Why this blog post on my origins?
In a nutshell, like many, I desire to know where I came from. This blog will “enlighten” fellow Paravars/Fernandos who have the same desire by letting them know about their interesting past, and who like me have started late or didnt know they had such past(but better late than never). This blog  doesn’t get into the details of the dates of the events or the names of the people involved in the history. You can refer to the pages in the “Reference” in case you want the exact details.

My desire was triggered by my excitement when I found a wikipedia page about 5-6 years back. I never knew I had such an old and interesting origin.

Knowing my past made me proud. Based on the discussions with my cousins and the most elder people of our family, I can trace back my roots(or rather my mom’s roots) to a village in Kanyakumari District called Kovalam. But that’s a dead end as none of the elders know what happened before their elders came to Kovalam. My wishlist also includes searching the family who gave us their Surname of Fernando.(A bit ambitious here!)

Fernando
Fernando means courageous, adventurer, conquerer and leader

Fernandos of India belong to the Paravar caste, also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula Kshathriyar.

Where they can be found
Paravars can be found on the coast of the Indian state of Tamilnadu and in parts of northern and western Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The City of Tuticorin(Pearl City) has found its mention in most events related to Paravars. The Portuguese called the area where the Paravas lived as “Costa da Pescaria” – or Land of the Pearls.

About the caste
Paravars were proudful heirs of ancient Pandya Kings. Said to have founded the Pandyan Empire and hoisted their Fish flag.The Maravars(Devars) were also from the same clan.

In olden days Paravars were engaged in trading with Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, Java, Burma and Ceylon. Korkai pearl was the most famous item exported from Tamil land.

The Surname
The name ‘Fernando’, a predominant surname and other surnames were acquired from the Portuguese, who influenced the Paravas. There are as many as 100 or more of these surnames – Fernando, Fernandez, Motha, Mascarenhas, Victoria, Miranda, Devotta, De Cruz, De Souza, Gomez, Dalmeida, Vaz, Desoyza, Rodrigo, Rodriguez etc., which were given by St. Francis Xavier, other missionaries and Portuguese officers during the 16th century.

Education & Occupation
The Paravars have a long tradition of learning and are one of the earliest communities to have a high literacy rate. This is attributed to their traditional profession of navigator and the influence of Christian missionaries.

For centuries the Paravas had been pearl divers. Tuticorin city which is still a stronghold of the Parava community was the centre of the pearl trade. The Paravas later diversified into fishing, salt-making and other maritime professions.

Catamarans & Ships & Freedom Struggle
Paravars were excellent shipbuilders. Their catamarans were the first type of ship encountered by the English with two hulls; the Tamil word for it(Kattumaram) was adopted into the English language as a loanword.

The first indigenous ship was set to sail by V.O. Chidhambaram during the British rule in India. Holding very strong Catholics tradition from Portuguese and later by Saint Xavier, paravars had to face to British as both as Indians and also as a Catholics. The British tried hard to impose their Anglican sect.

Tamil, the first language into modern print media for any Indian language:
The Tamil Bible, ‘Cardila’, was printed in 1554 and made Tamil the first language into modern print media for any Indian language. This was even before the first printing machine arrived Goa, India in 1556. Cardila’s printing was funded by the Paravar community.

Religion
- Paravars used to worship Varunan

- A rare 3rd century B.C. Tamil Brahmi inscription found near Madurai, points that the chiefs of the coastal region in the State also patronised Jainism in the early period.
- During the Cholas and later Pandiya kings regime Paravars were believers of Saivisim.

- In 1323 the Muslim Rulers captured the Pandian Kingdom. The Muslims failed every time they forced the Paravars to embrace Islam.
- Mass conversion to Christianity took place in the 16th Century

A little background of Christianity in India
St. Thomas came to Kerala, India in the 1st Century(52 A.D) making Indians one of the early followers of Christ, even before many European countries. Then St. Bartholomew came in the 6th Century to the Konkan region. Large number of conversions were carried out by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, bringing in Roman Catholicism.

Paravars conversion to Christianity

Troubled by the Muslim invaders since 1516, who also took over their right to pearl fishery, Paravars faced wipe out in the civil riots with the Muslims. The Portuguese expressed their willingness to help if the Paravars consented to become Christians. In 1533, nearly 30,000 Paravars converted and got their right back over the pearl fishery, and the Muslims sought safety in flight. This made the Paravars the first whole community in India to convert to Christianity. This also  made the Pearl Fishery Coast an important Christian region, and succeeded the first introduction of Christianity in Mylapore with the Thomas Christians.

In 1542 Saint Francis Xavier came to Pearl Coasts to strengthen their Christian faith. The Paravars were baptized eight years before the arrival of St. Francis Xavier.

Places
- Cape Comorin (Kanya kumari) – where Jo’o da Cruz was approached by the Paravas for advice in the Muslim conflict and were subsequently adviced to convert to Christianity
- Tuticorin - where the 30000 paravars were converted
- Manapad - the location of the sea side cave from where St Francis Xavier proselytized

- Cochin - Nuno da Cunha, the Governor decides to help Paravas against the Muslim opponents
- Madurai - the capital of the Pandyan Empire, and the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, to which the Paravars have natural attachment(related to their earlier worship of Varunan)

References:
http://www.pillaithoppu.org/index-9.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paravar

Fellow Paravars/Fernandos willing to share/put in some more “enlightenment”/correct me are welcome to comment.

The phenomenon I am talking about? On Bench.

Picture this, you enter the IT industry as an over enthusiastic fresher who wants to get his hands on a computer and start creating software applications that you feel will later compete with, say Google. (For freshers who are reading this, let me break your hearts by saying, “Nothing like that is possible in an IT company”)

Fast forward, 2-4 years from then. Your enthusiasm has declined and you want to build it up again. You see the advertisement in your local newspaper / job website. You are awestruck with what they are offering, “an employee centered environment where you grow”. For some reason, you still see hope, that stupid ray of light at the end of the tunnel, which will lead to your job satisfaction. “It cant be a lie”, you tell yourself, “after all that employee in the ad seems very happy, in all the 4 photos”(For people unfamiliar with IT recruitment ads, I am talking about the Infosys ad).

Fast forward, and you are in the interview. They ask you questions about concepts that you might never use, even if you were in Google(You want a software application? I will develop it and give it to you, but dont ask me what RMI and CGI is. Its the age of Cloud Computing and Web Services). You know you have got what it takes, but only if the interviewers could pan a bit to those areas…

Fast forward, and you are already in your dream company now. That company whose name you dont have to repeat to your old uncles and aunts(and say “Never Mind”, when they dont get it), that name that raises eyebrows and gives you a sense of pride as if you have just completed the Tour De France(or any other major sport event for that reason. But you get my point!!!), that company which can add 100 more kilograms to your CV.

Fast forward, you have completed the induction and all set to show your loyalty to your new company. This is the first time you have heard the word “RM”. You were told you were part of that team. You try to decode what RM could mean, and finally end up dejected when they say it is “Resource Management”, a glorified term for “Bench”.

You hear from your fellow “bench”-mates of how they have spent more than 3 months on bench, of how companies hire in “bulk” just to show to their clients their employee count. You catch the “3 months on bench”, out of that conversation and that thought of accumulating dust in your brains sends a shrill down your throat. You try the 3-idiots formula of “All Is Well”, but after visiting the library and reading nearly all newspapers and magazines(even Economic Times and Business Line, though you dont understand the boring commerce jargon) and trying to fool your brains that you are not depressed, you finally get bored to death and all you can hear is “well”(A deep hole dug to obtain water). Sorry Aamir, that formula doesnt really work “on bench”.

You hear from your friends who work in “actual” teams that most of their team members are good for nothing. This positive thought of your friend to share your sorrows, actually just adds to your anxiety.

And then one fine day,.. No, there isnt hope,.. I am talking about new hires coming in, again on “bench” to accompany you, now to share your PC. Yes! Disgusting, but they make you share your PC with the other new comer. But you cooperate and give your condolence to him. You know what he is/will go through on this sad journey on bench…

Something about Pongal Festival first:
Its a 4 day harvesting festival and is celebrated by nearly all Tamilians “regardless of their faith”. More about Pongal on Wiki

Requirements:
Jaggery – Your desired amount
Rice – 1 Cup
Moong Dal – 1 Handful
Coconut Milk – 1 Cup
Elaichi
Kaju, Kismis

How to prepare:
Dissolve the Jaggery by mixing it continuously in boiling water on a burner. Water should be around 2 Cups. Use that water to cook the Rice and Moong Dal in a cooker. Once it is cooked put it in an utensil and place it on the burner. Add Elaichi to it and then add fried Kaju and Kismis. Keep mixing and then add the coconut water. Keep mixing for 2 mins and you are done.

Thanks to my Mom and my friend’s Mom for their help with the recipe.

– disable all constraints
EXEC sp_msforeachtable “ALTER TABLE ? NOCHECK CONSTRAINT all”
To switch them back on, run: (the print is optional of course and it is just listing the tables)

– enable all constraints
exec sp_msforeachtable @command1=”print ‘?’”, @command2=”ALTER TABLE ? WITH CHECK CHECK CONSTRAINT all”

The Korlai Fort Light House is at a distance of about 9-10 Kms from Nagaon and normally takes around 25mins to get there if you have a vehicle. Our primary reason to go there was to see the sun set over the horizon, and we are glad we did witness a beautiful one. This was my first ever trip inside a Light House and was happy I not only saw the inside but also understood how it works from the person managing it.

About the Korlai Fort:
It is a fortification built by the Portuguese in order to get a strategic position to use it to defend their province which stretched from Korlai to Bassein. (More on wiki)

Korlai Light House:

A little history: The Portuguese had occupied Korlai hill and surrounding coast line during 15th century. In addition to fort on summit they had built a beacon – column supporting a stone sphere on the fort wall over the south bank of the entrance of the creek. The fort served as important surveillance point. Occasionally log fire was lit when they expected their vessels. After the British took over the region a light was being exhibited from a beacon provided on the north side of the creek.

The person incharge took us in groups of 7 through the narrow and steep stairs and even narrower openings that lead to the higher floors.

The person gave us a 10 minute explanation regarding the Light House.

The primary lamp equipment(230V 150W Metal halide) is said to be having around 40 nautical miles range and has its own character(flash white every 3 seconds) which the boats use to identify their location.(Rather than seeing a continuous weak light, one sees a brighter light during short time intervals. These instants of bright light are arranged to create a light characteristic or, pattern specific to a lighthouse which is called a Character.) Boats without equipments like GPS still rely on these Light Houses to navigate.

A spare lamp with a range of around 22 nautical miles serves as a backup in case the primary light equipment fails.

There is a solar panel that charges a power backup which switches on in an event of a power failure, and if the power backup is over, a generator turns on automatically.

The Light House also had a transmitter that sends a code specific to that Light House to be identified by boats.

The lamp used in the Light House is just a 150 watts one, but it is magnified by the outer lens covering it.

The beautiful sun set:

After some bitter drinks,
and after past some foolish jokes,
some really funny jokes,
but all belly aching jokes..
figures slowly became visible gradually,
without knowledge of their past,
their past either good or bad,
they laughed and lived their present,
and the crazy people finally arrived..

First it was the song “Evan Di Unna Pethan?”(Eng Translation: Who the hell is your dad?) (pardon my Tamil translation), and now I cant get over “Why this Kolaveri Di?”(Eng Translation: Why this murderous rage?)

This song has a typical Dhanush expression, a catchy tune, a weird but interesting “Tanglish(Tamil-English)” lyrics and a feeling that happens commonly and frequently to many of us – heartbreak.

Dhanush has sung pretty well(actually better than Yuvan Shankar Raja) and his expressions are a mixture of sadness of heartbreak, respect for his lover, anger.. in other words a typical crazy lover. And the lines “Glass la scotch, Eyes-u full-aa tear-u, Empty life-u, Girl-u come-u, Life reverse gear-u” and “god i m dying now-u, she is happy how-u” hit the target.

I even more happy to see Kamal’s daughter, Rajni’s daughter and son-in-law together. The new generation is trying something new and is definitely a good effort. Thanks to new comer Anirudh for the catchy music. Very creative indeed! (Shruti could have used a bit little makeup).

I am not going to post the lyrics as the video already has them in its subtitles.

I was told NCFM Financial Markets Introduction would be a cake-walk, but I hardly believed it. Reason being, its an area which I thought I knew nothing of, while the people who made such statements already knew something about Financial Markets and their working.

Well, it was indeed a dumb and simple exam!!!

You cant ask the same question “3-4 times” with just the values changed.

Examples of questions that appeared multiple times in the exam:

-How much maximum brokerage can be charged if a person buys X Rs of stocks and sells Y Rs of stocks

-If the inflation rate is X % what would be value of Y Rs after 2 years

-Present value of X Rs receivable after Y Years at a discount of Z %

That brings me to the conclusion that the Test was sub-standard and it didnt involve any research. The testing software design was flawed since it picked up questions of the same objective over and over again.

If anyone can clear the test by reading the book once and going through the questions in the model test, I dont really think that certification possesses value. And especially when people start calling the exam a cake-walk, the exam creators need to wake up.

You might think, what a nerd!!! First he doesnt prepare and when he does score good, he’s crying about it. But the reason I am writing this blog is because my emotions were completely different when I cleared SCJP. Ofcourse I didnt expect a good score even there, but I was satisfied with my marks and the knowledge gained at the end of the exercise. I was expecting my NCFM result to correspond the knowledge I gained by reading the book, but it doesn’t.