Skip to main content

Manabharana Is Not Malay (Manabharana Bukan Melayu)

In recent times, an alarming narrative has emerged within the Malaysian blogosphere, suggesting a historical event that appears to be a misinterpretation or perhaps a deliberate misinformation campaign. The claim revolves around a so called Malay prince named Manabharana from Srivijaya, purportedly attacking and conquering the Chola kingdom. This misleading story has gained traction and is spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms. The need to address and rectify such inaccuracies is crucial not only for the sake of historical accuracy but also for fostering a responsible and informed online community. To delve into the matter, it is essential to clarify that historical records reveal the existence of multiple individuals named Manabharana throughout history. However, a nuanced understanding reveals that all these figures were Tamils (Damila) hailing from the Pandya kingdom, with references to their exploits documented in Tamil inscriptions and Sri Lankan chronicles
Post a Comment

Turkey Trip 2013 - Part 1

This is what comes to most people's mind when the word Turkey is mentioned.
My paid vacation to Turkey was actually an accident. Both me and my colleague, Max Tan, were supposed to fly to Sofia (Bulgaria) via Istanbul. We had to be there for 2 weeks. It was for work purpose.

Our flight to Istanbul on 02-02-2013 was delayed by a couple of hours. Because of this, our transit flight to Sofia had to be delayed by a day. Therefore, we had to spend our weekend in Turkey.

MAS took the blame and paid for it.
We took took it as a blessing :)

The national flag of Turkey



Map of Turkey

Istanbul is 8000 km away from KLIA. The total flight time was approx 11.5 hours. I spent my journey watching movies, sleeping, eating, watching movies, sleeping, walking. I peeked outside the window a couple of times.

I started imagining 'What if the plane crashes and I get stranded in the sea?'. I started to think about Vasuge and the rest at home. Then I told myself 'Nah, I am meant to have an adventure'.

Let's have a short introduction on Turkey.

Turkey connects Europe and Asia. It is where East meets West.This is where Troy was located. Turkey was once an Islamic power under the Ottoman Empire. They participated in Crusades, won many battles, conquered many nations. Their influence went to as far as South India.

Some of my ancestors would have died fighting the Turks. The district of Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu is famous for Halva. A sweet dish. This dish was brought by the Turks.

Turkey is about 783,562 km2  with a population of around 76 million. The majority speaks Turkish as mother tongue. About 12% are Kurdish, some Arabic is spoken too. Although it is a Muslim majority country, Turkey is a secular country with no official religion.

I think this was taken above Iran

Sunrise during flight
First look at Turkey just before landing.
The temperature was around 7 degree Celsius when we landed. It was morning over there. The airport representative arranged for our accommodation at Novotel. Having informed my wife that I have safely landed, both me and Max headed to Novotel.

The airport
  
On our way to the hotel
The Black Sea

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Indian confusion - Race, Caste, Clan & Surnames

Before you read, keep in mind that this was not written with the intention to divide the people. It was written with the intention to explain the meaning of each group. The write up on my journey in Bali is still in progress. I have to transfer some image files in order to upload them. So I thought of writing about the biggest confusion in the Indian Malaysian community. It is a sensitive one too. But clarification should be given. Else, when are we going to understand it? To my friends of other races who happened to read my blog, this will probably be enlightening as many may not be aware of our demographics. First of all, there are two main classification for us in Malaysia. Indian & Ceylonese. Many assume it to be a homogenous race like Chinese, but it isn't. The Chinese have many languages but they have a common language called Mandarin. They also have one writing script. This is what makes the over 1 billion Chinese worldwide as a homogenous race. Ancient Chinese
103 comments
Read more

Dogs of Tamil Nadu

Pictures taken from Google. Credit goes to the various people who uploaded them. I apologise for not being able to identify the original owner of the pics. Whenever we speak of dogs, we tend to focus on the European breeds.  This is due to their popularity and demand. Unknown to many, India has about 88 native dog breeds. Six of these breeds are from the southern state of Tamil Nadu. Most of these dogs from Tamil Nadu evolved naturally. That makes them more suitable to the hot climate in the south. Furthermore, these dogs require less medical attention as their immune system is stronger, making them less prone to disease which are common among the European breeds. In Tamil Nadu, we can find breeds like the famous Rajapalayam, Kombai, Alangu Mastiff, Chippiparai, Kanni and Malayeri. Both the Alangu Mastiff and Malayeri are now extinct. Malayeri The Malayeri (hill climber) was a shepherd dog used by the tribals to herd sheeps. It was commonly found in the hills of Tamil Nadu-K
92 comments
Read more

How To Find Your Kula Deivam?

*DISCLAIMER-Article written from a believer's perspective.  One of the most common questions I get from my readers is  "How do I find my Kula Deivam?" Kula Deivam is the patron deity of your lineage. Some families have more than 1 deity.  The easiest way to know your Kula Deivam is of course by knowing the ancestral village of your patrilineal lineage (father's side).  Usually the Kula Deivam shrines will be in the ancestral village. If the family has migrated to several villages, then the shrine will usually be in the main village where the family originated from. Knowing your caste or clan background is also helpful in finding out more about your Kula Deivam. For females, they have an advantage. They also inherit the Kula Deivam from their matrilineal lineage (mother's side). So if you are a woman, your mother's Kula Deivam (from her mother) will continue to be present throughout your life. If you are married, your husband's Kula Deivam (from
18 comments
Read more