich-choalai is a village in the Aalim Nakar GS area of the Akkaraippattu division of Ampaa'rai district.

Examples of Related Place Names:

Chinna-nuraich-choalai: The small grove of Nurai trees. It is a village in the Kudumpimalai GS area of the Koa'ra'laippattu division of Batticaloa district.

Morak-koddaagn-cheanai: The slash and burn fields having the stump of Mora trees. A GS area in the Koa'ra'laippattu division of Batticaloa district

Mora-wewa: The tank of Mora trees. A divisional headquarters in the Trincomalee district.

Mora-gaha-pa'l'lama: The shallow area/water source of Mora trees. A GS area in the Damana division of Ampaa'rai district

Mora-deniya: The place of Mora trees. A GS area in the Padiyathalaava division of Ampaa'rai district

Mora-goda: The hillock/elevated land of Mora trees. A place of two GS areas in the Gampaha division of Gampaha district

Mora-golla: The grove of Mora trees. The name is found in several places as GS areas: Pathahewaheta division (Kandy district), Galewela division (Matale district), Naula division of Matale district, Hanguranketha division of Nuwareliya district, Kotavehera division of Kurunegala district, Ganewatta division of Kurunegala district, Panduwasnuwara division of Kurunegala district and Soranathota division of Badulla district.

Mora-yaaya: The expanse of Mora trees. A place of two GS areas in the Weeraketiya division of Hampantota district

Canned Nurai / Murali / Mora fruits among other such items [Courtesy: 21food.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora fruits as Chinese dessert or sweet soup [Courtesy: flickr.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Marketed as dried fruit [Courtesy: 21food.com]

Nurai / Murali / Mora: Dried fruit [Courtesy: jupiterimages.com]

First published: Wednesday, 31 October 2007, 01:24

TamilNet launches weekly video programme

 
TamilNet plans to launch shortly a weekly video programme Palaka’ni, fulfilling repeated requests from its readership to extend services in Tamil. The programme will have panel discussions on current affairs in Tamil. Even though constraints faced by TamilNet are manifold, we go forward in this venture considering the needs of the times. TamilNet appeals for continued support and cooperation of its readership, which has been the sole provider of support to the functioning of TamilNet until now. TamilNet reiterates its independent and democratic support to the national cause of Eezham Tamils. As an alternative media TamilNet may have to continue functioning in alternative ways to maintain its freedom, independence and commitment to the cause. Our request to the media world is not to view us in conventional terms but to help us in this experiment of information liberation.

TamilNet Palaka'ni

Who owns TamilNet, from where does it function, who are the editors, who are the correspondents, from where does it gets funds, why all-sides news and views are not covered, what is its relationship with the LTTE, why by-lines are absent in its articles and features, how is it accountable to what it says, why there are no contact details other than the email address, what is its ultimate aim and what is its stand on international affairs – these are frequently asked questions by well-wishers and critics alike.

Many of the questions stem from viewing media in conventional terms.

Humanity revolutionized information technology, providing opportunities as well as monopolies. TamilNet has taken up the positive sides that liberated information dissemination and applied it to the context of the scenario in the island of Sri Lanka and in the diaspora. Thus it was an experiment of its own kind.

However, TamilNet is firmly rooted on one conventional principle of media. It believes in the inseparability of democracy and media and has staunch faith in the democracy of humanity. It is because of this anchor, TamilNet was able to function successfully the past twelve years despite assassinations of its senior editor and staff and unofficial ban in the island of Sri Lanka. TamilNet is thankful to the democratic world and is always counting on its continuing support.

TamilNet was started in 1995 initially as an emailing media. The founder and colleagues in different parts of the world resolved not to claim individual ownership.

A TamilNet Foundation was registered in Norway but this doesn’t own TamilNet.com.

TamilNet’s operational headquarters is not restricted to country or ‘physical space’ as that of corporate-owned or state-owned conventional media. TamilNet’s operational headquarters is cyberspace with a transnational character. TamilNet does not have overhead expenses of maintaining a centralized office.

Even though temporary situations arose, especially during the peace process, to officially register TamilNet as a media in Sri Lanka, TamilNet chose not to enter the conventional trap due to the potential nature of future censorship, which later proved to be the case.

How has TamilNet been funded is a question often asked. It was a combination of private sponsorship and project funding in the initial years.

Two of the editors in the editorial board, including the founder of TamilNet, have been owners of IT companies. The infrastructure facilities of the companies were deployed for the benefit of TamilNet.

A European country provided project funding during the years 1998 and 1999 which was partly helpful.

Later, there have been internet-based sponsors participating in ‘sponsor a journalist’ programme.

There have been TamilNet support groups in some countries, from time to time, covering the expenses on a voluntary basis. TamilNet maintains records of such contributions.

TamilNet maintains its own correspondents. During the Vanni war TamilNet’s independent correspondent, provided with equipment by TamilNet, was able to cover the happenings until the last days.

Except for a few translators, TamilNet do not have paid resources outside the island. All the editors outside the island serve voluntarily.

TamilNet is essentially a charity and non-profit organization. It remains a low-budget operation, exactly for the reason of not getting into the trap of capital owners or other establishments.

TamilNet earns credibility only through its work and not through personalities associated with it. This is in contrast to the approach applied by conventional media. The editorial board of TamilNet is guided by the principle that it is an alternative media, and the editors neither seek publicity nor make claims to their inputs.

TamilNet was never funded by the LTTE. It was also never controlled by the LTTE. As a media committed to the national cause of Eezham Tamils, TamilNet was maintaining close information contacts with the LTTE and because of the commitment of TamilNet to the national cause, the LTTE was always trusting the TamilNet for releasing information. Pirapaharan’s LTTE was respecting the media freedom of TamilNet.

TamilNet is not equipped to cover all-sides news and views. Hence it concentrates only on exclusive news and views related to Eezham Tamils, which are otherwise unavailable. Readers view TamilNet as a media specialised in a particular shade of information.

Readers contact us through email. The structure and functioning of TamilNet doesn’t permit other modes of contact. However, we find that news sources and others who really wish to contact know how to contact.

Coming to accountability, keeping in mind its semi-transparent nature, TamilNet takes utmost care in the verification of news, self-censorship and in maintaining decency.

Credibility is its accountability and it has been proved on many occasions.

TamilNet is committed to the cause of Eezham Tamils the solution to which is long overdue, running into several decades now. Time to time several media started by Tamils were serving the cause, but there was no continuity. Deploying modern technology and transcending individuals TamilNet has to develop an integral continuity to reach posterity.

TamilNet’s international approach is based on its national perspectives. It neither backs any power nor is bound by any of them. Eezham Tamils should have their own independent and democratic polity is the stand of TamilNet.

nagimugan

1st Anniversary of Lord Thiruvaluvar

Since 19 year Lord Thiruvaluvar Statue ( Selai ) veiled the good will of Honorable Karnataka C.M.YEDIYURAPPA, Unveiled after several Protest faced,
On veiling moments is very glad and paying thanks to our beloved C.M.Yediyurappa.
Today 1st Anniversary of Lord Thiruvaluvar by garlanding programme by KARNATAKA TAMILS CO-ORDINATING ORGANISATION committee organizer Thiru.Devadas,Pulavar Pavisaiko,
Editor T.C.Prakesh had released a weekly magazine
Thamizhar Kalam, Manivannan,Gopi,Sunil,Kumar,Ravi,Rajendran,Solomon,Babu,
Kovalan,Wilson,Vijay

British PR firm whitewashing Sri Lanka’s reputation

British PR firm whitewashing Sri Lanka’s reputation - report
[ Wednesday, 04 August 2010, 22:35 GMT]
British public relations firm Bell Pottinger Sans Frontiers is working for the Sri Lankan government to improve Colombo’s international image, in the wake of its mass killings of Tamil civilians last year and ongoing rights abuses, The Guardian newspaper said this week in an investigative report into UK firms’ role in ‘reputation laundering’ for unsavoury regimes and leaders. "An investigation by the Guardian has revealed that [London’s] public relations firms are earning millions of pounds a year promoting foreign regimes with some of the world's worst human rights records, including Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka," the paper said.

“The doyen of this business is Lord Bell, the chairman of Chime Group, which runs Bell Pottinger.”

Chime plc, headed by Lord Bell, Margaret Thatcher's former adviser, earned almost half of its £67m income last year from foreign contracts, up from 37% in 2008, the paper said.

"Autocratic governments are realising they need to be more sophisticated in the way they act rather than just telling people how it is," Francis Ingham, chief executive of the PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association), told The Guardian.

Apart from Sri Lanka, Chime has also represented the Zambian government, which in May was accused by human rights organisations of harbouring Rwandan genocide suspects, the paper said.

"More and more PR firms are moving from representing companies to representing countries, whatever their records," said Paul Farrelly MP, a member of UK Parliament’s culture, media and sport select committee.

"Any self-respecting professional should ask themselves [when taking on a client] if this is a regime they should be representing."

The British PR industry's voluntary code of conduct, drawn up by the PRCA, requires that "political consultants must advise clients where their activities may be illegal, unethical or contrary to professional practice, and to refuse to act for a client in pursuance of any such activity".

But some of the lucrative deals may breach the industry's voluntary code of conduct, drawn up by the PRCA, the paper said, in an extensive report.

In Bell Pottinger’s case, the question doesn’t arise: the firm has simply not signed up to the industry code.

The paper said Lord Bell's position on the ethics of which contracts to take is simple: "I wouldn't do anything I would do a bad job on."

Which is probably why Bell Pottinger declined when Omar Bashir, the president of Sudan, already wanted by the international criminal court on suspicion of crimes against humanity relating to the Darfur genocide, approached it and another firm, via representatives, asking for their help in managing his image.

"I am not an international ethics body," Lord Bell added. “We do communications work.”