Tanjore Maharashtrian
Encyclopedia
Thanjavur Marathi (colloquially called Rāyar ), are a Marathi
-speaking ethno-linguistic group, who reside in the central and northern parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu
. They are the descendants of Marathi administrators, soldiers and noblemen who migrated during the rule of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. Kshatriyas use the designation Maratha while Brahmins use the self-designation Deshastha.
Thanjavur Marathi is the mother tongue for over 3% of the total population in the towns of Kumbakonam
and Thanjavur.
In the early years of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, migrants to Thanjavur were very few and rare. Most Thanjavur Marathis are descendants of people who migrated during and after the reign of Serfoji I
who ruled from 1712 to 1726. Serfoji I invited Brahmins to settle in Thanjavur and offered them vast quantities of land. He also established agraharams such as Sarabhojirajapuram
. Migrations to the Tamil country from Maharashtra
and northern Karnataka
took place throughout the 18th and the first half of the 19th century until the demise of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom in 1855. Since 1855, migrations have almost ceased. Some aristocratic Thanjavur Marathi families, however, continue to follow the centuries-old custom of concluding marriage alliances only with aristocratic Maratha families of Maharashtra and Central India.
and the Thanjavur
, Nagapattinam, Dharmapuri, Vellore
, Salem
, Thiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur
, Kanchipuram
and Tiruchirappalli
districts of Tamil Nadu. The Marathi population in Tamil Nadu has dwindled recently due to migrations to Maharashtra
, Bangalore
, North India
and foreign countries. There is also a considerable Thanjavur Marathi population in southern Kerala made up mostly of people who migrated to Travancore from Kumbakonam and Thanjavur to take advantage of the privileged positions they enjoyed in the Travancore court during the 19th century.
The Marathi population in the Tamil-speaking districts of the Madras Presidency as per the 1931 census are as follows
The 1931 census also recorded a population of 7,054 Marathi speakers in the princely state of Travancore
and 5,210 in Cochin.
. Kannada is also spoken and understood by a significantly large segment of the Thanjavur Marathi population. Having lived in the Tamil country for centuries, almost all Thanjavur Marathis in Tamil Nadu are proficient in Tamil
.
and sambhar to Tamil Nadu. They also introduced folk dances such as Poi-kaal kudirai. Musical instruments such as gottu vadyam and tambura
were also introduced by them.
D. Vasudeva Rao, Managing Director (Retired), Ennore Foundries Limited.
Rao Bahadur C Srinivasa Rao - Director General of Post and Telegraph
D J Balaji Rao - Vice Chairman, SCCI.
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
-speaking ethno-linguistic group, who reside in the central and northern parts of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. They are the descendants of Marathi administrators, soldiers and noblemen who migrated during the rule of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom. Kshatriyas use the designation Maratha while Brahmins use the self-designation Deshastha.
Thanjavur Marathi is the mother tongue for over 3% of the total population in the towns of Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam , also spelt as Coombaconum in the records of British India , is a town and a special grade municipality in the Thanjavur district in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located 40 kilometres from Thanjavur and 272 kilometres from Chennai, it is the headquarters of the Kumbakonam...
and Thanjavur.
History
There has been evidence of Marathi immigrants in the Tamil country ever since ancient times. During the Vijayanagar Empire and its aftermath, there was regular movement of people from central India. The Thanjavur Marathi community originated in the 17th century. The first Thanjavur Marathi was Venkoji, also known as Ekoji, a brother of Chattrapathi Shivaji, who established the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom.In the early years of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, migrants to Thanjavur were very few and rare. Most Thanjavur Marathis are descendants of people who migrated during and after the reign of Serfoji I
Serfoji I
Serfoji I , also called Sarabhoji I, was the son of the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Ekoji I and the Raja of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728. He was the third Raja of the Bhonsle dynasty. He consolidated the hold of Marathas over Thanjavur and patronised arts and literature.- The Marava War of...
who ruled from 1712 to 1726. Serfoji I invited Brahmins to settle in Thanjavur and offered them vast quantities of land. He also established agraharams such as Sarabhojirajapuram
Sarabhojirajapuram
Sarabhojirajapuram is a village in the Papanasam taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The village was established as an agraharam by the Thanjavur Maratha ruler Serfoji I.- Demographics :...
. Migrations to the Tamil country from Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and northern Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
took place throughout the 18th and the first half of the 19th century until the demise of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom in 1855. Since 1855, migrations have almost ceased. Some aristocratic Thanjavur Marathi families, however, continue to follow the centuries-old custom of concluding marriage alliances only with aristocratic Maratha families of Maharashtra and Central India.
Demographics and distribution
According to the 2001 census, Marathi is spoken as a mother tongue by about 0.1% of the total population of Tamil Nadu.Exact districtwise statistics are not available, but according to estimates, Marathis are mostly concentrated in the city of ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and the Thanjavur
Thanjavur District
Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:...
, Nagapattinam, Dharmapuri, Vellore
Vellore District
Vellore district is one of the 32 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. Vellore City is the headquarters of this district. It had a population of 3,477,317 as of 2001. It is 37.62% urbanised...
, Salem
Salem District
Salem District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Salem is the district headquarters. Other major towns in the district are Mettur, Omalur and Attur...
, Thiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur
Tiruvarur District
Tiruvarur district is one of the 30 districts in the Tamil Nadu state of India. The district occupies an area of 2161 km². It is lies between Nagapattinam district on the east and Thanjavur district on the west, and is bounded by the Palk Strait on the south...
, Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram district
Kanchipuram district is a district in the northeast of the state of Tamil Nadu in India. It is bounded in the west by Vellore and Thiruvannamalai districts, in the north by Thiruvallur District and Chennai District, in the south by Viluppuram District and in the east by the Bay of Bengal. It lies...
and Tiruchirappalli
Tiruchirappalli district
Tiruchirapalli District , also known as Tiruchchirapalli District or Trichy District, is located along the Kaveri River in Tamil Nadu, India...
districts of Tamil Nadu. The Marathi population in Tamil Nadu has dwindled recently due to migrations to Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
and foreign countries. There is also a considerable Thanjavur Marathi population in southern Kerala made up mostly of people who migrated to Travancore from Kumbakonam and Thanjavur to take advantage of the privileged positions they enjoyed in the Travancore court during the 19th century.
The Marathi population in the Tamil-speaking districts of the Madras Presidency as per the 1931 census are as follows
| District | Marathi population |
|---|---|
| North Arcot | 9947 |
| Tanjore | 9149 |
| Madras | 7539 |
| Salem | 5903 |
| Coimbatore | 3095 |
| Chingleput | 2932 |
| Trichinopoly | 2037 |
| Madura | 2002 |
| South Arcot | 1673 |
| Ramnad | 1009 |
| The Nilgiris | 1301 |
| Tinnevely | 333 |
| Source : | |
The 1931 census also recorded a population of 7,054 Marathi speakers in the princely state of Travancore
Travancore
Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
and 5,210 in Cochin.
Language
The mother tongue of the Thanjavur Marathi people is Thanjavur Marathi, a dialect of the Marathi languageMarathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
. Kannada is also spoken and understood by a significantly large segment of the Thanjavur Marathi population. Having lived in the Tamil country for centuries, almost all Thanjavur Marathis in Tamil Nadu are proficient in Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
.
Influence
The Thanjavur Marathis are credited with having introduced culinary dishes such as poliPuran Poli
Puran Poli is a traditional type of sweet flatbread made in India in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Goa.-Ingredients:*300 gm - Channa dal or split yellow gram*300 gm - Jaggery...
and sambhar to Tamil Nadu. They also introduced folk dances such as Poi-kaal kudirai. Musical instruments such as gottu vadyam and tambura
Tambura
The tambura, tanpura, or tambora is a long-necked plucked lute . The body shape of the tambura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – only the open strings are played to accompany other musicians...
were also introduced by them.
Notable Thanjavur Marathis
- Anandarayar SahibAnandarayar SahibAnandarayar Sahib was a poet and administrator who served as a minister in the courts of the Thanjavur Maratha kings Shahuji I, Serfoji I and Tukkoji. He was given the honorific title "Peshwa".- Biography :...
, Diwan of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom during the reigns of Shahuji I, Serfoji ISerfoji ISerfoji I , also called Sarabhoji I, was the son of the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Ekoji I and the Raja of Thanjavur from 1712 to 1728. He was the third Raja of the Bhonsle dynasty. He consolidated the hold of Marathas over Thanjavur and patronised arts and literature.- The Marava War of...
and TukkojiTukkojiTukkoji was the fourth Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. He was from the Bhonsle dynasty and was the son of Ekoji I as well as the younger brother of Shahuji I and Serfoji I...
. - Reddy RowReddy RowReddy Row, also known as Venkata Row, was an Indian administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1817 to 1821 and 1843 to 1845.- Early life :Reddy Row was born in a Thanjavur Marathi family at Kumbakonam...
, Diwan of Travancore from 1817 to 1821 and 1843 to 1845. - R. Venkata Rao, Diwan of Travancore from 1821 to 1829 and 1838 to 1839.
- Sir T. Madhava Rao (1828–1891), Diwan of TravancoreTravancoreKingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...
from 1857 to 1872 and an early leader of the Indian National CongressIndian National CongressThe Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. - Thanjavur Subha RaoThanjavur Subha RaoThanjavur Subha Rao was an Indian administrator and musician who served as the dewan of the state of Travancore in the 1830s.Subha Rao was a native of Thanjavur. He was so fluent in English that he was also known as "English" Subha Rao. He tutored the Maharaja of Travancore Swathi Thirunal in...
, Diwan of Travancore in the 1830s. - T. Rama RaoT. Rama Rao (administrator)T. Rama Rao was an Indian administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1887 to 1892. V. Nagam Aiya, in his 1906 Travancore State Manual calls him "the most popular Diwan in recent times". Rama Rao was a cousin of Sir T. Madhava Rao and R...
(1831–1895), Indian civil servant. Served as Diwan of Travancore from 1887 to 1892. - T. Ananda RaoT. Ananda RaoTanjore Ananda Rao CIE was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the Diwan of the Mysore kingdom from 1909 to 1912. He was the eldest son of Sir T. Madhava Rao.- Early life and education :...
(1852–1919), Indian administrator. Diwan of Mysore from 1909 to 1912. Son of Sir T. Madhava Rao. - V. P. Madhava RaoV. P. Madhava RaoVishwanath Patankar Madhava Rao CIE was an Indian administrator and statesman who served as the Diwan of Mysore kingdom from 1906 to 1909 and Baroda from 1910 to 1913.- Early life and education :...
(1850–1934), Indian administrator. Diwan of Mysore from 1906 to 1909 and Baroda from 1910 to 1913. - N. VittalN. VittalN. Vittal , belonging to the Indian Administrative Service 1960 batch, is one of the eminent public servants of India, who has held important positions in the Government of India, most prominent of which was that of the Central Vigilance Commissioner.-Early life:A Tanjore Maharashtrian, he was born...
(b. 1938), Indian civil servant. - T. Gopala RaoT. Gopala RaoRai Bahadur Thandalam Gopala Rao was an Indian educationist who, along with William Archer Porter, was responsible for the growth of the Government Arts College, Kumbakonam in its early stages.- Early life :...
(1832–1886), Indian educator. Was one of the pioneers of Government Arts College, Kumbakonam. Gopal Rao Public Library in Kumbakonam is named after him. - Palladam Sanjiva RaoPalladam Sanjiva RaoPalladam Sanjiva Rao was an Indian flautist and carnatic musician from the state of Tamil Nadu.- Personal life :Sanjiva Rao was born in 1882 in the town of Palladam near Coimbatore in a Thanjavur Marathi family...
(1882–1962), Indian flautist and carnatic musician. - R. Balaji RaoR. Balaji RaoR. Balaji Rao was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist who was a founder and first Secretary of the Madras Mahajana Sabha.- Personal life :...
(1842–1896), Indian politician and Indian independence activist. First Secretary of the Madras Mahajana SabhaMadras Mahajana SabhaMadras Mahajana Sabha was an Indian nationalist organisation based in the Madras Presidency. Along with the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, Bombay Presidency Association and the Indian Association, it is considered to be a predecessor of the Indian National Congress....
. Represented Tanjore along with S. A. Swaminatha IyerS. A. Swaminatha IyerRai Bahadur S. A. Swaminatha Iyer ,also known as Thanjavur Swaminatha Iyer or simply S. A. S, was an Indian lawyer, theosophist, administrator and freedom fighter from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.- Early life :...
at the first session of the Indian National Congress. - R. Raghunatha RaoR. Raghunatha RaoDiwan Bahadur Rai Raghunatha Rao CSI was an Indian civil servant, administrator, politician and Indian independence activist who served as the Diwan of Indore from 1875 to 1880 and 1886 to 1888. He was related to Indian statesman Sir T...
(1831–1912), Indian civil servant, administrator, politician and Indian independence activist. Diwan of Indore 1875-88. - K. Krishnaswamy RaoK. Krishnaswamy RaoDiwan Bahadur Kanchi Krishnaswamy Rao CIE was an Indian civil servant, judge and administrator who served as the Diwan of Travancore from 1898 to 1904.- Early life and education :...
(1845-1923), Diwan of Travancore 1898-1904. - R. Ramachandra RaoR. Ramachandra RaoDiwan Bahadur Raghunatha Rao Ramachandra Rao was an Indian civil servant, mathematician and social and political activist who served as District Collector in British India.- Early life and education :...
(1871-1936), Indian civil servant and Indian independence activist. Served as District Collector of Kurnool, Nellore and Madras. - T. Ramachandra RaoT. Ramachandra RaoTanjore Ramachandra Rao was an Indian civil servant who became the first native Indian to serve as Deputy Commissioner of Police of Madras.- Early life :...
(1825-1879), First Deputy Commissioner of Police, Madras. - H.Bhimasena Rao, Indian Financial Service- Accountant General, United Provinces in the 1930s- Bhimasena Gardens in Chennai is named after him.
- Krishnaswamy Ananda Rau,( 1894- 1966) Indian Educational Service- Professor of Mathematics and sometime Principal, Presidency College Madras- he was a contemporary of Srinivasa Ramanujam, the mathematician.
- C.R.Krishnaswamy Rao Saheb, IAS ( 1927-) - a distinguished administrator and civil servant who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. Krishnaswamy Rao Saheb distinguished himself by becoming the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Charan Singh and then becoming the Cabinet Secretary when Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister.
D. Vasudeva Rao, Managing Director (Retired), Ennore Foundries Limited.
Rao Bahadur C Srinivasa Rao - Director General of Post and Telegraph
D J Balaji Rao - Vice Chairman, SCCI.
In popular culture
- The fictitious RSSRashtriya Swayamsevak SanghRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or National Patriotic Organization), also known the Sangh, is a right-wing Hindu nationalist, paramilitary, volunteer, and allegedly militant organization for Hindu males in India...
swayamsevakSwayamsevakSwayamsevak is a Sanskrit term for volunteer.It is also a term used for volunteers of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh....
Shriram Abhyankar, in the 1999 movie Hey RamHey RamHey Ram is a controversial Indian film released both in Tamil and Hindi in 2000 and written, directed, produced by and starring Kamal Haasan...
, played by Atul KulkarniAtul KulkarniAtul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
, claims that he is a Thanjavur Marathi.