Directions names in Kannada

Until a decade ago I'd not paid attention to direction names in Kannada. During conversations with rural folk, I found some words interesting. The had names for rains and winds based on directions. For example- Moodgalli and Padugaali. Moodgali is the spoken version of Moodana Gaali i.e. wind blowing from east. Padugaali is Paduvana Gaali i.e. wind blowing from west. Padugaali gives way to Moodgaali as winter sets in. Moodgaali is associated with sickness, one can see cases of cold and cough during the changeover and few days later too. Unlike English names, Kannada directions have unique words and multiple words too.

North	ಉತ್ತರ / ಬಡಗಣ
North-East	ಈಶಾನ್ಯ (ಶಿವನ ದಿಕ್ಕು, ಮೂಳ್ವಡ)
East	ಪೂರ್ವ / ಮೂಡಣ (ಮೂಡಲ)
South-East	ಆಗ್ನೇಯ (ತೆಂಕುವೂಡಣ, ಮೂಡುದೆಂಕಣ, ತೆಮ್ಮೂಡು)
South	ದಕ್ಷಿಣ / ತೆಂಕಣ
South-West	ನೈಋತ್ಯ (ತೆಂಕುವಡುವಣ, ಪಡುದೆಂಕಣ, ತೆಂಪಡು)
West	ಪಶ್ಚಿಮ / ಪಡುವಣ
North-West	ವಾಯವ್ಯ

There's so much knowledge one could gain from talking to rural folks, especially the elderly ones. And, when we learn something anew, it must be documented and shared. What's the point in not sharing such knowledge?

Besides this topic, you might find the article on place names interesting: Toponymy across Karnataka.

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