This post should not have been the first post in this blog. But it is ... why so? Read on ...
光の勝利のレイ is how Google Translate translates "Victorious Ray of Light" into Japanese. Translate it back into English and you get "Ray of light of victory". Not exactly the same thing ... hmmm ... Anyways ... that is the name of my friend Jai-kiran Nair an ex-colleague who made fun of me with some Japanese comments on my Facebook wall today and reminded me of this blog which was languishing for more than 2 years. In a way, it could be said that he reincarnated my desire to write this blog. Reincarnation is something the Preserver Vishnu does often. There is another reason he reminds me of Vishnu but that would be inappropriate here ;-) ...
光の勝利のレイ is how Google Translate translates "Victorious Ray of Light" into Japanese. Translate it back into English and you get "Ray of light of victory". Not exactly the same thing ... hmmm ... Anyways ... that is the name of my friend Jai-kiran Nair an ex-colleague who made fun of me with some Japanese comments on my Facebook wall today and reminded me of this blog which was languishing for more than 2 years. In a way, it could be said that he reincarnated my desire to write this blog. Reincarnation is something the Preserver Vishnu does often. There is another reason he reminds me of Vishnu but that would be inappropriate here ;-) ...
Ramesh Babu Natarajan (രെമേശ് ബാബു നട്ടരാജൻ) is a friend of mine from high school who introduced to me to this Malayalam Editor which is way better than the editor application on this blog site was in 2010. In fact according to another friend of mine who isn't even a Malayali, it is easier and faster than Google's Tools (his opinion on the date 19th April 2012).
I had written 2 drafts earlier for posting to this blog named "അക്ഷരങ്ങളും ലിപികളും" last updated 11/8/10 and "ഒലക്കയുടെ മൂട് ... എന്താ ഇഷ്ടപെട്ടില്ലെ ?" last updated on 8/27/10. I never got around to completing them as I was extremely frustrated with the Google Blog Malayalam Editor and it severely hampered my progress. If I ever finish them I will add links to them in this post here and here (of course on a date after the official publishing of this particular post). So in a way Ramesh destroyed my lethargy and this cognitive boulder in my path. Thus he is the Destroyer Shiva for me in this effort of mine. There is another reason why he reminds me of Shiva but that would be inappropriate here :-p
I had written 2 drafts earlier for posting to this blog named "അക്ഷരങ്ങളും ലിപികളും" last updated 11/8/10 and "ഒലക്കയുടെ മൂട് ... എന്താ ഇഷ്ടപെട്ടില്ലെ ?" last updated on 8/27/10. I never got around to completing them as I was extremely frustrated with the Google Blog Malayalam Editor and it severely hampered my progress. If I ever finish them I will add links to them in this post here and here (of course on a date after the official publishing of this particular post). So in a way Ramesh destroyed my lethargy and this cognitive boulder in my path. Thus he is the Destroyer Shiva for me in this effort of mine. There is another reason why he reminds me of Shiva but that would be inappropriate here :-p
It is normal to start a new venture with the words "Om hari sri ganapataye namah"(ഓം ഹരി ശ്രീ ഗണപതയേ നമഃ) in Malayali Hindu Culture and I felt that I should give this tribute to these 2 guys for getting me to move forward with blog. I would also like to pay tribute to my Lady Iyer Teacher who started me off on Japanese in New Delhi in 2001.
Sadly I don't recollect her name right now. She used to repeatedly tell me to think in Malayalam whenever I had sentence construction trouble. Her exact words were not like this but similar -->> "You are a Malayali right? How would you think it in Malayalam? Now say it in Japanese. Don't tell me you can't do it. I know you can". Being my first teacher in this Language I guess it would fair to say she was the Creator of My desire to write this blog connecting these 2 languages. Thus she would be the Cognitive Creator Brahma of this blog. There is another reason why she reminds me of Brahma but that would be inappropriate here :-).
So let us start with our 2 first lessons ... even though they are not exactly conventional, 'hello world' or even appropriate :-) ... Don't worry about not understanding them entirely. All will be made clear in the above mentioned 2 posts that have been preceded by this one and in the other posts to follow.
In the FB wall, Jai called me a 三日坊主 which is pronounced as "mikka bōzu" in Japanese. It is written as മൂന്നു ദിവസത്തെ സന്യാസി in Malayalam and pronounced as "Moonnu divasaththey Sanyaasi". This means "3 day hermit"
Let's break this down ...
The last 2 Kanji in this example have slightly different meanings when read separately. Meanings of Kanji also depend sometimes on context.
Now let's look at another example ... These 2 examples (above and below) are not perfect and there is some semantics lost in translation and transliteration.
木 is pronounced "ki" here. It means Tree.
落 when standing alone has various other pronunciations different from "chiru".
から pronounced "kara" is written in "kana" and means "from" or "off". This is used here to imply that the Monkeys fall "off trees" or "from trees".
This から is different from the Kanji 空 which means "Sky" when it is by itself. It however means "Empty" and is pronounced as "kara" when combined with the kanji 手 which is pronounced "te" and means "Hand". Together they mean "Empty Hand" = Karate or "വെരും കൈ" = "Verum Ky" = "Just Hand/s" (by implication no tools or weapons).
Sadly I don't recollect her name right now. She used to repeatedly tell me to think in Malayalam whenever I had sentence construction trouble. Her exact words were not like this but similar -->> "You are a Malayali right? How would you think it in Malayalam? Now say it in Japanese. Don't tell me you can't do it. I know you can". Being my first teacher in this Language I guess it would fair to say she was the Creator of My desire to write this blog connecting these 2 languages. Thus she would be the Cognitive Creator Brahma of this blog. There is another reason why she reminds me of Brahma but that would be inappropriate here :-).
So let us start with our 2 first lessons ... even though they are not exactly conventional, 'hello world' or even appropriate :-) ... Don't worry about not understanding them entirely. All will be made clear in the above mentioned 2 posts that have been preceded by this one and in the other posts to follow.
In the FB wall, Jai called me a 三日坊主 which is pronounced as "mikka bōzu" in Japanese. It is written as മൂന്നു ദിവസത്തെ സന്യാസി in Malayalam and pronounced as "Moonnu divasaththey Sanyaasi". This means "3 day hermit"
Let's break this down ...
| Kana/Kanji | 三 | 日 | 坊 主 |
| Romaji | mi | kka | bō zu |
| Meaning in English | 3 | day | monk |
| Kolezhuthu Script | മൂന്നു | ദിവസ (ത്തെ) | സന്യാസി |
| Malayalam Sound | moonnu | divasa (ththey) | sanyaasi |
The last 2 Kanji in this example have slightly different meanings when read separately. Meanings of Kanji also depend sometimes on context.
Now let's look at another example ... These 2 examples (above and below) are not perfect and there is some semantics lost in translation and transliteration.
| Kana/Kanji | 猿 | も | 木 | から | 落 | ち る | 。 |
| Romaji | Saru | mo | ki | kara | o | chi ru | |
| Meaning in English | Monkey(s) | also | tree | from | fall | off | do |
| Kolezhuthu Script | കൊരങൻ | മാരും | മരതിൽ | നിന്നും | വീഴാ | റൊണ്ട് | . |
| Malayalam Sound | korangan | maarum | marathil | ninnum | veezhaa | rondu | . |
木 is pronounced "ki" here. It means Tree.
落 when standing alone has various other pronunciations different from "chiru".
から pronounced "kara" is written in "kana" and means "from" or "off". This is used here to imply that the Monkeys fall "off trees" or "from trees".
This から is different from the Kanji 空 which means "Sky" when it is by itself. It however means "Empty" and is pronounced as "kara" when combined with the kanji 手 which is pronounced "te" and means "Hand". Together they mean "Empty Hand" = Karate or "വെരും കൈ" = "Verum Ky" = "Just Hand/s" (by implication no tools or weapons).
