அலைபாயுதே!

மனித மனதினைக் குரங்கோடு ஒப்பிடுவது வழக்கம். கடல் அலை கூட ஓய்ந்து விடும். ஆனால் மனமோ ஓயவே ஓயாது. என் மனம் செய்யும் தொல்லைகள் கொஞ்சமா நஞ்சமா? எதைச் செய்து கொண்டிருந்தாலும் மனதின் பின்னணியில் ஒரு திரைப்படம் ஓடிக்கொண்டே இருக்கும். "நான் அன்று மட்டும் அவ்வாறு செய்திருந்தால் இன்று இந்த நிலை வந்திருக்காதே..","நான் எடுக்கும் முடிவுகள் சரியா? தவறா?" அல்லது " ஐந்து வருடங்கள் கழித்து என் வாழ்க்கை எப்படி இருக்கும்?" - இம்மூன்று எண்ணங்கள் தான் மாறி மாறி வந்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கும். இப்படியே நான் எதிர்காலச் சிந்தனையில் நிகழ்காலதைத் தொலைக்கிறேன்.

உலகில் தற்பொழுது அனைத்துச் சுயமுன்னேற்ற எழுத்தாளர்கள் கூறும் சர்வரோகநிவாரணி "Follow your passion!". இந்த " What is my passion?" பூதம் என்னைப் படுத்தும் பாட்டை எழுத நூறு பக்கங்களுக்கு மேல் தேவைப்படும்! இந்தக் கேள்விக்கு நானும் பல வருடங்களாக பதில் தேடுகிறேன். பதில் தான் என்னைக்கண்டு பயந்து ஒளிந்துகொண்டதோ என்னவோ? புலப்படவே மாட்டேன் என்கிறது! ஏற்கனவே குழப்பத்தில் இருந்த என் மனம், இதையும் சேர்த்துக் கொண்டு, சேறு போல் குழம்பிவிட்டது! நான் சரியான பாதையில்தான் செல்கிறேனா? "Am I following my passion or not?" என்ற பயம் என்னைப்பிரியாமல் கூடவே வருகின்றது!

இத்தனை எண்ணங்களும் ஒருசேரத் தோன்றி என்னைத் திக்குமுக்காடச் செய்கின்றன! கடலில் அலைகள் எழுவதைப்போல் என் மனதில் சிந்தனைகள் எழும்புகின்றன. திசைக்கொன்றாய் புரவிகள் இழுத்தால் தடுமாறும் தேர் போல, நதிச்சுழலில் அகப்பட்டு தத்தளிக்கும் படகு போல என் மனம் சிந்தனைக் கடலில் அகப்பட்டு அவதிப்படுகிறது!

கிட்டுமோ அமைதி? தெளியுமா குழப்பம்?

Pepper !

Typically, when we go to any restaurant in any part of the world, each table in the restaurant greets us with two items, salt and pepper. We mostly add some pepper to the soups that we order and that's it. Our relationship with pepper is only that much.


Have we ever thought about how pepper has re-written, or to be exact, written the maritime history of the world, how different countries and civilizations coveted this once highly expensive and prized commodity? This tiny, black fruit predominantly grown in the Malabar coast of India, has shaped the history of the world in a huge way.

Pepper has been intertwined with the people and the history of India, especially from the ancient Tamizhagam (comprises current states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The Greeks had a knowledge of pepper and were already importing pepper in substantial properties. But, it was mainly with the rise of the Roman empire that the trade between India and the western world would flourish. The Romans had got the idea of using the monsoon winds to guide their ships to India. A document called the Periplus of the Erythraean sea, specifically mentions about the India trade. Muziris (Musiri in Tamil), was a major port in the western coast and a prime center of the spice trade. (Ruins of musiri are currently being excavated in the village of Pattanam, located near Kodungallur, Kerala). The impact of the romans is reflected in the Tamil world 'Yavana' and also in the excavations that were taken up in many sites. Ex: Arikamedu, a place near Pondicherry, contains the remains of an ancient port and also boasted findings of a lot of Roman coins. This acts as an unquestionable proof of the trade between India and Rome. Pepper mainly travelled from India to Egypt and from Egypt to the Mediterranean and finally to Europe.



Empires rise and empires fall. So did the great Roman empire fall. The Egyptian regions of the Roman empire fell to the Arabs. Islam soon became the official and dominant religion in Egypt. What happened to the spice trade (pepper trade)? The Arabs replaced the Romans as the main traders of Indian spices and benefited a lot from the spice trade. For the most part of the medieval period, the Arabs had an unquestionable dominance in the spice trade. The early adoption of Islam in Kerala and with the presence of the Anjuvannam Jews in Kerala are clearly an outcome of the spice trade. The then powerful and wealthy oligarchies of Venice made a lot of money by carrying on the Mediterranean leg of the spice trade. The other powers of Europe,like the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, English and the French were keen to take up this trade and become a dominant player. This was the primary reason that kick-started the Age of Exploration in Europe.

Portugal and Spain both set on their quest to find an alternate path to India. Spain got distracted by America, while Portugal did not. Vasco-da-Gama, the highly popular Portuguese voyager reaches the shores of Kozhikode in 1498. He tries to establish a Portuguese presence in the Kozhikode kingdom, but the saamuthiri (Zamorin) - King of Kozhikode, rebuffs the Portuguese move as he does not want to antagonize the Arabs who resented Portuguese competition in the spice trade. So, Vasco-da-gama moves to Kochi, where the king (an rival king of the Saamuthiri) welcomed the Portuguese with open arms. This relationship went to such an extent that Fort Kochi was under the rule of the Portuguese for around a 100 years in the 16th century A.D. The rivalry between the Saamuthiri and the king of Kochi was taken advantage of by both the Arabs and the Portuguese to continue their dominance in the spice trade. The Portuguese were followed by the Dutch and the French and finally, the British. What happened after that, is something which we all know very well. :)

It feels very astonishing to think that this seemingly insignificant spice carried the entire international trade on its shoulders for more than 2000 years, and managed to bring fortunes to many civilizations and empires who were smart enough to trade it. Clearly, pepper has added a lot of 'kaara saaram' to the history of the world. :)