One of my best friends, who has been working positively to do something good for the Nair community for long time, sent me this poem. This poem clearly depitcs what he feels about it. He is known to me for more than 2 years. I also have been extending my support for the activities, including monthly e-Newsletter and a website for the Nair community. Check the website if interested in knowing more about the Nair community of Kerala. Nair Meeting So it was decided that there be a meetingAnd there was a meeting.Kunchan Nair was to organize,So it was decided.He fixed a date,Mandan Nair Sumbhan Nair andKelan Nair said no, have marriagesTo attend, Pottan NairSaid that it is Rahukalam in the morningLet us have another day.Every other day was triedBut failed. No free day for the Nairs.Kunchan Nair fixed it.And they all said Kunchan NairWas being a monarch.On the day of the meetingThey said they were not invitedThey were waiting for the callBut they will never call back.Except when they need a small loan,Some help some where.But one by one they came,The very busy Nairs.Mandan Nair waited at aDistance and came in lateBy half an hour, he is aBusy person he said, no time.Sumbhan Nair came one hour lateSaid he had work to do, still he came.Everyone said that they areDoing a service, by coming.Soon they were all in.The meeting began, Mandan NairSumbhan Nair and Pottan NairWanted to chair the meetingThey moved to the only chairBut Vankan Nair took it by force.We should go south, said Sumbhan NairNo we should go North, saidMandan Nair, East, said anotherWest, yet another and they fought.No south and north, everyone is nowGoing up, or down, let us too do that,Said Ponnan Nair, no one heard that.You don’t teach me, said Mandan NairTo Sumbhan Nair, and got up.And Vankan Nair agreed,Don’t teach us, they all yelled.We have seen the world, we know.Order order, said Kunchan NairYou shut up, said the others.Tea and Parippu Vada came in.‘Halla pinne..’ they sat down.Next item on the agenda,Said Kunchan Nair,Is the Drinking Water Shortage.Well, easy, let us have a dam,Said Mandan Nair,No let us make a river, said Ponnan NairMake the river flow up,I have seen it done, said yet another.There is an announcement,Said Kunchan NairBefore we part let us pay theAnnual memberships,That we can pay the hall rent,For the tea and parippu vada.Sumbhan Nair left in a hurryHe had to go to a hospital,Mandan Nair had a stomachProblem and had to go.It has become chronic these days,He came and gave a long version.One by one they all vanished andBefore leaving they advisedGo South, North or EastAs you wish, but we have to leave.Kunchan Nair was left alone,Tea shop owner and hall owner in toe.But coming out they told theOthers, we are not being consultedWe cannot accept this autocraticWay of functioning.Call a meeting immediately.(With apologies to the noble species)
Important milestones in Mannath Padmanabhan's life Sri Mannathu Padmanabhan Born 02-01-1878 First Job [Govt School, Kanjirapally 1893 Karayogam building foundation laying 1907 Changanachery Thaluk Nair Samajam formation 09-10-1913 Nair Bhruthyajana Sangham formation 31-10-1914 Nair Bhruthyajana Sangham becomes NSS 11-07-1915 Mannam dedicates his life to NSS 25-08-1915 Marrage with Thottakkattu Madhavi Amma 15-05-1932 Shashtipoorthy 02-01-1937 NSS Silver Jubilee Celeberations 02-05-1940 First Samastha Nair Maha Sammelanam 1916 First NSS School [Karukachal] laid foundation 27-01-1916 Mannam becomes Sreemulam Prajasabha member 1921 Vaikam Sathyagraham 30-03-1924 Mannam Leads "Savarna Jatha" 01-10-1924 NSS Registration according to Indian Company Act 30-07-1925 Registration of Karayogam Number 1 1929 Karuvatta Nair Maha Sammelanam 05-1929 Guruvayoor Sathyagraham 01-11-1929 NSS Head Office starts functioning in Perunna 07-05-1940 First Director board meeting 16-08-1942 Mannam Becomes NSS President 17-08-1945 Famous "Muthukulam Speech" 25-05-1947 Mannam arrested for "Indian Freedom movement” 14-06-1947 Mannam's Mother "Parvathy Amma" Passes away 14-11-1947 MG College Trivandrum foundation laying 22-08-1948 NSS College, Pandalam foundation laying 25-02-1949 NSS Hindu Collage, Perunna foundation laying 14-09-1949 Mannam Becomes the Devasvam Board President 01-08-49 Mannam rejects Cast name and renames as Padmanabhan 11-02-1950 Start of Vimochana Samaram 12-06-1959 Dismissal of Communist Ministry 31-07-1959 President of India awards "BHARATHA KESARI" to Mannam 09-08-1959 Sathabhishekam 19-12-1960 Mannam forms Kerala Congress 09-10-1964 NSS Golden Jubilee Celebration 27-12-1964 Perunna Medical Mission Hospital Inauguration 25-05-1964 Government Of India awards "Padmabhushan" to Mannam 26-01-1966 Thottakkattu Madhavi Amma (Wife) Passes away 18-10-1968 Mannam's last public function 30-05-1969 Mannam Passes away 25-02-1970 Funeral 27-02-1970
Nair – Hindu Caste of the Indian State of Kerala. Before the British conquest i.e. 1792 the region contained small feudal Kingdoms in each of which the royal and noble lineages, the militia and most land managers were drawn from Nairs and related caste. During British rule, Nairs became prominent in position, Government Service, Medicine, Education and Law. --- (Encyclopedia Britanica)
Nair – A people of Malabar coast of India that are probably Dravidians with Aryan admixture.--- (Oxford Dictionary) Nairs are the Malayalee warriors (Kshatriyas) of Kerala. They are the owners of this land. --- (Sabdatharavali) Nairs are the savama Hindus who constituted the warriors, landed gentry and yeoman of Kerala. Nayars are the largest and most important section of the society of Kerala. They were the lords of the country and guardian of public weal. --- (Robin Jeffrri – The Decline of Nair Dominance)
The word ‘Nair’ means one who leads, a leader, a guardian, a teacher or a father. Nair is not a caste, but a society of the Dravidian culture. ---- (Nair Samudayathinte Ithihasm – Pattom G.Ramachandran Nair) It is not easy to trace out the exact date of the origin of Nairs. They belonged to the Dravidian group, not the Aryan. It is believed that in the Aryan society the rulers were Kshatriyas. Chera rulers who ruled over Kerala from AD 130 to AD 1100 were not Kshatriyas. But they belonged to this place. So it can reasonably be presumed that they were Nairs. In his account of ancient India, Greek ambassador in the court of Chandra Gupta, Megasthenes refers in around 300 BC about the Nairs and the kingdom of Cheras, where there were female sovereigns. There is no evidence to prove the advent of Aryans to Kerala or their establishment of kingdoms here. But there are clear evidences for the involvement of Nairs in the rule of the country. It can be assumed that as a result of the Aryan insurgency to the South the Non-Kshatiyas of Kerala were converted as Kshatriyas. Though the rules of Venad, Onat (Kayamkulam), Deshinganad, Ilayidathu Swaroopam, Thekkumkur, Vadakkumkur, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kolathumadu were known as Kshatriyas, they were actually Nairs. The profession of the Ksyathriyas was warfare. According to this interpretation, Nairs would seem to be more like Kshatriyas since they were a martial class as well. Similar to Kshatriyas, Nairs were second to the Brahmins (Namboothiris). The word ‘Nair’ was first recorded in the 9th century Thirukodithana (Trikodisthanam) command of Vijayaragadeven. Mention to Nair was also seen in the Thirunelli Pattayam of Bhaskararavi Verma. There are inferences about ‘Padanairs’ (warriors) in two stone carvings of Nedumpuram Thali. In the stonewall of Suchindram Dwaraka Temple which belongs to AD 400, it was recorded that ‘Pallikkan Nair’ was the temple uralan. During the beginning of the 19th century Nair became a caste name in Venad. Before that, the word was used to mean ‘warrior’.
One finds mention of the Nairs during the reign of the King Rama Varma Kulashekhara (1020-1102) of second Chera dynasty, when the Cholas attacked the Chera Kingdom. The Nairs fought by forming suicide squads (Chavers) against the invading force.
There are differences of opinion about the origin of Nair community. One argument is that Nairs are descendent of Nagas. Nagas were the oldest and strongest group lived in India before the Aryan insurgency. They were in India even before the era of Ramayana.
They were warriors in the Mahabharatha battle and mention to this effect was seen in Harivamsa and Vishnu Markandeya epics. The Surya and Soma dynasties were related to the Nagas.
After the Mahabharatha battle the Nagas became more powerful. It was Nagas who killed the King Parikshit. There is historical evidence to believe that Nagas inhabited in all suitable places even from time immemorial. There capital was Thakshasila. Their rule extended from Thakshasila to Assam on one side and from South India to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on the other. The Nagas who came to Kerala became Nairs. Snake worship is a special feature of Nairs. There were Sarpakavus (snake parks) attached to almost all the Nair Tharavads. The Nair ladies and men had a habit of combing and tying their hair just like a serpen’t head. Nairs followed matrilineal (marumakkathayam) system. Before the advent of Namboodiris, an organized war-like group of people exercised supremacy over Kerala. Their origin was unknown. Owing to the worship of Naga (snake), this set of people came to be known as Nagas. They exercised control over Adivasis, put them to hard fieldwork and made them slaves. Kodungallur Kunhikuttan Thampuran in his book ‘Keralathil’ firmly ascertains that Nairs are same as Nagas. Sri Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamikal has reproduced some old ballads calling Nairs and Nagas in his book ‘Pracheena Malayalam’. He in his work ‘Pracheena Malayalam’ has reproduced the following details about Nagas found in the old vattezhuthu records. “Nagas wearing caps made of areca nut and wooden shoes with long moustache and hair, with beams in forehead and sword in hand, and moving elegantly were treated with respect by all country men. The Nagas treated ‘dharma’ as all in all. To them it was their life, their organs, their Gods, their knowledge, their very existence and all in all”. Sri Chattambi Swamikal also quoted some other information about Nagas. Wherever Nagas were mentioned special mention about their forehead was made. This shows that they were devoted shoats or worshippers of Lard Shiva. They believed in the gospel of Dharma. They were the followers of Shiavait movement. They became Nairs later. These shoats in course of time became the followers of brahmnical faith. Brahmins treated the Nairs as Sudras. Therefore, it is proved beyond doubts that Nairs were a group of people who recognized the supremacy of the Brahmins.
P. Damodaran Pillai says that Nagas were the group of people who moved southwards from North India during pre-historic times. They became the Nairs of today. It is difficult to trace the origin of the word ‘Nair’ which might have a connection with snake worshippers, known at one time as ‘Nagas’. Some are of the opinion that the ancestors of the Nairs were a sect of snake worshipping Scythians. They came to India through Northwest border and settled down in different parts of the country. According to K. P. Padmanabha Menon, Keralan or Cheralan who ruled Kerala centuries ago, brought Nagas and permitted to settle here and these Nagas were later were known as Nairs and Ambalavasis.
There is another version that Nairs belonged to Dravidian group of people, which stretched from Europe to Eastern end of Asia. Some believe that Nairs were transitioned Naeri people who inhabited on the banks of Euphrates and Tigris rivers during very ancient times. Agriculture was the main occupation of this group. By about BC 3000 Urathier Naeri of Hurien tribe attacked their country. The war lasted for a very long period. In the end Sargan-1 conquered the Naeri land completely by BC 2018 (as evidenced from the stone inscriptions of Sargan-I). Naeris fled to different parts in different groups. Those who reached India settled in the Indus Vally and various places like Lothal area, between Goa and Kannur, Thakshsila, Katmandu, North Bihar, Bengal and in some places near Madras (now Chennai). Those who reached Karnataka settled in Tulunadu and Kadathanadu. Another group crossed the Sahya Mountains and reached Kerala. These Naeri settlers later became Nairs. The prime group of idolaters in Kozhikode was called s Brahmins and the next as Nairs. Varthema (AD 1502) recorded that Naeris were just like decent people among them. The Thekkumkur and Vedakkumkur rulers of Kerala were saluted as Naeris. Whatever may be arguments on the origin of Nair community, it is an indisputable fact that Nairs were strong group of people having deep-rooted influence over Kerala. No other society had possessed their status or standard. They were deeply immersed with the history and culture of Kerala. Truly speaking, the history of Nairs is indeed the history of Kerala. The Special meeting of Nair Bhrithyajana Sangham held at Mannathu Bhavan on Midhunam 27, 1090 (M.E.) decided to change the name as “Nair Service Society”. On Midhunam 17, 1100 the Nair Service Society was registered under the Travancore Company Act.The proclaimed aim of the Nair Service Society is the unification of all Hindus along with the active coordination of the Nair community so as to ensure harmony of all communities and thereby progress in all walks of life. This aim is in consonance with the famous gospel of the Hindu culture “Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu” (Let the whole world be happy for ever).
Kerala Nairs 18000 Years Old Nairs Gotra
A reader wanted me t know the Gotra details of the Nairs of Kerala.
This is a complex issue.
Warriors of Kerala
If one removes the Goggles of regionalism and linguistic chauvinism, one can understand Indian history in its splendor.
Though the people of Kerala formed a part of Tamil kingdom Chera, the Nairs of Kerala had a social system of their own.
Nair comes from the word Nayaka meaning chieftain or a leader.
They were the leaders of a group of army of the Cheras.
‘The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy and in that system outranked even the kings. They regarded all Nairs as shudra. Below the Nambudiris came the Tamil Brahmins and other later immigrants of the Brahmin varna. Beyond this, the precise ranking is subject to some difference in opinion. Kodoth has placed the Samantan caste below the Kshatriya rank but above the Nairs, but Gough considers that the Pushpagans and Chakyars, both of which were the highest ranked in the group of temple servants known as Ambalavasis, were ranked between the Brahmins and the Nairs, as were several other members of the Ambalavasi group. She also believes that some Nairs adopted the title of Samantan in order to emphasise their superiority over others in their caste. The unwillingness of the higher varnas to engage in what they considered to be the polluting activities of industrial and commercial activity has been cited as a reason for the region’s relatively limited economic development’
‘A theory has been proposed for the origins of the caste system in the Kerala region based on the actions of the Aryan Jains introducing such distinctions prior to the 8th-century AD. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and recruited sympathetic local people to provide it. These people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste. The cross-disciplinary historian Cyriac Pullapilly describes that this meant they “… were given kshatriya functions, but only shudra status. Thus originated the Nair
Taking into consideration the caste system of Sanatana Dharma was practiced by The Tamils , Cheras were Tamils,there was no discrimination in the Tamil land on the basis of caste , the views by western authors seem to be based on the Myth of Aryan dDravidian Theory which is now proved to be false and is a piece of disinformation to divide the people of India.
The fact that the Group who are currently called as Nairs were entrusted with Military duties , they were Kshatriyas.
The Nairs, Chera Period.
Some people think the name itself is derived from nayaka, an honorific meaning “leader of the people”, while others believe it stems from the community’s association with the Naga cult of serpent worship. Christopher Fuller, an anthropologist, has said that it is likely that the first reference to the Nair community was made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, dating from 77 AD. That work describes what is probably the Malabar coast area wherein could be found the “Nareae, who are shut in by the Capitalis range, the highest of all the mountains in India”. Fuller believes it probable that the Nareae referred to the Nairs and the Capitalis range is the Western Ghats.’
Matrilineal Society.
Nairs operated a matrilineal (marumakkathayam) joint family structure called tharavad, whereby descendant families of one common ancestress lived under a single roof. Tharavads consisting of 50 to 80 members were not uncommon and some with membership as high as 200 have been reported. Only the women lived in the main house; men lived in separate rooms[clarification needed] and, on some occasions, lived in a separate house nearby. The families split on instances when they became unwieldy and during crisis among its members. When it split, the family property was separated along the female lines. The karnavan, the oldest male member in the tharavad, had the decision-making authority including the power to manage common property. Panikkar, a well-known writer from the Nair community, wrote in 1918 that,
Authority in the family is wielded by the eldest member, who is called karnavan. He has full control of the common property, and manages the income very much as he pleases. He arranges marriages (sambandhams) for the boys as well as the girls of the family. He had till lately full power (at least in practice) of alienating anything that belonged to them. His will was undisputed law. This is, perhaps, what is intended to be conveyed by the term Matri-potestas in communities of female descent. But it should be remembered that among the Nayars the autocrat of the family is not the mother, but the mother’s brother.
The husband visited the tharavad at night and left the following morning and he had no legal obligation to his children which lay entirely with the karnavan. In Nair families, young men and women about the same age were not allowed to talk to each other, unless the young man’s sister was considerably older than him. The wife of karnavan had an unusual relationship in his tharavad as she belonged to a different one and her interests lay there. Panikkar wrote that Karnavan loved his sister’s son more than his own and he believes it was due mainly to the instability of Nair marriages. Divorce rate was very high as both man and woman had equal right to terminate the marriage. Enangar was another family with which a tharavad remained closely related; a few such related families formed a social group whose members participated in all social activities. Nakane wrote in 1956 that tharavads as a functional unit had ceased to exist and large buildings that had once hosted large tharavads were occupied by just a few of its remnants.’
Being a matrilinear society, the Gotra system must have been following the Mother’s Gotra.
Information is not available.
People may contribute with authenric source
The Nairs of Kerala and Bunts of Karnataka claim descent from the naga Śeṣa; these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events referred to as the Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar, Kiryathil Nair, Illathu Nair and Swaroopathil Nairs. The Illathu, Swaroopathil and Kiryathil Nairs have been classified as Kshatriyas of the Nagavanshi lineage Also claims as Nagavamsam in North costal region of Andhra pradesh state, where central government referred them under serial number 81 in NCBC (National Commission for Backward classed)
However, Nairs believe them selves to Belong to Kasyapa Gotra.
‘Vansh/Dynasty : Nagavanshi Gotra : Kashyapa Caste : Kshatriya
The Nair Clans of Kerala and Bunts of tulu nadu are the indigenous descendants of Anantha also these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events as Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar and Kiryathil Nair. Currently, warrior Sections of the Nair (Malayala Kshatriya) caste and Bunts of Tulu nadu claim descent from the Nagvanshi dynasty. The Nagavanshi are the known as the Serpent Dynasty.
Nāgas originated from Kashyapa, father of Surya from whom clan of Suryawanshi kshatriyas evolved. The Nether World known as Pathala was the inhabitation of Nagas and Anantha as the Emperor of Naga, Sarpa, Uraga, and Pannaga. The Vedas do not mention Kshatriyas of either Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Nagavanshi, Agnivanshi or any such lineage. The Puranas constructed such genealogies. The Nāgvanshis acquired the status of Devas due to their excellent qualities, behavior and actions. Purānas mention Nāgas along with devas. Purānas mention of many Nāga Kingdoms. In ancient times Nāgas were the rulers of entire India. Mathura, Padmavati and Kantipur were capitals of Naga dynasty.
The worshipers of Nāga were supposedly known as Nāgā or Nāgil. Nair, Bunt and some Rajput and Jat clans claim to be of Nagvanshi origin.’
There are some interesting issues here.
1.People of north East India and some portions of central India belong to Nagavanshi.Now we find them in the deep south.
2.In ancient India, the landmass was different and the sea route from the North east of India to south of India was much shorter.
There are references that Ravana visited his In Laws place in central India frequently, his wife Mandodari was from India through this short route from Lanka.
So it needs some more research on this issue as to how the migration took place, whether the Nagavanshis, who were also credited with having been the people of Patala Loka,deep south moved to North during the Great flood, when Vaivaswatha Manu, ancestor of Rama moved to Ayodhya.
3.The issue of the location of the Chera Capital Vanchi.
Considering this and the fact that Lemuria was the location of the early Tamil Kingdoms, I feel that the present theory that Karur was the Capital of Chera needs a look into.My stand is that it might have been located some where down in the Indian Ocean.
3.The present date assigned to Nairs and Kerala needs revision.
Chera King Udiyan Cheralatha,n particpated in the Mahabharata war.
Poompuhar,Tamil Nadu which speaks of Chera Kingdom, the author of Cilapadikaram was the king’s brother, and Poompuhar is dated 20,000 years ago it is safe to postulate that the Nairs of Kerala, who were in the army of the Cheras date back to some 18000 years ago
"Nairs are the savarna Hindus who constituted the warriors, landed gentry and yeoman of Kerala. Nayars are the largest and most important section of the society of Kerala. They were the lords of the country and guardian of public weal."- Robin Jeffrey, The Decline of Nair Dominance280 BCE — "...(description of other lands)... Next follow the Nairae, (Land of Nairs according to Wigram) enclosed by the loftiest of Indian Mountains" (He also alludes to the rule of queens, in this land.) — Megasthenes (306-289 BCE) the Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta writes in his description of ancient India; — (In Book: Travancore State Manual; 1906; V. Nagam Aiya Editor, Chapter VI, page 238)1510 AD — "The first class of Pagans in Calicut is called Brahmins. The second are Nair, who are the same as the gentlefolk amongst us; and these are obliged to bear sword and shield or bows and lances." — Ludovico Varthema 1755 — "The king has disciplined a body of 10,000 Naires; the people of this denomination are by birth the Military tribe of the Malabar Coast." — Orme 1661. — "Olive colored they (Nair Women) grow their ears long and consider it fashionable, they wear gold and silver ornaments in the big ear holes... They grow hair and tie it in a peculiar fashion on the head. Chewing betel leaf is common and their teeth are thus often black in color. From a very early age they get military training, though fierce they are also well behaved, which is the custom here... These Nairs rarely laugh... They are born in Noble families and are adept warriors. They come out with sword in one hand and shield in the other. They are a proud and arrogant people." — Logan (Malabar Manual)1661. — "... it is strange how ready the soldier of this country is at his weapon...they are all gentlemen and are termed Nayars ... they send their children to (Kalaris) when seven years old and their body becomes so nimble and bends as if they had no bones" — Logan (Malabar Manual)1603. — "The men of war which the King of Calicut and all other kings have is Nair... each being a gentleman... their women be of great beauty and rare to catch sight of... possessing fine neat features... befitting the noble class" — John Kanding "...On the west coast there are a few curious distinctions that indicate, apparently, difference in racial origin. The first of these instances is that of the Nair, the military caste of Malabar. Their traditions point to the north as their native land; they are light in colour, in very great contrast to the rest of the castes of the tract, have retained the custom of polyandry, with a good deal of serpent worship. It appears that they advanced upon their present tract by way of the coast higher up, but how they got there does not appear. As with the Arya, they found a dark race in possession and enslaved them on their estates, where they labour to the present day. In the same tract, too, there is a class of Bráhmans, the Nambudiri, of remarkable fairness of complexion, and noted for their rigid ceremonial puritanism. Then, again, in the track of the Nair's alleged progress, we find a peculiar caste of Brahmans, partly occupied in the cultivation of spices and betel nut, but settled mostly above the Gháts, and not therefore so well sheltered from foreign influences as the Nair, who sought the coast. These Havig or Haiga Bráhmans show their connection with the Túlu country in their speech, and, like the Nairs, attribute to their caste a serpent origin in Rohilkhand, a statement borne out by their title. Between these we have a class of female temple servants of an equally light complexion amidst a universally dark population.."(Jervoise Athelstane Baines (1893), General report on the Census of India, 1891, London, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, p. 184) ?"Before quitting the country (Kerala) Hyder Ali Khan by a solemn edict declared the Nairs deprived of all (social and political) privileges and (ordered) not to carry arms. This ordinance was found to make the submission of the proud Nairs absolutely impossible because they would have thought death preferable to such humiliations and degradation. Therefore, Hyder Ali Khan by another ordinance, consented to restore all social and political privileges including carrying of arms, to the Nairs who embraced the Mohammadan religion. Many nobles had to embrace Islam; but a significantly large section (Nairs, Chieftains and Brahmins) chose rather to take refuge in the kingdom of Travancore in the South than to submit to the last ordinance" — Prince Ghulam Muhammad of Mysore"The Nairs of Malabar who attained much celebrity in warfare....justly entitled born soldiers...by the virtue of their descent they must always bear arms..they constitute the third and the last of the honoured castes....a privilaged people....the Rajahs like the oriental monarchs are fond of exaggerating their importance and boast of the number of Nairs they have in their country and service to impress us (the Portuguese) with the idea of their wealth and power" — The Book, Letters from Malabar"This strange law (Sambandham) was established to prevent them (Nair men) from fixing their love and attachment on their wife and children. Being free from all family cares, they might be more willing to devote themselves to warlike services,for which they were born" wrote Wingram, Malabar Law and Custom."The peculiar deity of the Nair caste is Vishnu but they wear on their foreheads the mark of Shiva... They describe the proper road to heaven as...must go to Benares and then afterwards perform the ceremonies for his ancestors at Gaya. He must take water from the Ganges and after journeyed over and immense space of country pour it on the image of Shiva at Ramaeshwara...after this he must visit principle places such as Jaganath in Orissa and Tripetty in Carnatic...must give charity to Brahmins..From the time of Cheramun Perumal until that of Hyder Ali Malabar was governed by descendants on thirteen Nair chiefs' sisters...there were no standing armies except the militias of the Nair households..." — The Book, The East India GazetteerJames Lawrence's novel, The Empire of the Nairs, or, The Rights of Women: An Eutopian Romance (London: Thomas Hookham, 1811), while containing a number of factual inaccuracies and romanticisations about the Nairs, was instrumental in introducing many important figures of the Romantic era such as Shelley to the Nairs and their society. Their matrilineal customs were important examples for early critics of patriarchy in support of the idea that patriarchy was not the inevitable order of society.By the proud Nayars the noble rank is claimed, the toils of culture and of art they scorn, the warriors plumes their haughty brows adorn.... Luis De Camoens in his "The Lusiad"The Nairs are rather a fair and comely race, with neat features, clean limbs and decidedly a high caste look....the Nair is as jealous as he is amorous and vindictive: many travellors have passed through the country without being able to catch one glimpse of their women and the knife would be unhesitatingly used if foreigner attempted satisy his curiosity by anything like forcible measures- Goa, and the Blue Mountains, Richard Francis Burton.
Many Nair Service / samithy / welfare associations inder the nair community across the globe are active among the malayalees. The Official NSS is not able to affiliate / support / officialy be part of / these NSS / nair associations.
It is in this context Delhi NSS called for the united meeting of all the NSS / Samithies AROUND THE GLOBE at DELHI on 9th OCTOBER 2008. The meetings was attended by many fromKerala, Delhi, Noida, Gaziabad, Konkan, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bhilai, Mumbai, etc.. MANY across the land -- the committees gave the support in writing.. Meeting elected a 21 MEMBER taem to guide the activity.
Dr. T P SASIKUMAR is the CHAIRMAN of GNS elected in the 9th October 2008 meeting in DELHI. ------------------------------------------------------- see the first M E T T I N G in DELHI non 9th OCTOBER 2008...... http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Album.aspx?uid=1158349959403809217&aid=1 ---------------------------- YOUR VIEWS on activity is a must for the GROWTH.LET US WORK TOGETHER.. make your community (NAIR) friends to be part of this global effort..
