“Kai veesamma kai veesu! Kadaikku pogalaam kai veesu!”

This is the first line of a nursery rhyme in Tamil.  Each one of us might have uttered this rhyme in our childhood. But have you ever thought about the word “Kadai”? When you understand the underneath meaning of the word “Kadai”, you can’t believe yourself how intelligent Tamils were. Yes! The ancient Tamils should have been really linguistic experts.

“Shop” – The meaning of this word as given in the Oxford Dictionary is “A building, room, or other establishment used for the retail sale of merchandise or services.” In the commercial sense it can be defined as “a place wherein goods and money are exchanged by the shop-keeper and the buyers”. Goods are passed on from the hands of the shop-keeper to the hands of the buyer, whereas, money is passed on from the hands of the buyer to the hands of shop-keeper. Thus, “Shop” is a place wherein the act of “passing on” takes place.

In Tamil language the equivalent word for “Shop” is “Kadai”. The root word for “Kadai” is “Kada”. The root word for “Nadai” is “Nada” and the root word for “Kidai” is “Kida”. Likewise, the word “Kadai” has originated from the word “Kada”. “Kada” means “to pass on” in Tamil language. It is surprising that Tamils have inbuilt the principles of commerce in a small word “Kadai”. The word “Kadai” is an example for the depth of the Tamil language.

-          Kanakkar