Kalki has documented some (not ALL) of the Chola's eating habits.
Mostly through Vandhiyadhevan!
Vanthiyathevan is the hero we always wanted: he flirts well, sleeps better, and eats like a king!
He relishes the good food served by Sendhan Amudhan's mom.
He Starts with Idiyappam and Coconut Milk, a combination straight from heaven.
Then moves on to Puliyodarai, and Corn Flour Paniyaaram.
Finishes off with curd rice.
Sumptous!
Ponniyin Selvan &Poonguzhali eat the fiber rich Varagu Rice (Kodo Millet) as cooked by the mute queen Mandakini.
What about snacks?
Some of Chola snacks: Roasted peanuts with a sprinkling of fresh coconut, millet & jaggery toffee made with sea water, or spiced guava and jamun
Food had moved beyond sustenance & had become a luxury for Cholas.
Records show they cultivated paddy, sugarcane, banana, brinjal, black gram, cow peas (‘karamani’) & spinach.
The phrase "Chozha Naadu Soru Udaithu" shows how fertile the land was, and droughts were unheard of.
Their food was bereft of the current day masala.
It was healthy - with a good mix of protein, carbs, fat and vitamins.
They included ghee- good fat, as part of their food and ate all their veggies.
Some natural fruit sugar was fine too - banana, jackfruit and sugarcane.
They relished their time preparing food. Avarai beans, cooked in tamarind gravy & served with bamboo shoot curry, is a time-consuming dish to prepare.
This dish was prized for its flavour & health benefits, & the texture, once soaked &cooked, had a rich, melt-in-the-mouth feel.
Due to abundance of sugarcanes, they savored sugar -in the form of akkara adisal (Sugar Pongal).
Their favorite snack seems to be Adhirasam, a sweet delicacy.
Fermented foods like Dosas, Appam, were regular foods too.
Post food, they had the habit of chewing Betel leaves.
Of course, they did consume meat as well.
From fish fry to Tortoise/Rabbit To Roasted Peppery Goat, it was a feast.
Historians say non-vegetarian food such as ‘kari choru’ (rice & meat cooked together) was common.
Offering ‘chatti choru’ (pot rice) is still in practice in TN.
Both men and women seemed consumed alcohol - as a celebration.
But they were well aware of the ill effects of alcohol.
Go back 1000 years, and one could see the then TASMACs displaying warning boards in entrance: "Bali Aaveer!" (You'd d!ë)
This is documented in Pattinapaalai:
All in all, during peace times, the Cholas savored good food, dressed up, drank alcohol, sung and danced, paid 16.66% tax, prayed to god, celebrated their king and lived with responsibility.
The Great Indian Democratic Festival starts today.
At its core lies Electronic Voting Machines designed by BEL.
Are EVMs tamper proof? Since when is it used?
Why should India use it even when Western superpowers don't?
Writer Sujatha, whose team at BEL designed it, answers:
EVMs were used for the first time in the general election in Kerala in 1982.
An LDF candidate filed a petition to stop EVM use. After Sujatha's demo in judge's chambers, EVM was permitted .
The same candidate who filed a complaint had won.
"Electronics won" wrote Sujatha!
Winner rejoices, but the losing INC candidate filed a case against EVM in HC, lost it & appealed to SC.
Supreme Court vouched that the machine was tamper proof but the prevailing laws in 1982 did not allow for EVMs to be used in elections and hence struck down the elections.
Kamal spreading misinformation among college students that Dravidian landmass was pan-India, and Sangam's Paalai land was actually Thar desert in Rajasthan:
In 1323 CE, just like today, crowds had thronged to Srirangam Temple for the Panguni festivities.
Mohammed Bin Thuqlaq was camping at what is Samayapuram today, near Trichy. He wasn't coronated as the "Mad Delhi Sultan" yet, and went by his real name Ulugh Khan.
It was a sacred temple festival for the locals, but for the Sultan-to-be, it was an expedition - a chance to loot and ransack the huge temple and strike fear at the hearts of idol worshipping Kh@firs.
Sensing that Khan might attack, the temple Archakar Vaduladesikar had made arrangements for the Murti to be saved.
Wrath had filled the Mad Tyrant Ulugh Khan and he screamed his orders. Trained army men behe*ded 12,000 unarmed devotees making the Kaveri river turn red with civilian blood.
It took weeks before all the bodies could be disposed. This bloody history, this "Srirangam files" won't be found in most history books.
But the Srirangam temple's own record book 'Koil Ozhugu' documents this incident as 'பன்னீராயிரம் திருமுடி திருத்திய கலகம்’.
We must consciously recall and respect the sacrifices of our ancestors. Otherwise, those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.
Sri Vedanta Desika who played a crucial role in saving the Murthi, had composed a stotra 'Abeedhi Sthavam' asking Ranganathar to remove the fear instiled in people by Turks and Yavanas (Greeks).
As @saravin2 anna shares, Srirangam behe*dings happened on Day 8 of Panguni Uthsavam and not Panguni Uthiram.
Had missed posting it then (due to the whole TMK saga), so sharing it now.
Which is why the post is fuzzy on the details re exact date😊
Compiling all threads and posts from the past few days, on the TM Krishna- Music Academy saga, EVR's problematic statements cited from primary sources, at a single place.
Bookmark this for quick reference. RT this to spread the word. (1/11)
Many were asking for sources on whether EVR really called for a genozide.
In this Srirangam speech, he himself takes credit for asking people to st@b any and all TB men and women, keeping fire to their agr@harams and it resulting in a policy change:
The Indian Express on 22 Oct 1957 reported EVR speech calling for B blood:
"Bs formed only 3% of the population and nothing would be lost if one out of 3 was k!lled.
Until the B blood was shed, there could be no salvation for Tamilians"
1: 1971 EVR (age 92) speech at a wedding at Madurai:
"Why do women spend so much time in makeup?
The only reason is to make others (men) take a look at them.
They dress provocatively such that their body parts are visible rousing emotions in men.
The makeup and the dress they wear is what arouses emotions (lust) in men"
2. EVR, of age 94 says in his Irudhi Perurai (Final Great Speech) in 1973:
"Why are temples still alive?
Because only in a temple's festive crowd, will a husband get the pleasure of seeing his wife being groped.
He is habituated to this because everyone else's wife is also subject to the same.
Women could also get such a chance to graze multiple men only within temple premises. If we make different arrangements for this, women would not go to temples"
3. On Genozide of Bs:
EVR directly compared TBs to Jews & suggested for their forced emigration out of India. This was in 1938, when atrocities against Jews were beginning to take root in Germany.
Its clear what was his intent behind the call for more research comparing Jews with Bs.
In another instance, he says "To eradicate caste in our country, we need to propagate the eradication of Gȯd, rėligion, Sastras and Br@hmins. Even if one of them remains, can we really consider c@ste to be truly ėradicatėd?" Is this not a call for genozide?