# 001 ‘ Uppukku chappani, Oorukku mankottai'

As is the case with many of the idioms in Tamil, 'Uppukku chappani, Oorukku mankottai' also got into a wrong usage. Original word was ‘Oppukku’. The change of this one word rendered first half of the saying totally meaningless. Oppukku means - ‘for the sake of agreement', (‘for name only’). Chappani means an 'unfit person'. Thus including a person (who is unfit to be an equal participant) in the team ‘for name only" came to be refered as 'Oppukku Chappani'. In due course Oppukku got changed (for what reason is not known) to Uppukku! But thankfully the ' Oorukku mangottai' portion remained in tact without getting distorted. Its meaning requires a little lengthy explanation. 3 people travelling together was considered inauspicious. So whenever, there was no other go but to travel as three, one of them carried a 'Mangottai' (Mango seed). This served as a substitute for one more person making it not a three person team thus avoiding the taboo. Mangottai, if planted grows into a plant. So, it has life. Also, the mango seed is thick as a skull, representing the head of a person. Perhaps, Mangottai as a 'living head' was considered a substitute for the fourth person. Oorukkku stands for 'journey'. Thus 'Oorukku Mangottai' stands for the mango seed which accompanies the travelers in the journey, only as a substitute for the fourth person, with no role to play in the proceedings.- once again meaning “for name only", ‘Nam ke vasthe'. Don't ask why not 'Oorukku Thengai' (coconut) or any of the similar seeds. In fact Thengai, in addition to a thick skull, has eyes (that too 3 not just 2) as well, more akin to a living person. Presumably our elders preferred 'Mangottai' because of its size. Also, the saying sounds better with 'Mangottai' than 'Thengai'.