THE ETYMOLOGY OF “DURAI”

I have always been fascinated by my surname and what it implies. My surname also contains the word ‘Durai’ which is now being used in my family for the fourth generation. I therefore started seeking the meaning of the word ‘Durai’  and found that ancient Tamil works had always denoted ‘Durai’  as "Chief" or "Leader" but in more recent history especially after the advent of the British rule in India ‘Durai’  was used to denote a white skinned person of European origin; Something akin to ‘Sahib’ or ‘Saab’ in Hindi. 

So much for the history of the word. I would now like to get into the specifics of its usage in my family. My grandfather was called ‘Durairaj or as I like to put it ‘The King of the Durais'. He had four sons; something which we don’t get to see often and something which in Indian society is considered a great asset. 

He named his first son ‘Chelladurai’ and as you may all know ‘Chella’ or ‘Chellam’ is a term of endearment and affection. Naturally my grandfather showered his affection on his first born and therefore called him so. 

Shortly thereafter, a second son was born to him and my grandfather who was a school teacher at that point of time realized the importance of money and the financial constraints placed upon him as his brood increased in strength. He therefore named his second born ‘Ponnudurai’. As those of you who know Tamil may understand ‘Ponnu’ stands for gold or in other words wealth. My grandfather who was feeling the crunch of raising two boys obviously needed wealth and therefore called his second born ‘Ponnudurai’. 

Soon after, my grandfather brought forth into this world his third born; my beloved father whom he called ‘Mangaladurai’. Once again those of you who know Tamil will know that ‘Mangalam’ in Tamil stands for auspicious things and is normally used to denote an auspicious end. I can very well understand the state of mind in which my grandfather must have been on the arrival of his third born and obviously he wanted to put a full stop to his reproductive efforts and that is why he called him Mangaladurai’ but unfortunately or fortunately the mind is a funny thing and has its own ideas and desires. 

As a result he could not stop with three children and soon thereafter he was blessed with his fourth born yet another son whom he called ‘Gnanadurai’. Those of you who know Tamil will also understand that ‘Gnana’ denotes wisdom and finally wisdom dawned upon my grandfather who concluded with his fourth born Gnanadurai’. 

As a young boy I had composed a ditty on the above much to the chagrin of my grandmother and though the exact lines of the ditty have been long forgotten I thought I must share the substance therein and hence this post. The King of the ‘Durai’s gave birth to four ‘Durais’ whose children adopted their respective surnames with great pride and frankly I am proud to be a Mangaladurai’. 

As a mark of respect for my grandfather I have now called my only son as Steve Durairaj Swamy and hopefully he will continue the ‘Durai’ tradition long after I am gone; though I am sure he will not require to go through the process of birthing four ‘Durais’ before wisdom dawns on him. 

(Please note that this post was not meant to hurt the sentiments of any of the “Durais”)