“ Summa Kadantha Sangai Oodhi Keduththaan Aandi ”

Dear Friends,
Many of you, after going through my thread “http://www.indusladies.com/forums/s...2257-oppukku-chappani-oorukku-mankottai.html” appreciated it and desired me to post threads on similar popular Tamil proverbs. Here is the second in that series “SKSOKA” that I had used recently in the thread http://www.indusladies.com/forums/relationship-with-in-laws/143304-enru-thaniyum-indha.html . I will try to come up with more, subject to the reception these posts get from you all.
Please feel free to comment and suggest improvements on the interpretation as well.
Cheers,
Anbudan,
RRG


“ Summa Kadantha Sangai Oodhi Keduththaan Aandi ”

This is a very popular Tamil proverb.
(Instead of ‘Aandi’, ‘pandaram’ is also used by a few ).
Almost all of us would have come across the above Tamil proverb many a times. This is used to describe ‘one who proactively invites trouble on himself, unnecessarily ’.

The meaning of the words in the proverbs per-se are very clear.

Summa kadantha – the one lying idle perhaps in a corner of a travelers’ choultry hall. It was not hindrance for anyone in its present state.
Sangai – Sangu means Conch (shank) that is blown on religious occasions;
Oodhi – by blowing
Aandi – the mendicant. Normally ‘aandi pandarams’, the travelling mendicants, are associated with blowing the conch in Tamil Nadu.
Keduththaan – spoilt, disturbed;

What the ‘aandi’ could have spoilt or disturbed by blowing a conch that he found lying in a corner in a choultry or madam? Many of us who use the proverb as a part of our vocabulary, would not have even thought about it.

Conch shells, as we all know, is obtained from sea. For this, mature conch snails are caught, the snail’s meat is removed from inside after killing it and the cleaned empty shell is then converted into a Shank (sangu) by drilling small holes, cutting the mouth for blowing etc. The meat is a delicacy in many parts of the world.

There are shells of other species in the sea resembling a conch – ‘Conus’ for instance. They have shells that are shaped more or less like geometric cones. Many species have colorful patterning on the shell surface. Live cone snails should be handled with care—or not handled at all—as they are capable of "stinging" humans with unpleasant results. The sting of small cones is no worse than a bee sting, but the sting of a few of the larger species of tropical cone snails can be serious, and has even occasionally been fatal to human beings. The meat of the cone snail is not consumed due to its poisonous nature.

In the instant case, presumably, some fisherman had caught a live ‘Conus’ also along with a catch of ‘Conch’ snails. Enroute to his market, he had halted at a traveler’s choultry. While taking stock of his merchandise, he had realized his mistake and left the cone shell behind. This was, perhaps, lying in a corner of the madam, unattended. It was this cone that attracted our proverbial mendicant to pick up and try blowing.

The live ‘cone snail’ that was resting inside the shell, hungry and feeling out of place (being out of the sea), would have been in a foul mood. The moment our man kept his mouth for blowing, it would have got more irritated at the intrusion and given him a solid sting, sending him jumping around the madam, howling in pain, thus disturbing the peace of the place. And a fellow traveler, lying down in the other corner of the same madam would have noticed all this and philosophically observed “Summa Kadantha Sangai Oodhi Keduththaan Aandi ”, got up and left. This traveler would have popularized his above wise-crack amongst his villagers. Through them & their progeny, here we were - using the proverb - Left, Right & Center, even without knowing the full meaning. From now on, we will continue to use it LRC, knowing its meaning, courtesy ‘Indus Ladies’.

Anbudan,
RRG

PS: When I was in my elementary school, I heard this proverb for the first time from my class teacher. Even though he could tell me the meaning of the proverb, he could not properly link his interpretation to the proverb per-se. It was my mother who suggested that it could be due to the conch having insects inside that could bite, if not cleaned in advance. By this you could also interpret that as the conch was lying in a corner of the madam, some poisonous insects like a scorpion, might have lodged itself in it and reacted when the mendicant tried to blow.

Rest of the story follows as above.

Enjoy!

 

Thanks Shakambari & abi.
Pleased to know you liked it.
Dear Shakambari,
There was another 'aandi' who danced, danced and broke a pot*. Perhaps, you thought of that aandi, instead of this one.
*( Nanda vanaththil ore Aandi, Avan naalaru mathamaai kuyavanai vedi, kondu vanthaan oru thodi; Adhai kooththaadi, kooththaadi poattudachchaandi")
Cheers,
RRG

 

Dear NK & Usha,
Thanks.
Pleased to know that yoy liked the post SKSOKA.
I do have collection of thousands of proverbs - courtesy my parents and friends. In thiese columns, I would like to focus only on those that are rare or not understood clearly by the majority. Trust your understanding.
Be rest assured, would like to make it as interesting to read as possible.
Cheers,
RRG

 

Dear CL,
If you are reffering to my post script :By cleaning the sangu, I meant dusting it and ensuring no foreign element is there inside - like scorpion or spider, why even mice. We do clean even a tumbler before putting it on our lip isn't it? But opening a 'Pandoras box' means 'to start something that causes many new and unexpected problems'.
Thanks for your resolve to read all my threads. I am sure you would find them interesting.
Yes,my son lives in Irwine and I did visit him last year. May do so next year as well. Would love to meet you.
But, we are not supposed to exchange contact details, coordinates etc thro' this column. Unfortunately, so far I have not become a member for using PM in this forum. You may have to wait till I become one, I am afraid.
Cheers,
RRG