THE HINDU Chennai Edition March 25, 2012
Madras Miscellany
When the postman knocked…
*Mambalam continues to intrigue readers.
S. Chandrasekar says that Mambalam was till comparatively recently populated more with Vilva trees (Aegle mermelos) than with people and, so, was called Maha-v/bilvam which became Mav/bilam and finally Mambalam. I have toured the whole area, he says, and found numerous Vilva trees still surviving in house compounds for religious reasons. He adds, “Usually the appearance of Vilva trees in a city is a rare occurrence and to have so many in one area would have been reason enough for the area's name to evolve from it.” Going by the geographical fauna and flora, the nomeclature sounds good and acceptable.
Chandrasekar goes on to add that in the Thevaram there's mention of Mylapore and ‘Theyn-amar-solai' (a garden with nectar-filled flowers). The latter is likely to have got transformed as Teynampet, just as ‘Nandavanam' became Nandanam, he posits. Shiva shrines in/around Chennai has mention in Thevaram.
On Mylapore it says 'Malgun Mathri Thavazhum Maada Veedhi Mylappil Ullar'
vAn sottac cotta ~nindRu attum vaLar madhiyOdu ayalE,
thEn sottac cotta ~nindRu attum thiruk kondRai senni vaiththIr;
mAn pettai ~nOkki maNALIr; maNi ~nIr mizhalai uLIr;
~nAn satta ummai maRakkinum ennaik kuRikkoLminE
No doubt there could be many similar explanations for different localities in Madras, but this column generally prefers more solid evidence before accepting such theories. Let's wait and see for anyother explanation.
Madras Miscellany
When the postman knocked…
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| Vilvam tree |
S. Chandrasekar says that Mambalam was till comparatively recently populated more with Vilva trees (Aegle mermelos) than with people and, so, was called Maha-v/bilvam which became Mav/bilam and finally Mambalam. I have toured the whole area, he says, and found numerous Vilva trees still surviving in house compounds for religious reasons. He adds, “Usually the appearance of Vilva trees in a city is a rare occurrence and to have so many in one area would have been reason enough for the area's name to evolve from it.” Going by the geographical fauna and flora, the nomeclature sounds good and acceptable.
Chandrasekar goes on to add that in the Thevaram there's mention of Mylapore and ‘Theyn-amar-solai' (a garden with nectar-filled flowers). The latter is likely to have got transformed as Teynampet, just as ‘Nandavanam' became Nandanam, he posits. Shiva shrines in/around Chennai has mention in Thevaram.
On Mylapore it says 'Malgun Mathri Thavazhum Maada Veedhi Mylappil Ullar'
vAn sottac cotta ~nindRu attum vaLar madhiyOdu ayalE,
thEn sottac cotta ~nindRu attum thiruk kondRai senni vaiththIr;
mAn pettai ~nOkki maNALIr; maNi ~nIr mizhalai uLIr;
~nAn satta ummai maRakkinum ennaik kuRikkoLminE
No doubt there could be many similar explanations for different localities in Madras, but this column generally prefers more solid evidence before accepting such theories. Let's wait and see for anyother explanation.
