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| A hero stone to honour the polygar: Photo: Raja Ramasamy |
The grave of an Englishman, which was discovered at the village Tali near Udumalpet in Tirupur district a few years ago, has an interesting tale behind it.
The Tamil inscription on the tombstone reads thus:
“Thanjai
Nagarathiliruntha
Anthirei
Kethish Paranki
Iirupathezhu
vayathil
Dheiveekamaki
Adingina Samaathu “
The inscription informs that an Englishman by name Anthirei Kethish
, a twenty seven year old Englishman from Tanjore
‘attained divinity’ and buried here)
It reminds a poem by great Tamil poet Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi, in
which he calls the English ‘Paranki’ (white
gourd) as ‘ Parankiyai Durai Endra Kalamum Poche’ ( Gone are those days, when we called the ‘white
gourd’ as Lord!). Similarly the inscription on the gravestone too addresses the
deceased Englishman as ‘ Paranki’
An oral tradition maintains that Ethalappa Naicker, a Kongu chieftain
who ruled a palayapattu with Tali as headquarters,
hanged this British messenger to death in retaliation to the killing of
Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the polygar of Panchalankurichi. What’s more, Ethalappa
Naicker hanged the white man from a tamarind tree in the same way as the
British executed Kattabomman.
“However, there is little historical evidence on
this incident. The inscription too informs only the death of an Englishman by
name Anthirei Kethish” says Nandakumar, on whose farmland the grave is found. Interestingly,
the farmland too came to be called ‘Thookkumara
Thottam’ after the incident.
Nandakumar adds saying that the palace of Ethalappa
Naicker was razed down in a cannon strike during his war against the British
government.
Thenkongu Sathasivam, a writer and history
enthusiast, informs:
“The book Tali
Ethalappan Varalaru, which narrates the
history of the Kongu chieftain, informs that he executed the Englishman
Anthirei Kethish to avenge the execution of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. The book
points out that Anthirei Kethish came to meet Ethalappa Naicker to hold peace
talks with him, after the British government sensed it would meet a defeat in
the war against him. Ethalappa Naicker, who had integrated all his neighbouring
14 palayapattus ( group of villages)and
provided a strong military support to Oomaithurai, the younger brother of Katabomman,
was a threat to the British government. Nevertheless, the book hardly says
anything about the death of Ethalappa Naicker. It ends in a scene in which he
informs his commander that he is moving northward and asking him to follow soon”
But, epigraphist Jegadisan asks:
Link to the article in The New Indian Express: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/1409009/The-New-Indian-Express-Coimbatore/28102017#clip/23253736/39f5a108-610c-4871-bad8-9b308ce1a536/861.3333333333334:914.2893289328932
