User:Tsrajesh

Sourashtra. This is both a name of a place as well as the name of the language spoken by the people living in that place.

This place is in the present Gujarat State in India.

The meaning of Sourashtra is a place with 100 countries if you take it literally. "Sou" means 100 in many north indian languages, and "Rashtra" means country or it can even be taken as a state etc.

It might have been a collection of 100 villages.

I am a Sourashtran but I have never visited this place because I live in south india now. It is told that sourashtran's came down south for greener pastures and many settled on the way in many of the southern states.

We settled in Madurai ( Tamil Nadu - India ) nearly 800 years back. Sourashtra has a good script but unfortunately most of us even do not know the alphabets including me that is. This is because lack of usage. We take the script of the local language even if we need to write in sourashtra.

The language has also transformed and took a lot from the local languages. The Sourashtra spoken is much different from sourashtrans living even in the northern part of tamil nadu itself. For example a sourashtran speeking in sourashtra living in Salem ( a district like madurai in tamil nadu -india ) would be very very difficult for me to understand. Similarly if I hear a person from down south of madurai again difficulty in understanding.

But I would say that its a unique language. You may find similarities from very many different north indian as well as south indian languages.

As far as the population speaking this language is known as one of the softest human beings that this world has produced.

I have heard that this is the only community where no one has ever committed a murder or even accussed of a murder. That proves that his community is a peace loving community. I hope it stays a peaceful community for a long time to come.

Most of the people in this community is in the lower income group. But the scenario is quickly changing. People are going in for jobs that will boost their economic status.

Many famous personalities have emerged from this community in all desciplines.

Basically this is one of the thousands of liguistically different strains that you would encounter in a great country like India.