Tamil and Telugu belong to different branches of Dravidian. Tamil is South Dravidian I, and Telugu is South Dravidian II, also called South-Central. They split well over two thousand years ago. Their oldest number words still show the shared ancestor clearly. Setting the archaic forms side by side shows which language kept the old sounds, which one changed them, and where each language replaced a word outright.

THE SHARED CORE

Proto-Dravidian → Archaic Tamil / Archaic Telugu

1: *onṯu → onṟu / ondu
2: *ir(aṇṭu) → iraṇṭu / eraṇḍu
3: *muHn-ṯu → mūnṟu / mūnṟu
4: *nāl → nāṉku / nāluṅgu
5: *cay- → aintu / ēnu
6: *cāṯu → āṟu / āṟu
7: *ēḻ → ēḻu / ēḻu
8: *eṇ- → eṭṭu / eṇimidi
9: *toḷ-/*toṇ- → toṇṭu / tonbidi
10: *paHtu → pattu / padi

The two languages differ in the sounds, but the roots are the same for all ten.

TAMIL KEEPS THE OLD CONSONANTS

Archaic Tamil keeps the Proto-Dravidian alveolar ṟ in onṟu, mūnṟu, and āṟu. It also keeps the retroflex ḻ in ēḻu. Old Telugu still had these sounds in its earliest writing. That is why archaic Telugu has mūnṟu, āṟu, and ēḻu, written with letters that have since dropped out of use. Later, Telugu ṟ merged into r or ḍ, and ḻ merged into ḍ. This produced modern mūḍu, āru, and ēḍu. Tamil never made these mergers, so its archaic and modern forms stay close.

TELUGU SHOWS ITS OWN SOUND RULES

Telugu voices consonants that Tamil keeps voiceless or doubles. The Proto-Dravidian cluster *nṯ becomes nḍ in Telugu ondu, and Tamil has onṟu. Proto-Dravidian *paHtu becomes padi in Telugu, while Tamil doubles the consonant to make pattu.

Telugu also lowers vowels. Proto-Dravidian *i becomes e before a following a, so Tamil has iraṇṭu and Telugu has eraṇḍu. Modern Telugu reṇḍu goes further: it moves the r to the front of the word. This change is called apical displacement, and it is a well-known trait of South-Central Dravidian.

BOTH LOST THE INITIAL C-

Five and six both start with *c- in Proto-Dravidian. Neither language kept it. Proto-Dravidian *cay- became aintu in Tamil and ēnu in Telugu, and *cāṯu became āṟu in both. This loss is shared, but each language built its own form from what remained. Tamil aintu adds a -ntu ending. Telugu ēnu contracts the root. Telugu later gained a second form, aidu, which pushed ēnu aside as the word for five. Ēnu still survives in​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

REFERENCES

Krishnamurti, Bhadriraju. 2003. The Dravidian Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapter on numerals; also covers apical displacement and loss of initial *c-.)

Burrow, T. and M. B. Emeneau. 1984. A Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (DEDR), 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Online at the Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago (dsal.uchicago.edu).

Zvelebil, Kamil V. 1970. Comparative Dravidian Phonology. The Hague: Mouton.

Steever, Sanford B. (ed.). 1998. The Dravidian Languages. London: Routledge. (Separate chapters on Tamil and Telugu.)

Inspired by Insta post about Dravidian numerals by reyi-tsukka

According to Wikipedia, these symbols are dated to between 1000BCE and 300CE so I was wondering if there were any references in contempary literature such as the sangam texts.

Baigou Temple (白耇庙) is a small shrine at the corner of Xianhou Street and Mofan Lane in Quanzhou, China. Its traditional name means “White Dog Temple.” Inside are a dog deity, Hindu stone carvings and Chinese Daoist gods, and the temple is tied to a family that claimed descent from Ceylonese royalty.

The temple is often described as a leftover of Sri Lankan Hinduism, but that is too simple. Most Sri Lankans, especially the Sinhalese, were Buddhist. Hinduism was mainly the religion of Tamils and others with links to South India. If a Ceylonese royal family brought the temple’s Hindu elements, that family may have had South Indian roots.

The White Dog Temple
The temple was first called Baigou Miao (白狗庙), “White Dog Temple.” Its main deity is a white dog sitting upright, with pointed ears and a long muzzle. Locals call it Pisheye or Bishaye (毗舍耶) and describe it as an “Indian Ocean mountain god.”

The name was later changed. The everyday character for dog, 狗, was swapped for 耇, which sounds the same but means old age or long life. Local accounts credit the scholar Lin Sao, who found “White Dog Temple” crude.
It is not clear that Bishaye was ever a Hindu god. Some temple accounts link 毗舍耶 to the Sanskrit vaiśya, the third class in the Hindu social order. But Vaiśya is not a god’s name, and no white dog deity is tied to that class. In Hinduism, dogs are linked to Bhairava, a fierce form of Shiva, and to some South Indian village and guardian gods. The deity’s meaning may have changed once its worshippers became part of Chinese society.

Chinese gods were added over time, including Zhenwu, Yang Liulang, Tiandu Yuanshuai and Wenchang. Today the temple is part Hindu and part Daoist, which is common in Quanzhou, where foreign and local gods are often worshipped under one roof. (qzlc.gov.cn)

Quanzhou and Ceylon
The Ceylon link comes through the Shi family, who said their ancestor was a Ceylonese ruler or royal. A Qing-era biography of the Quanzhou scholar Shi Gongxian calls him a descendant of “Balaina, ruler of the mountains of Ceylon.” The family’s genealogies say the founding ancestor came from Ceylon in the Ming dynasty.

There is physical evidence too. In the 1990s, researchers recorded a Shi family cemetery at Shijiakeng near Quanzhou. Its tombstones mention Ceylon, Ming envoys, interpreters and several generations of the family. They show that a family claiming Ceylonese roots lived and did well in Quanzhou, but they don’t prove who the first ancestor was. (fujian.gov.cn, mnwhstq.com)

The popular story says a Ceylonese prince came to China in 1459. While he was away, a power struggle at home kept him from going back. He stayed in Quanzhou, took the surname Shi, married a local woman and started the family later tied to the temple.
Some versions say he sailed with Zheng He. That can’t be right if the 1459 date is correct, because Zheng He’s last voyage ended in 1433. Local historians still disagree on whether the ancestor came earlier, in the Yongle period, arrived later as an envoy, or was a royal representative rather than an heir. (sohu.com, news.ijjnews.com, m.mnw.cn)

The Alagakkonara Theory
One theory points to the Alagakkonara (Alakeshvara) family. They came from a South Indian merchant and noble background and ran western Sri Lanka in the 1300s and early 1400s. Scholars disagree on whether they came from Kanchipuram or Madurai in Tamil Nadu, or from the Malabar coast in Kerala, but most accept they were South Indian. (en.wikipedia.org, repository.upenn.edu)
The family founded or fortified Kotte, near today’s Colombo, and over time blended into Sinhalese Buddhist politics. Their South Indian roots could explain how Hindu practices reached China with a Ceylonese royal or diplomatic group.

Their best-known contact with China came in 1410–11. Vira Alakeshvara, the ruler of Kotte, clashed with Zheng He’s fleet. Zheng He captured him, his family and senior officials, and took them to the Yongle emperor’s court in Nanjing.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

So the word means blouse/bodice in Tamil, but I can't tell what it literally means. By surface-analysis, it looks like (I)ravi (sun? mountain?) Sans. + kai (hand, maybe sleeve?) Ta. , but it doesn't really make sense, unless the meaning is abstract. The word might be from Telegu, according to some entries (as either రవిక or ఱవిక), and appears in other languages. If anyone (esp. Telegu speakers) has any idea of what this word could mean, pls give your ideas

Looking back to around 300 BCE, society was composed of agrarian families who spent their days working in the fields and worshipping local deities in sacred groves, drawing from diverse belief systems. When Buddhism emerged as a way of life, these core communal practices remained largely unchanged, allowing an egalitarian agrarian society to thrive without caste discrimination.

However, during the Chera period, the caste system was introduced as a mechanism to consolidate royal authority at all costs. This institutionalized untouchability and established a rigid religious hierarchy, marking the onset of a strict and orthodox form of Hinduism.

By the 7th century, Islam emerged and began to spread. Following the establishment of the feudal Janmi system in India, Arab traders arrived for commerce, encountering a deeply feudal social structure. This feudal reality was later navigated by the Portuguese and eventually the British. To enforce their "divide and rule" strategy across the subcontinent, the East India Company and the British Crown codified these fluid social divisions into rigid administrative categories, forming the precursor to modern SC, ST, and OBC classifications.

In the post-colonial era, as global democratic movements grew, India formulated its own democratic principles. Yet, the fundamental question of caste was often bypassed in favor of Hindu-Muslim political dynamics or elite feudal alliances, missing the realities of grassroots India. Decades later, the Congress party—which had laid the groundwork for democratic India—faced political decline because it failed to deliver systemic transformation beyond maintaining upper-caste dominance within the administrative elite.

I am listing all the references I found that suggest the numerals used in gilli-danda, from Maharashtra to Lahore, are of Dravidian origin, possibly Telugu.

Old Reddit discussion on this topic

• An old Sindhi song from the 1958 movie Abana uses the numbers okkati, lend, and mūṅ, while playing gilli-danda
• In the 1953 book Rashtra Bharati, Lalchand writes an essay introducing the Sindhi language. He mentions that Sindhi boys used Telugu-like, Dravidian numbers while playing tip-cat (gilli-danda). He further claims that the Oad and Manjhar communities of Sindh, traditionally associated with sand and stone masonry, are remnants of an ancient Dravidian population.
  • The Oadki language, spoken by the Oads, is considered an Indo-Aryan language. The Waddari people (they speak telugoid language and are from maharashtra) are also associated with the Oad community. These communities are spread across India and even into Pakistan. They have traditionally been known for their skills in stone cutting and pond digging.
• Jayachandra, 1933: In the Journal of the Andhra Historical Research, Jayachandra records hearing Telugu-like numerals used by children playing gilli-danda in Surat of Gujarat and Lahore of Punjab(present day Pakistan).
• Brihat Marathi-Hindi Shabd Kosh, 1971: This Marathi dictionary also lists vakat and lend as Telugu numerals used in gilli-danda.
• Vyayamdyan Kosh, 1936: In this Marathi book, Bhaskar Balvanth Nathu also records the use of Telugu numbers(okkat, leṅd....) while playing gilli-danda.
• Encyclopedia Sindhiana: This Sindhi encyclopedia entry on Atta-Dakar(gilli-danda) lists the numbers used in the game as Ikt, Bkt, Lan, Mun, Nar, Ar, Vey, and Jag (or Uko) and claims them as possible Dravidian numerals.
  • I feel that Ikt and Bkt sound somewhat similar to the words in the old Hindi rhyme Akkad Bakkad Bambe Bo, although I have not investigated this connection in detail. Same is Pointed in this reddit Comment.

The only word I recognise is "tarti", which I think is the ablative marker

link to my blog post:

https://dravidianlinguisticsblog.wordpress.com/2026/10/13/kuwi-field-notes-ii/

I came across this tweet. It's not posted by someone with a linguistics background or perhaps even a proper scientific background.

I'm posting the tweet link

https://x.com/Jijith_NR/status/2109674949556494706

Does it carry any substance?

Can someone with knowledge on this matter, shine some light.

I'm posting the book as more of a resource and historical note.

https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00077060/00001/images/15

The Oxford English Dictionary and Collins trace the English word “satay” to Malay/Indonesian “satai,” also found as Javanese “saté.” The root is the Tamil word catai (சதை), meaning “flesh.”

The Tamil word
Catai is a metathesis (sound swap) of the older Tamil word tacai (தசை). Its Malayalam cognate is cata (ചത) and in Telugu is tassa (flesh). It means the flesh of an animal or the pulp of a fruit, and Tamil speakers in Malaysia use it to mean satay itself.

The University of Madras Tamil Lexicon defines tacai as flesh or muscle, one of the seven bodily tissues (tātu) in classical Tamil, and also the fleshy pulp of a fruit. It’s still everyday Tamil: āṭucatai (ஆடுசதை) is the calf muscle.

How it spread
Tamil catai → Javanese saté → Malay sate → Indonesian sate, and from there to Arabic (sātīh), Dutch (saté), French, German, Italian, Hungarian (szaté), Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian (сатай), Japanese (サテ), Korean (사테) and English.

Two fun ones:
∙ Dutch saté → Afrikaans sosatie, the South African kebab, which English borrowed back as “sosatie.”
∙ Hokkien 沙茶 (sa-te) → Mandarin shāchá, as in shacha sauce, the Taiwanese and Chaozhou barbecue sauce. Same word, same Tamil root.

The myth
The popular claim that “satay” comes from the Hokkien “saⁿ tè (bah)” (“three pieces of meat”) is a false etymology. Hokkien borrowed the word, it didn’t create it.

Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, University of Madras Tamil Lexicon, Wiktionary (சதை).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Jagat Motwani's book "None But India" discusses the use of Dravidian numbering while playing "Gillee Danda" in Sindh.

𝒃𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒕, 𝒍𝒆𝒏, 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏, 𝒏𝒂𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒂𝒓, 𝒗𝒆𝒚𝒊, 𝒋𝒂g

One old #Sindhi song 3:41 you hear Dravidian numbers

Numbers are probably related to south-central Dravidian languages like Telugu etc,not South Dravidian.

1. bakaṭ ~ vakaṭ ‹ *okaṭ- ‹ okk-anṭ-

2. len ‹ ren ‹ renḍ ‹ iru-anṭ-

3. mūn

4. nār/l

5. vēy ‹ hey ‹ *cay

6. ār

7. jag ‹ ē-g ‹ *ēẓ- (-g plural affix)

Is this something do with IVC?Dravidian language split is old as Indus valley civilization?or It is recent migranted thing?

Those regions get less than 500mm & is semi arid.

Kongu Tamil, spoken across the Kongu Upland plains, is often celebrated for its distinct phonetic cadence, archaic honorific markers (-ṅka, -ṅko), and conservative grammar.

Linguistically, Kongu Nadu sits directly at the nexus of two major Dravidian crossroads:

1. The Palakkad Gap: A 30 km natural break in the Western Ghats connecting Coimbatore/Pollachi directly to Palakkad, Malabar, and central Kerala.
2. The Mysore Plateau & Kollegal Corridor: Centuries of shared borders, rule under the Western Gangas, Hoysalas, and the Mysore Kingdom, directly adjacent to Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Mysuru.

Consequently, the Kongu lexicon preserves a fascinating layer of Proto-South-Dravidian retentions, areal isoglosses, and border contact cognates with Kannada and Malayalam that are completely absent or obsolete in standard Central/Eastern Tamil.

Here are some of the comparative cognates I can remember. (There are many actually)

Part 1: Shared Sound Shifts (Isoglosses)

1. *Initial Vowel Shift (u- → o-) [Kongu ↔ Kannada]: Proto-Dravidian initial u- lowers to o- in both Kongu Tamil and Kannada:
   • Std. Tamil ural → Kongu oralu ↔ Kannada ಒರಲು (oralu).
   • Std. Tamil ulakkai → Kongu olakkai ↔ Kannada ಒನಕೆ (onake).
2. Directional Suffixation with -kaḍe / -kaṭṭa [Kongu ↔ Kannada]: Standard Tamil uses -pakkam (அந்தப் பக்கம்), whereas Kongu mirrors Kannada kaḍe (side/direction):
   • Kannada ಆ ಕಡೆ (ā kaḍe) ↔ Kongu அக்கட்ட (akkaṭṭa).
   • Kannada ಈ கಡೆ (ī kaḍe) ↔ Kongu இக்கட்ட (ikkaṭṭa).
3. *Retention of Proto-Dravidian Initial ā- [Kongu ↔ Malayalam]: Standard literary Tamil palatalized initial *ā- into *yā- (yāṉai, yāṟu), whereas colloquial Kongu and Malayalam preserve the archaic *ā-:
   • Kongu ஆனை (āṉai) ↔ Malayalam ആന (āna).
   • Kongu ஆறு (āṟu) ↔ Malayalam ആറ് (āṟu).

Part 2: Kannada & Mysuru Kannada Cognates

1. அக்கட்ட (akkaṭṭa) / அக்கட்டு (akkaṭṭu)
   • Standard Tamil: அந்தப் பக்கம் (anthap pakkam), அவ்விடம்
   • Kannada: ಆ ಕಡೆ (ā kaḍe) — kaḍe = side/direction
   • Example: அந்தக் குப்பைய அக்கட்ட வீசு. (Throw that trash over to that side.)
2. இக்கட்ட (ikkaṭṭa) / இக்கட்டெ (ikkaṭṭe)
   • Standard Tamil: இந்தப் பக்கம் (indhap pakkam), இவ்விடம்
   • Kannada: ಈ ಕಡೆ (ī kaḍe) — this side / here
   • Example: இந்த வெயில்ல அக்கட்ட இக்கட்ட நகர முடியல. (Can't move this side or that side in this heat.)
3. எச்சா / எச்சு (eccā / eccu) / ஹெச்சு (heccu)
   • Standard Tamil: அதிகம் (adhikam), கூடுதல்
   • Kannada: ಹೆಚ್ಚು (hecchu) — more, excess, surplus
   • Example: பையனுக்குக் கறி எச்சா வை. (Serve an extra/larger portion of curry for the boy.)
4. மொட்டு (moṭṭu)
   • Standard Tamil: முட்டை (muṭṭai)
   • Kannada: ಮೊಟ್ಟೆ (moṭṭe) — egg
   • Example: கோழி மொட்டு வெச்சிருக்குது. (The hen has laid an egg.)
5. ஒரலு (oralu) / ஒரல் (oral)
   • Standard Tamil: உரல் (ural)
   • Kannada: ಒರಲು (oralu) — stone mortar for pounding grains
   • Example: ஒரல்ல போட்டு நெல்லுக் குத்து. (Put the paddy in the mortar and pound it.)
6. ஒலக்கை (olakkai)
   • Standard Tamil: உலக்கை (ulakkai)
   • Kannada: ಒನಕೆ (onake) — pounding pestle
   • Example: ஒலக்கப்பூண நல்லாத் தட்டு. (Tap the iron rim of the pestle well.)
7. முசுடு (mucuṭu) / முசுட்டு (mucuṭṭu)
   • Standard Tamil: சிடுசிடுப்பவன், கோப முகம் காட்டுபவன்
   • Kannada: ಮುಸುಡು (musuḍu) — snout, sulking/frowning face (musuḍu nōḍu)
   • Example: அவனொரு முசுடு, எது கேட்டாலும் முசுட்டு மூஞ்சியக் காட்டுவான். (He's a sulky fellow; ask him anything and he shows a frowning face.)
8. குந்தாணி (kuntāṇi)
   • Standard Tamil: மர உரல் (mara ural)
   • Kannada: ಗುಂದಾಣಿ / ಕುಂದಾಣಿ (gundāṇi / kundāṇi) — deep wooden mortar for dehusking
   • Example: குந்தாணியில நெல்லப் போட்டுக் குத்து. (Pound the paddy in the wooden mortar.)
9. மடி (maṭi)
   • Standard Tamil: ஆசாரத் தூய்மை, துவைத்த சுத்தமான ஆடை
   • Kannada: ಮಡಿ (maḍi) — ceremonial purity / fresh ritually pure cloth
   • Example: மடி துணியத் தொட்டுடாத. (Don't touch the ritually pure washed cloth.)
10. கச்சாயம் (kaccāyam)
    • Standard Tamil: அதிரசம் (adhirasam)
    • Kannada: ಕಜ್ಜಾಯ (kajjāya) — traditional fried rice-jaggery sweet (classic Mysore delicacy)
    • Example: நோம்பிக்குக் கச்சாயம் சுட்டுக் குடுத்தாங்க. (They made kajjaya sweets for the festival.)
11. ஒப்புட்டு (oppuṭṭu) / ஒப்பிட்டு (oppiṭṭu)
    • Standard Tamil: போளி (pōḷi)
    • Kannada: ಒಪ್ಪಿಟ್ಟು / ಒಬ್ಬಟ್ಟು (oppiṭṭu / obbaṭṭu) — sweet stuffed flatbread
    • Example: பருப்பு ஒப்புட்டு நல்லா நெய் மணக்குது. (The lentil oppittu smells richly of ghee.)
12. பிலுக்கு (pilukku)
    • Standard Tamil: பந்தா, பிகு பண்ணுதல்
    • Kannada: ಬಿಳುಕು (biḷuku) — strutting, vanity, playing hard-to-get
    • Example: சும்மா பிலுக்காம வாங்கித் தின்னு. (Stop putting on airs and take it to eat.)
13. சாட்டு (cāṭṭu)
    • Standard Tamil: பறைசாற்றுதல், அறிவித்தல்
    • Kannada: ಚಾಟಿಸು / ಸಾಟು (cāṭisu / sāṭu) — public announcement with drums
    • Example: எங்கூர்ல நோம்பு சாட்டியாச்சு. (The temple festival has been officially proclaimed by drumbeat.)
14. -ஆட்டம் (-āṭṭam / -āṭṭa)
    • Standard Tamil: போல (pōla)
    • Kannada: ಅವನಂತೆ (avanante) — like him (-ante functions like -āṭṭam)
    • Example: அவனாட்ட செஞ்சிட்டு வர்றான் பாரு. (Look at him doing it just like him.)

Part 3: Malayalam Cognates (Palakkad / Central Kerala)

1. அடுக்களை (aṭukkaḷai)
   • Standard Tamil: சமையலறை (samaiyalaṟai)
   • Malayalam: അടുക്കള (aṭukkaḷa) — kitchen
   • Note: Central Tamil exclusively uses samaiyalaṟai; Kongu and Malayalam preserve aṭukkaḷa.
   • Example: அடுக்களைக்குள்ள பூனை புகுந்துருச்சு. (A cat sneaked into the kitchen.)
2. வளவு (vaḷavu)
   • Standard Tamil: குடியிருப்பு வளாகம், தெரு
   • Malayalam: വളവ് (vaḷavu) — kin lineage residential cluster / compound
   • Example: மேக்கு வளவுல என்னமோ ஒரே சத்தமா இருக்குது. (There's a lot of noise in the western family compound.)
3. பொடனி (poṭaṉi) / பொடனை
   • Standard Tamil: பிடரி (piḍari) — nape of neck
   • Malayalam: പിടലി (piḍali) — nape of neck
   • Note: Std. Tamil keeps r; Kongu and Malayalam share the liquid shift (r → n / l).
   • Example: பொடனி மேல ரெண்டு போடு. (Give two smacks on the back of his neck.)
4. கொடுவாள் (koṭuvāḷ) / கொடவாளு
   • Standard Tamil: அரிவாள் (arivāḷ)
   • Malayalam: കൊടുവാൾ (koḍuvāḷ) — heavy curved agricultural billhook/machete
   • Example: கொடவாள எடுத்துட்டுப் போயி முள்ளு வெட்டு. (Take the curved billhook and clear the thorns.)
5. சட்டுவம் (caṭṭuvam) / சட்டுகம்
   • Standard Tamil: தோசைத் திருப்பி (dōsaith tiruppi)
   • Malayalam: ചട്ടുകം (caṭṭukam) — flat metal spatula for flipping dosas
   • Example: தோசை கருகிப்போச்சு, சட்டுவத்த எடுத்தா. (Dosa is scorching, pass the spatula!)
6. குப்பாயம் (kuppāyam)
   • Standard Tamil: ரவிக்கை, சட்டை
   • Malayalam: കുപ്പായം (kuppāyam) — shirt / blouse / upper garment
   • Example: பாட்டி வெள்ளை குப்பாயம் போட்டுருக்குது. (Grandmother is wearing a white blouse.)
7. குப்பி (kuppi)
   • Standard Tamil: கண்ணாடிப் பாட்டில்
   • Malayalam: കുപ്പി (kuppi) — glass bottle / flask
   • Example: எண்ணெய் குப்பிய பத்திரமா வெய். (Keep the glass oil flask safely.)
8. கிண்ணி (kiṇṇi)
   • Standard Tamil: வெண்கலத் தட்டு, கிண்ணம்
   • Malayalam: കിണ്ണം / കിണ്ണി (kiṇṇam / kiṇṇi) — wide shallow bronze plate/bowl
   • Example: கிண்ணில சோத்தப் போடு. (Serve the rice in the bronze kinni bowl.)
9. கூதல் (kūtal) / கூதகாலம்
   • Standard Tamil: குளிர், குளிர்காலம்
   • Malayalam: കൂതൽ (kūthal) — chilling cold breeze / winter cold
   • Example: கூதகாலத்துல வெளில போக முடியல. (Can't step out in this winter cold.)
10. சீக்கு (cīkku)
    • Standard Tamil: நோய், வியாதி
    • Malayalam: സീക്ക് (cīkku in Palakkad Malayalam) — illness, sickbed
    • Example: அவனுக்கு சீக்கு வந்து ஆஸ்பத்திரில கெடக்கிறான். (He fell ill and is in the hospital.)
11. சடவு (caṭavu)
    • Standard Tamil: சலிப்பு, தொந்தரவு
    • Malayalam: സടവ് / സടയുക (saḍavu / saḍayuka) — exhaustion, weariness, annoyance
    • Example: அவனுட சடவு எடுக்க முடியலடா. (I can't bear his constant annoyance.)
12. பாச்சை (pāccai) / பாற்றை (pāṟṟai)
    • Standard Tamil: கரப்பான் பூச்சி (karappāṉ pūcci)
    • Malayalam: പാറ്റ (pāṟṟa) — cockroach / beetle
    • Example: அடுப்பங்கரையில பாச்சை ஓடுது. (A cockroach is running in the kitchen.)
13. ஒருவாடு (oruvāṭu)
    • Standard Tamil: மிக அதிகமாக
    • Malayalam: ഒരുപാട് (orupāḍu) — very much, huge quantity (heavily used in Pollachi)
    • Example: காட்டுல இன்னைக்கு ஒருவாடு வேலை கெடக்குது. (There's a huge amount of work in the fields today.)
14. அணத்தான் (aṇattāṉ) / அணிலு
    • Standard Tamil: அணில் (aṇil)
    • Malayalam: അണ്ണാൻ (aṇṇān) — squirrel
    • Example: மரத்தில் அணத்தான் ஓடுது. (The squirrel is running on the tree.)
15. பொருக்கு (porukku)
    • Standard Tamil: புண் காய்ந்த தோல்
    • Malayalam: പൊറുക്ക് / പൊറ്റ (poṟukku) — scab over a healing wound
    • Example: பொருக்கு தானே உழுந்திரும், கிள்ளாத. (The scab will fall off on its own; don't scratch it.)
16. சாடை (cāṭai)
    • Standard Tamil: ஜாடை, மறைமுகப் பேச்சு
    • Malayalam: ജാഡ / ചാട (jāḍa / chāḍa) — veiled sarcasm, attitude, posturing
    • Example: எங்கிட்ட சாடை பேசி நக்கலடிக்காத. (Don't mock me with veiled innuendos.)
17. அன்னாடு / அன்னாடம் (aṉṉāṭu / aṉṉāṭam)
    • Standard Tamil: தினமும், அன்றாடம்
    • Malayalam: അന്നാടം (annāṭam) — daily, day-to-day
    • Example: அன்னாடம் இதே வழக்கமாகப் போச்சு. (This has become a daily habit.)
18. ஊளமூக்கு (ūḷamūkku) / ஊளை
    • Standard Tamil: சளி மூக்கு
    • Malayalam: ഊള (ūḷa) — nasal mucus, slimy snot
    • Example: ஊளமூக்கோட திரியுறான். (He wanders around with a snotty nose.)
19. ஓரியாட்டம் (ōriyāṭṭam)
    • Standard Tamil: சண்டை, கூச்சலிடுதல்
    • Malayalam: ഓരിയിടുക (ōriyiṭuka) — howling, clamorous brawl
    • Example: பிள்ளைகளுக்குள்ள என்ன ஓரியாட்டம் பாரு. (Look at the loud brawl among the kids.)

Part 4: Pan-Western Tri-Lingual Cognates (Kongu ↔ Kannada ↔ Malayalam)

1. ஒட்டுக்கா (oṭṭukkā)
   • Standard Tamil: ஒன்றாக, இணைந்து
   • Kannada: ಒಟ್ಟಿಗೆ (oṭṭige) — together
   • Malayalam: ഒട്ടാകെ (oṭṭāke) — entirely, altogether
   • Example: ரெண்டு பேரும் ஒட்டுக்கா போயிட்டு வாங்க. (Both of you go together and come back.)
2. அல்லெ / அட்ல (alle / aṭla) / அல்லை
   • Standard Tamil: அந்த இடத்தில் (andha iḍathil)
   • Kannada / Kasaragod: ಅಲ್ಲೇ (allē) — right there, in that spot
   • Malayalam: അവിടെ (aviṭe) — there
   • Example: அந்த அல்லெ உக்காரு. (Sit right there in that spot.)
3. சீறாட்டு (cīṟāṭṭu)
   • Standard Tamil: கோபித்துச் செல்லுதல்
   • Kannada: ಸಿಟ್ಟು (siṭṭu) — anger, temper
   • Malayalam: സീറുക (cīṟuka) — to hiss/fume with fury
   • Cultural Note: In Kongu usage, it specifically refers to a young bride storming back to her maternal home in a huff after an argument with in-laws.
   • Example: கட்டிக் கொடுத்து மூணு மாசம் கூட ஆகல, புள்ள சீறாடிட்டு வந்துருச்சு. (Not even three months since the wedding, and the bride stormed back in anger.)
4. முறி (muṟi)
   • Standard Tamil: ரூபாய் நோட்டைச் சில்லறையாக மாற்றுதல்
   • Kannada: ಮುರಿ (muri / muri-māḍu) — breaking currency into small change
   • Malayalam: മുറി (muri) — piece, segment, break
   • Example: நூறு ரூபாய முறிச்சா சீக்கிரம் செலவாயிரும். (If you break a ₹100 note into change, it disappears fast.)
5. ஆத்துல (āttula)
   • Standard Tamil: ஆற்றில் (āṟṟil / from archaic yāṟu)
   • Malayalam: ആറ്റിൽ (āṟṟil) — in the river
   • Note: Non-palatalized Proto-Dravidian ā- retention.
6. ஆன / ஆனை (āṉa / āṉai)
   • Standard Tamil: யானை (yāṉai)
   • Malayalam: ആന (āna) — elephant
   • Note: Shared with Malayalam place names like Ānaimalai (ஆனைமலை).

Notice how the semantic domains group together:

• Domestic & Culinary tools (aṭukkaḷa, caṭṭuvam, kuntāṇi, oralu, kuppāyam, oppuṭṭu, kaccāyam) reflect shared household material culture along the Ghats.
• Agricultural terminology (koṭuvāḷ, vaḷavu) and directional markers (akkaṭṭa, ikkaṭṭa) reflect uninterrupted geographical terrain that existed long before linguistic state re-organizations.

I did this work with help of GenAI & thanks to open-source Kongu Tamil Dictionary https://kongu-tamil-dictionary.vercel.app/ created by my collegemate who made this work possible. (credits due)

I think we can update DEDR-3376 with telugu word tūkamu(తూకము)

తూకము, తూకు : బ్రౌణ్య తెలుగు-ఇంగ్లీష్ నిఘంటువు 1903 tūkamu [Tel.] n.
A make-weight: a poise or balancing weight used to keep a yoke, &c., steady
An attempt, undertaking, trial పూనిక.

An attempt of reconstructing ఏడు చేపల కథ (a popular Telugu folk tale) in Proto-Telugu (≥ 600 BCE).

It is based on Classical Telugu rendering & back-tracing of historical phonological changes of Telugu (based on established comparative & historical linguistics).

Story:

aṉaṅgaṉ-aṉaṅgaṉ okka eḏayṉḏ uṇḍiyaṉ. āyaṉakk ēḻuvar koḻuṅkkuḷ uṇḍir. okkañāṇḍᵊ awar vēṇṭṭa(m)kku pōyir. ēḻᵊ kaymppaḷaṉ teyccir. awaṉṯṯiṉ eṉḏam-beṭṭir. awaṉṯṯoḷaṉ okkoṉṯṯi eṉḏa(ñ)-ciladᵊ. kaymppā! kaymppā! yendukk eṉḏa(ñ)-cilad aṉiṉaṉ, pul mōypp aḍ(d)am āyeṉ ani ceppiyaṉ. pul mōyppā! pul mōyppā! yendukk aḍ(d)am waccittiv aṉiṉaṉ, ā ñaṉṉun mēya(ñ)-cilad aṉiyaṉ. ā! ā! yendukkᵊ mēya(ñ)-cilad aṉiṉaṉ, paṇiyawaṉḏᵊ mēyppa(ñ)-cilad aṉiyaṉ. paṇiyawaṉḏā! paṇiyawaṉḏā! yendukkᵊ mēyppa(ñ)-cilad aṉiṉaṉ, tāttamma tiṇḍiṉ peṭṭa(ñ)-cilad aṉiyaṉ. tāttammā! tāttammā! tiṇḍiṉ endukkᵊ peṭṭa(ñ)-cilad aṉiṉaṉ, piḷḷayawaṉḏᵊ yēḻciyaṉ aṉiyaṉ. piḷḷayawaṉḏā! piḷḷayawaṉḏā! yendukkᵊ yēḻpp aṉiṉaṉ, cīmay kuṭṭiyaṉ aṉiyaṉ. cīma(y)ā! cīma(y)ā! yendukkᵊ kuṭṭitiv aṉiṉaṉ, ñā paciṇḍi puṯṯamoḷaṉ veraḷ peṭṭiṉaṉ, ñāṅ kuṭṭaṉā? aṉiyaṉ.

Meaning:

Once upon a time, there was a king who had seven sons. One day they went hunting and brought back seven fish, which they set out to dry in the sun. But one of the fish didn't dry. "Fish! Fish! Why didn't you dry?" "The haystack got in my way," it said. "Haystack! Haystack! Why did you get in the way?" "The cow didn't graze on me," it said. "Cow! Cow! Why didn't you graze?" "The servant didn't take me out to graze," it said. "Servant! Servant! Why didn't you take the cow for grazing?" "The grand mother didn't give me food," he said. "Grand Mother! Grand Mother! Why didn't you give him food?" "The baby was crying," she said. "Baby! Baby! Why were you crying?" "An ant bit me," he said. "Ant! Ant! Why did you bite him?" "If someone sticks a finger in my golden burrow, shouldn't I bite?" it replied.

PS: This is an enthusiastic attempt in reconstructions; discussions & disagreements are welcomed, but require proper counter-arguments rather than random cancelling.

Came across this blog post in a Reddit thread (Balaji, for a south Indians it means Vishnu while North Indians believe it to be Hanuman. Both are wrong!)

The North Indian traditions related to pitru paksha and the concept of 'Balaji' were fascinating. I didn't realise that the North had practices of ancestor possession and communication similar to most South Indian communities. The laying of stones to signify ancestors also points toward ancient ancestor worship customs preserved across India.

In the heart of rural Rajasthan lies a deeply personal, though rapidly fading, tradition of ancestral mediumship. Known natively as ‘Bhava’ (divine trance), the ritual centers around a human medium called the ‘Bhopa.’ Remarkably, the manifestation of this phenomenon is gendered: when an ancestral spirit possesses a man, it is reverently called ‘Balaji bharijgya’ (the arrival of Balaji); when it possesses a woman, it is called ‘Mata aa gayi’ (the Mother has arrived). This is the foundational bedrock of Rajasthan’s original Balaji tradition!

When a family person was possessed, it meant the ancestor had a message to deliver. It represented the family’s Pitra (the deified ancestral elder). Community treated the possessed person with high reverence, asking him questions, “Why cattle got sick?”, “Why has my wife been sick for so long?”, “Where are the misplaced land papers?” The entity spoke through the medium to heal, resolve family disputes, or demand an ignored ritual. It is also referred as “Poochha” (asking).

“Balaji” term has even wider tradition. Every farm in village had “Balaji Dham” or a “Than” or “chabutra” with a plain rock. In terms of land protection, early medieval inscriptions and folk memories show that rural boundaries were guarded by Kshetrapalas (Field Protectors) and Bhumiyahs (Deified Landlords). When these early medieval agrarian protectors were established under a tree, they were given the generic title of Bala (signifying pristine or elemental force) or Balaji. They were represented by an uncarved stone because they represented the uncarved, raw earth itself. When a farmer stood by the vermilion stone under the Khejri tree and prayed to “Balaji,” he was talking directly to his great-grandfather who had cleared that very soil. Balaji is part of every family ritual, as gratitude or complaint. Its deeply personal.

"She is a Vellalar. The jewels worn by a girl of this class run into thousands of rupees. They are part of the ordinary dress. This girl did not know we were coming, she was "caught" just as she was. She had a ball of pink oleander flowers in her hands and white flowers in her hair."

From: Things as They Are: Mission Work in Southern India by Amy Wilson-Carmichael, London: Morgan and Scott, 1903. Illustration from the first edition.