Word of the Day
கல்வெட்டு
Kalveṭṭu
Tamil
Tamil pronunciation/kalʋeʈːu/English approximation/kælˈvetːuː/
“The Tamil word for 'stone inscription' is itself older than most stone inscriptions — and the practice it names produced over 30,000 recorded inscriptions across South India.”
Kalveṭṭu is a compound: kal (stone) and veṭṭu (cutting, carving). A kalveṭṭu is a cut stone — an inscription chiseled into rock. The word names both the act and the object. Tamil inscriptions are among the oldest in India, with Brahmi-script Tamil appearing on cave walls in Jambai and Mangulam from the 2nd century BCE. The Asokan edicts at Erragudi include early Tamil-Brahmi. Before paper, before palm-leaf manuscripts, there was stone.
4 stops · from Jambai / Mangulam, Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry / Chennai