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Nuni vaazhai elai

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AAVANI AVITTAM, KALYAANAM, HOMAM
ALLAME DHAAN PRAMAADHAM
NIRAIVAANA SANDHOSHAM
KUDUKKUM BHOJANAM
ENAKKU CHOLLUNGO MAMA
ENNAI DHAAN KAARANAM
NUNI VAAZHAI ELAI THAAN
YEN PRADHAANAM?

During every religious occasions and festivals my Mom/Dad instructs us to buy only Nuni Vaazhai Elai and only those leaves are used to have food.

This is the basic practice in every Brahmin family. And for sure we all are enjoying this.

I would like to know the reasons for these specific conditions….

1) WHY "NUNI ELAI " IS CONSIDERED SO AUSPICIOUS?

2) WHY THE TIP ["NUNI"] OF THE BANANA LEAF ON THE FLOOR SHOULD BE TOWARDS OUR LEFT SIDE ONLY?

3) IF SUFFICIAL "NUNI ELAI'S" ARE NOT AVAILABLE, WHY PRIORITY IS GIVEN FOR ITS USE BY A SAMSARI [MARRIED]?

Eagerly awaiting some information on above queries...


Cheers...

RAVI
 
Namassadhasae.

I know the definite answer for only one query with regard to usage of vazhai ilai. Left is the place for nuni of the ilai since we use right hand for eating. Light weight items like pickle are served in the top portion of the nuni. Heavy weight like Annam, paruppu, kuzhambu, Rasam, Payasam, butter milk etc. are put. Pachadi, kosumalli, kari (pooriya) etc. are placed in the top portion. Naturally, when ilai is placed in this position, the bottom half will be thick enough and the top portion will be light.

We all might have heard about the expression 'Pancha patcha parimANam'. Stuff for bitting, chewing, sucking, licking.swallowing are the items referred. Pachadiy payasam are for licking. Annam and some heavy stuff like murukku, appalam, vadai are for cutting and chewing pleasure. Swallowing is like rasam which are taken in handful for tasting and drinking etc. Ofcourse water is the last addage.

Nuni Vazhai ilai is suitable for both subham and asumbham occasions. Vazhai explains the importace of santhathi vrithi and hence used in subam. For the same reason it is used in other karyams also. Ilai means nuni ilai only and the other portions of a leaf are used as eadu, which is used for taking tiffen etc.

A town near Kumbakonam, by name Thiruvidaimaruthur, making and usage of saragu, which is the dried form of ilai, is most common. Saragu, dhonnai are the usage for vazhai ilais, when it is available in plenty.

Just shared what I know in this subject pls.



"அவரவர் இச்சையில் எவை எவை உற்றவை அவை தருவித்தருள் பெருமாளே!"
_ திருவக்கரை திருப்புகழ்
 
Sri G Soundara Rajan avargal,

Thank you very much for your clear explanations to my queries.

From your brief notes I could clearly make out the answers for all my 3 questions.


Cheers...

RAVI
 
Namassadhasae.

I know the definite answer for only one query with regard to usage of vazhai ilai. Left is the place for nuni of the ilai since we use right hand for eating. Light weight items like pickle are served in the top portion of the nuni. Heavy weight like Annam, paruppu, kuzhambu, Rasam, Payasam, butter milk etc. are put. Pachadi, kosumalli, kari (pooriya) etc. are placed in the top portion. Naturally, when ilai is placed in this position, the bottom half will be thick enough and the top portion will be light.

We all might have heard about the expression 'Pancha patcha parimANam'. Stuff for bitting, chewing, sucking, licking.swallowing are the items referred. Pachadiy payasam are for licking. Annam and some heavy stuff like murukku, appalam, vadai are for cutting and chewing pleasure. Swallowing is like rasam which are taken in handful for tasting and drinking etc. Ofcourse water is the last addage.

Nuni Vazhai ilai is suitable for both subham and asumbham occasions. Vazhai explains the importace of santhathi vrithi and hence used in subam. For the same reason it is used in other karyams also. Ilai means nuni ilai only and the other portions of a leaf are used as eadu, which is used for taking tiffen etc.

A town near Kumbakonam, by name Thiruvidaimaruthur, making and usage of saragu, which is the dried form of ilai, is most common. Saragu, dhonnai are the usage for vazhai ilais, when it is available in plenty.

Just shared what I know in this subject pls.



"அவரவர் இச்சையில் எவை எவை உற்றவை அவை தருவித்தருள் பெருமாளே!"
_ திருவக்கரை திருப்புகழ்
I think it is this Sri Soundara rajan who shares with us jokes. The illustration/narration & justifications etc was mouth watering and I felt as if having eaten a sumputuous lunch in nuni vazhai elai. With his permission may I add that while eating from saragu let cleaning be done well and let us be watchful of irukku kutchis [ used to make dhonnais] otherwise our tonge or mouth will be punished.
 
Yeah.....I too felt the same way..

When I go to Chennai during coming January on my yearly vacation I should not miss an opportunity to have Pancha Patcha Parimanam in a banana leaf so that I can Bite, Chew, Suck, Lick and Swallow the typical Brahmin delicacies..

Cheers...

RAVI
 
Yeah.....I too felt the same way..

When I go to Chennai during coming January on my yearly vacation I should not miss an opportunity to have Pancha Patcha Parimanam in a banana leaf so that I can Bite, Chew, Suck, Lick and Swallow the typical Brahmin delicacies..

Cheers...

RAVI

ravi,

as far as i know, eating out of a banana leaf is a tamil custom practised across all groups.

i have been to other group weddings and the vegetarian dishes do not differ all that much from our own weddings.

considering that most of the ingredients are native to tamil nadu, i am not surprised but only wonder why we have to consider these as 'brahmin'.

these type of customs, belong to our inclusive tamil heritage, and personally, i think, we should look beyond our narrow caste to invoke recognition and endow acknowledgement to the tamil in us.

i say this not because i am against or for caste. but seeing the way things are going, and they are bound to go even faster than now, i am not sure how long caste as a classification will exist.

perhaps another couple of centuries?

but tamil culture, i hope, sure has a longer lifeline than that.

thank you.

ps.. i have not seen dhonnais recently. they appear to have been replaced by platic cups. so no fear of irukku kutchis any more, i guess.
 
Sri Kunjuppu avargal,

Well said.....

But I think you got me wrong....May be I am not clear in my statements...

I have linked usage of Nuni Elai Saapaadu to Brahmin Families only because of the reason that we Brahmins very often take the interest to use banana leaf during special occasions...

In my home we prefer to have food in banana leafe during occasions like Pongal, Maha Siva Ratri, Rama Navami, Aavani Avittam, Vinayagar Charthurthi, Diwali, Arudra Darshanam and many others....But I have not seen such practice in any of my Non-Brahmin friends. I have found many of them having food on these occasions in a regular “Thattu”.

Off course, offering food in Marriages and using it casually as and when required is a Tamil Tradition and is commonly followed by all the Tamil community. But the usage is not as much as by Brahmin community.

Few of my above questions regarding using Nuni Elai is basically in general and has nothing to do with Brahmin community exclusively.

Almost all of my previous posts were revolving around Brahmin culture exclusively as the matter of fact those queries were relevant to and exclusive to Brahmin culture. I posted some thread relevant to Brahmin culture so that it would be helpful for myself and all other members to gain in-depth knowledge and better understanding.

My opinion is, as this Forum itself is dedicated to Brahmin community why we need to feel our self narrow minded as long as topic under discussion is in practice by Brahmins in majority OR exclusively and is not in general for the well being of the human beings and their society.


Cheers…

RAVI
 
My opinion is, as this Forum itself is dedicated to Brahmin community why we need to feel our self narrow minded as long as topic under discussion is in practice by Brahmins in majority OR exclusively and is not in general for the well being of the human beings and their society.


Cheers…

RAVI

ravi,

please let me explain.

as i understand it, there is no narrow mindedness anywhere in your postings.

i am looking at it from a little higher level, in terms of commonality between us and other tamil groups.

as far as i know, in my own family/relatives, thattu was the norm. it might have been different in yours. which is ok.

my neighbours, who were nadars, ate out banana leaf more than us. the point, i am trying to get, is that many such practices are common and if i need to emphasize on anything, it might as well, look around to see if there is commonality.

that is all.

also, this forum, i think, while generally is for the welfare of the TB community, perhaps, that is not exclusive at the expense of treating us as part of hinduism in a larger frame.

i think, the sooner we learn to look at ourselves as part of hinduism, and as hindus first, and brahmin as a subgroup, it is better for our religion in the long term.

for is it not easier to be divided and defeated? how can we call for unity among hindus, if we are not prepared to be one of the groups and avoid talking all the time about how different we are.

hope this explains.

thank you.
 
Sri Kunjuppu ji,

I agree fully with you....

As you said we all should feel that we are Hindus in general and than a Brahmin...

The only thing that I feel is, as far as particular topic under discussion is concerned with the Brahmin style of living and specific believes, we can very well associate those queries with the Brahmin Community.

These associations with exclusive queries would be obviously a casual part of the communication and I feel would not in any way give a sense of discrimination between Brahmins and Non-Brahmins.

Other than that I have clearly understood your expressions and fully agree with you.


Cheers....

RAVI
 
My notes are based only on practical experience and logical views.

Banana is a common and perennial crop or vegetation with easy cropping. The plant can be used from bottom to top for various things.As it can be grown in one’s own backyard, it is clean and hygienic.
The leaf has microchemicals which when receiving heat from food gives food some aroma and taste apart from micronutrients. The leaf can be made flexible by slight heating and can be used for packing food to keep it fresh and tasty.

As the veins are parallel it can be cut in proper shape.The central stem(vein) is thick at its origin at the stem and becomes thinner towards the tapered end(Nuni). As thicker half may break, that is not used for serving without cutting. But the thinner half tapering to Nuni is more flexible and can be stable on the ground when taking food.

Serving pattern from right to left is in such a way that , right side served food are to be taken in more quantity and savoured using full palm and fingures.Hence it needs more space. Progressing towards left the food items also decrease in quantity and can be taken using one or more figures ,ending in just tasting a few drops like pickles. The sweeter items have place in right and saltier and ‘hot’ to left in progressing/decreasing order of salt and sweet , and thus goes towards tapering end. As generally people are right handers this practice would have come. But it is not changed for left handers, anyway.

Use of banana leaf for eating is not restricted to certain occasions. Before the advent and spread of steel,aluminium,pottery,china, only leafs were used at home and hotels and public feasts.

Other than for eating ,banana leaf is used as tray for keeping flowers, pooja -dravyams etc and seating for placing kalasam etc. For many ceremonies, it is made as container for holding ghee , and for dropping in agni as it is a bad conductor of heat.

Before the common water beds and rubber sheets, sick persons with sores , boils in the posterior, burn victims etc were laid on banana leaves for its cooling and soothing effect. The hard end with harder leaf part were used as hand fans during summer

In India ,at places where banana leaf is not available in plenty ,using other suitable leaves ( plates made by stitching leaves together are in vogue) In present day, Arecanut tree leaves are nicely fashioned to be in use for various items like eating plate, serving spoon etc.


Greetings
 
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on a lighte vein...

... and then i had this relative (of the type who is a bad guest and brings bad name to the community)

.. who visited her son in the u.s.a... and came back with a personal fork/knife.

she eschewed the practice of eating with her hands, and during the first group family function, sure enough, her husband boasted of her newly acquired skills with the instruments.

the wags in the family, scenting opportunity for some fun, immediately sucked up to the man & wife, and begged them to partake of the saddhi using knife and fork, to which the lady, very delightedly, immediately agreed.

ofcourse, the saddhi was served on a banana leaf..

and the rest is history..

or left to your imagination :)
 
Let me add my two cents' worth!!

I believe our eating on banana leaves (at least in the olden days) was, as Suryakasyapa said, because it is a renewable source, biodegradable and doesn't fill the landfill as we see today with plastic. Everything was recyclable. Of course, in this day and age, it is not possible to eat on Banana leaf but to use plates.

I love the way the Chennai restaurants serve food on a plate with a banana leaf cut out to be round! It is very hygenic.
 
Namassadhsae.

Shri d.r. Sundaram ji

Thank you for your nice comments. I am the same person. I feel honoured. You have given me the real pleasure of offering a sumptuous meal in a nuni vazhai ilai with thamboolam and buktha dhakshinai also.
By my narration -I might have given the impression that I am a 'sappattu raman' . Since I hail from a village in old Thanjavur district (presently in Tiruvarur district) I would like to consider this also as a compliment to me sir.

Regards.

"அவரவர் இச்சையில் எவை எவை உற்றவை அவை தருவித்தருள் பெருமாளே!" _ திருவக்கரை திருப்புகழ்
 
Let me add my two cents' worth!!

I believe our eating on banana leaves (at least in the olden days) was, as Suryakasyapa said, because it is a renewable source, biodegradable and doesn't fill the landfill as we see today with plastic. Everything was recyclable. Of course, in this day and age, it is not possible to eat on Banana leaf but to use plates.

I love the way the Chennai restaurants serve food on a plate with a banana leaf cut out to be round! It is very hygenic.
Yes you will also notice the banana leaves such kept are seldom washed. It is cut and just kept ;unwashed. So please take care to clean before you allow dishes to be spread over it.
 
Namassadhsae.

Shri d.r. Sundaram ji

Thank you for your nice comments. I am the same person. I feel honoured. You have given me the real pleasure of offering a sumptuous meal in a nuni vazhai ilai with thamboolam and buktha dhakshinai also.
By my narration -I might have given the impression that I am a 'sappattu raman' . Since I hail from a village in old Thanjavur district (presently in Tiruvarur district) I would like to consider this also as a compliment to me sir.

Regards.

"அவரவர் இச்சையில் எவை எவை உற்றவை அவை தருவித்தருள் பெருமாளே!" _ திருவக்கரை திருப்புகழ்
Sri Soundara Rajan, Which is that village?. I hail from mannargudi, taluk Head quarters. You will know this very well. Don't worry. I am also a Saapaatu Sundaram. J:Dust for kidding is the bhutha Dakshinai coming to me by money order? How much it is?
 
Namassadhasae.

Shri d.r. Sundaram Sir,

The name of my village (birth place and schooling upto S.S.L.C) is Sethalapathy. Railway station for the village is Poonthottam. I took up high schooling in Poonthottam Govt. High School.

World famous Saraswathi Amman Koil (at Koothanoor) is one street away from this erstwhile agraharam Sethalapathy. There is an adhi vinaayagar temple in Sethalapathi village, with human normal face (nara muka: / not that of an elephant). Gnanasambandar & Arunagirinadhar recorded in their lyrics. From this place, Mayuram (the present Mayiladuthurai) is about half an hour distance and Kumbakonam is about one hour distance. From Tiruvarur also, half an hour distance.
Once this village was an Agraharam. Now, there are four/five brahmin families only. Rest are kalappu. (Totally 30 houses in the street, which was earlier an agraharam).

Thanks for reminding about my native village.

Regards.

"அவரவர் இச்சையில் எவை எவை உற்றவை அவை தருவித்தருள் பெருமாளே!"
_ திருவக்கரை திருப்புகழ்
 
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