Tamil proverbs - How did they originate?

[Affable]

Some years ago , in the magazine "kungumam", the readers were
encouraged to come up with a suggestion how the tamil proverbs
would have come into existence in due course.As a whole, that series
was interesting.
I could remember only two suggestions by somebody, that too only for
"thai piranthaal vazhi pirakkum".
[1] The paths (varappu) have been covered with the unharvested
plants that grow from the adjacent lands. Before pongal, as they are
harvested, that gives way for the villagers in the month "thai".
[2] In the month "maarkazhi", as the "kOlam"s from two opposite houses
occupy the entire width of street, the road is blocked. In the month
"thai", "kOlam"s are small and that gives the way.

First one seems more plausible to me.

Hope someone comes with more suggestions for this proverb and other
proverbs as well. [Hint: If you had been an avid reader of "kungumam",
you would come up with a lot of suggestions.]
Anybody out there who can give some suggestion how this proverb,
"kazhudaikku theriyumaa kaRpoora vasanai" would have come into
existence?

Cheers,
Venkat
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[Koppampatt R Venkatesh]

You brought out a good theme to be dicussed on the net, "origin of
tamil proverbs". Among Indian languages, the proverbs in tamil are not only
more in number but also graphic in meaning and terse in form. That brings me
to the oft- repeated proverb you had asked about. "Kazhudhaikku theriyumaa
karpoora vaasanai" .

The washermen,as you know used donkeys and mules to carry heavy loads
of dirty clothing to be washed on the river bank. The donkeys were used only
for the purpose of carrying used clothes. The donkeys were never allowed to
roam about freely. So, the only time they came out of their dwelling place
was to carry the clothes. So, the stinking smell of the dirty clothes is the

only smell it knows. Even if you allow it to smell camphor, the donkey will
not be able to appreciate the good smell of camphor. I think this is the
origin of that proverb. Any other suggestions welcome.

Meanwhile,does anyone know the origin of the proverb "Sundaikkai
kal paNam Somakkooli mukkal paNam".

Venkatesh.

only smell it knows. The "mamis" of those
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| / |~~~~~~| \ / ********************************
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[C.R.Selvakumar - Electrical Engineering]

In article <9...@blue.cis.pitt.edu> krv...@pitt.edu (Koppampatt R Venkatesh) writes:
>
> You brought out a good theme to be dicussed on the net, "origin of
>tamil proverbs". Among Indian languages, the proverbs in tamil are not only
>more in number but also graphic in meaning and terse in form. That brings me
>to the oft- repeated proverb you had asked about. "Kazhudhaikku theriyumaa
>karpoora vaasanai" .
>
> The washermen,as you know used donkeys and mules to carry heavy loads
>of dirty clothing to be washed on the river bank. The donkeys were used only
>for the purpose of carrying used clothes. The donkeys were never allowed to
>roam about freely. So, the only time they came out of their dwelling place
>was to carry the clothes. So, the stinking smell of the dirty clothes is the
>
>only smell it knows. Even if you allow it to smell camphor, the donkey will
>not be able to appreciate the good smell of camphor. I think this is the
>origin of that proverb. Any other suggestions welcome.

I think this is the correct meaning as per my understanding;
( there is a story about the karuvaadu (= dried fish) carrying
lady saying that the flowers were 'foul smelling')
These are obviously gross exaggerations of some basic elements of
truths.

>
> Meanwhile,does anyone know the origin of the proverb "Sundaikkai
>kal paNam Somakkooli mukkal paNam".

'Sundaikkaay' is a very tiny 'unripened fruit' often used to indicate
'very small' in a figurative sense. examples: 'sundaikaay poRaatha
vishayaththai' = 'a matter so insignificant' ..

'kaal paNam' means one quarter of a unit of currency called 'paNam'
[ paNam in olden days meant a significant amount]
'somakUli' is sumai + kUli = transportation cost
'mukkaal paNam' = three quarters of 'paNam'

Thus the above saying tells : 'a thing as small as a sundaikkaay
costs a quarter paNam and it costs another three quarters of a paNam
to transport !!'. This tells the ludicrous nature of some
unprofitable 'enterprise'.
>
>Venkatesh.
>
Selva