What is right? Is it Soraikkayur or Surakkayur or Suraikkavur or Suraikayur or Suraikkayur? Well, this question has been bothering me since when I shared the name of this blog with one of the devotees when he asked me in a doubtful tone “Is it Suraikayur?”.
I tried to do a bit of study to find out as to what is right. A Google search threw up several versions. As per Census records in the Government of India’s sites, the name of the village spelt in English appears as Soraikkayur under Papanasam Taluk, Thanjavur Dt. Incidentally, the 2001 census gives the population of the village as 168 households, 739 residents consisting of 396 male and 343 female with a healthy sex ratio of 866. Going forward on the question before me, the Revenue records of Tamil Nadu confuses the matter further by giving two versions in the same page of their site as both 'Soraikkayur' and 'Suraikkayur'.
Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian, whose history of the Sri Maha Sastha temple appears in this blog gives the name of the place as 'சுரைக்காவூர்' which when spellt in English should read as Suraikkavur which is not used in any Government records.
In the Elections Commission's records, the name appears in Tamil as 'சுரைக்காயூர்'. [Incidentally the village is part of the Papanasam constituency for the State Legislative Assembly and part of Mayiladuthurai for the Parliamentary constituency. Link to the 2010 voters list is http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/pdfs/dt21/ac172/ac172105.pdf].
Given that there is a 'க்கா' in the spelling of the Tamil name, it would be more appropriate to use the spelling “Suraikkayur” with a double 'k' for the emphasis in the phonetic. This perhaps is the reason why the name appears in Government records as “Suraikkayur”.
Does it mean that the blog should spell with a double 'k'? Well, I guess, some will say yes and others, ‘what is in a proper noun - you can spell it any way’. May be. One singular advantage of spelling the name with a single 'k' is that it throws up the Blog as the first search result which does not happen if it is spelt with a double 'k'. Or, we can also conclude that let us not break our heads over spellings and the blog may remain the way it is spelt now.
Incidentally, there is another ‘Suraikayur’ (or is it ‘Suraikkayur’?) in Kudavasal Taluk in Thiruvarur District where too the same confusion prevails in various Government sites into which I do not wish to dwell for one confusion is enough for now!
I tried to do a bit of study to find out as to what is right. A Google search threw up several versions. As per Census records in the Government of India’s sites, the name of the village spelt in English appears as Soraikkayur under Papanasam Taluk, Thanjavur Dt. Incidentally, the 2001 census gives the population of the village as 168 households, 739 residents consisting of 396 male and 343 female with a healthy sex ratio of 866. Going forward on the question before me, the Revenue records of Tamil Nadu confuses the matter further by giving two versions in the same page of their site as both 'Soraikkayur' and 'Suraikkayur'.
Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramanian, whose history of the Sri Maha Sastha temple appears in this blog gives the name of the place as 'சுரைக்காவூர்' which when spellt in English should read as Suraikkavur which is not used in any Government records.
In the Elections Commission's records, the name appears in Tamil as 'சுரைக்காயூர்'. [Incidentally the village is part of the Papanasam constituency for the State Legislative Assembly and part of Mayiladuthurai for the Parliamentary constituency. Link to the 2010 voters list is http://www.elections.tn.gov.in/pdfs/dt21/ac172/ac172105.pdf].
Given that there is a 'க்கா' in the spelling of the Tamil name, it would be more appropriate to use the spelling “Suraikkayur” with a double 'k' for the emphasis in the phonetic. This perhaps is the reason why the name appears in Government records as “Suraikkayur”.
Does it mean that the blog should spell with a double 'k'? Well, I guess, some will say yes and others, ‘what is in a proper noun - you can spell it any way’. May be. One singular advantage of spelling the name with a single 'k' is that it throws up the Blog as the first search result which does not happen if it is spelt with a double 'k'. Or, we can also conclude that let us not break our heads over spellings and the blog may remain the way it is spelt now.
Incidentally, there is another ‘Suraikayur’ (or is it ‘Suraikkayur’?) in Kudavasal Taluk in Thiruvarur District where too the same confusion prevails in various Government sites into which I do not wish to dwell for one confusion is enough for now!
1 comment:
May be it was like "tiruchuraikavur" which shortened to suaikayur. Sarfoji lib or 500 yrs back versions may solve. Lets try.
K Rajaram IRS
7/33, Ponmany colony
Maharaja Nagar, Tirunelveli 627011
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