Kudu Kuduppaikaran

It was a Saturday early morning, say 5’o clock. I couldn’t continue sleeping as I was hearing a strange sound continuously. That sound was not new to me. I remember I heard the sound some where at sometime long ago. I woke up and sharpened the ears close to the sound. That was clear then. It was a KuduKuduppai sound. I don’t know how many of you could have heard this sound in your childhood. Not sure, what kind of feeling you have had when you heard the sound of KuduKuduppai at that time. But, I've had a scared feeling at my childhood whenever I heard that sound. The KuduKuduppaikaran (couldn’t find an English equivalent for ‘KuduKuduppaikaran’ anywhere!.) walks along the streets in the mid-night. He has a terrific make-up as if some ghost comes along with him and he tells fortune at each house in the street.

Also, I’ve heard so many rumors about this KuduKuduppaikaran in my childhood. My mom used to tell me that people would not attempt to meet this KuduKuduppaikaran face to face at mid-night, when he is coming on the streets; because he would be coming along with ghosts. Also, my childhood friends used to tell stories that this KuduKuduppaikaran visits grave yards in the midnight and does some special pooja with skulls, bones and then come into streets to tell the fortune. I scared to the maximum about this KuduKuduppaikaran then! Thereafter, whenever I heard this KuduKuduppai sound in the mid-nights, I scared…embraced my mom and used to cover my face using her saree due to fear! Though they were rumors, I didn’t have a choice other than believing it – as I was a child.

Days passed by. I’ve grown. Live in boring Bangalore – where I don’t have any such interesting story tellers. After many years, I heard this sound at an early morning! Instead of scaring, I felt happy this time! I was happy that this guy had not yet gone missing. I just opened my windows and watched around. He was singing some strange song, probably it was a mix of Kannata & Tamil languages. He stopped at each door step and was telling fortune. He was walking on his own way then.

I feel sympathy for him now. He cant get a job it seems. Same time, he doesn’t want to beg. So, he does fortune telling, what his ancestors used to do. Nowadays these people are decreasing in number. In childhood, they told me hoax stories about this KuduKuduppaikaran. Then, who can tell me a correct story about him now?

Mr. Google.

Intially I couldn’t get any results on Google about this KuduKuduppaikaran. But, I didn’t want to give up. Rephrased, refined the keywords and shot again. Then, google returned some shocking news about these KuduKudppai Community. This the result, I’ve got from google (text is in Tamil, better readable in Internet Explorer or FireFox3):

http://photobala.blogspot.com/2007/07/blog-post.html

Shocked. I am really heart-broken to read that this community is denied education & work! I wish them one day they get all the benefits and rights in the society that we’ve today.

I scared to see this people in my childhood. Now, mind-set had totally changed.. I am happy to see such strange things back in life!