176. Alevoor

Alevoor is a suburban village located a few kilometers to the Southeast of the famed temple town , Udupi . It is about 8km east of the West coast and the Arabian Sea. Udyavara and Korangarapadi villages separate this village from the West coast.
The place name ‘Alevoor’ spins several shades of meanings, with the terms ‘ala’ and ‘aley’1 having meanings in Tulu language such as water and butter milk respectively. The Tulu word ’ aley’2 also means old, decayed or decrepit. In that sense it is similar to the Kannada word ‘Hale ‘or the ‘old’ one.
With these literal meanings in the background we can assume that (1) the village name ‘Alevoor ‘means a old (‘Halevoor’ as in Kannada ) or disused village.
Or alternately (2) we can infer that it was Ala+oor or village on the bank of an ‘ala’ or river. The word component ‘ala’ in Tulu words like Kudala, Alupe, Aluve, Bajal etc are distinctly suggestive of proximity or spatial relation to rivers or water bodies. Infact , the village Alevoor is situated on the banks of a rivulet (‘Manipura Holey’ , a tributary to River Udyavara) which might have been a more dynamic river in the historical past.

Historical reconstruction
In the absence of any historical records, the evolution of the village “Alevoor “ can be visualized as follows:
In the early period of Tulu civilization, ‘Alavoor ‘ (ala+oor= village on the river bank) was a popular township on the bank of the River ‘Manipura Holey ‘(Holey=rivulet) which along with ‘Shirva Holey’ joined Udyavara River before disgorging into the Arabian Sea.
With passage of time the river dried up as a result of natural hazards and the people were forced to shift out the village probably to Udyavara which formed one of the ancient urban centers of Tulu civilization and royalty. The old village was then referred to as ‘Alevoor’ or ‘Halevoor’.
Those who have more authentic historical records on the subject discussed above may kindly proffer their remarks.
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Comment by H.Viswanath:
Alevoor - an Eponym!

For want of documented records or evidences, it is difficult to construct a 'historical world' wherein things talked about stand related and consistent.

Shades of meaning given to part-word 'ale/ala', which form the basis for the place name (toponym) 'Alevoor', are perfectly all-right. Mark this word: 'aleppaatu', which means a shallow canal way for water flow in agricultural fields. 'Ale' also means 'wave'; so it is a village of river with shimmering waves.

Plausibly, 'Alevoor' is an eponym, according to me. 'Ale' also means 'wander/roam'. 'Alemaani' means either an European or a German (Latin: Alemauni, Arabic: Almaani, German: almaanii - See Tulu Lexicon Page-183). It must have been a thickly vegetated and sparsely populated vast area in those days, rendering it a suitable camping ground, say a temporary riverian resting place in the beginning, for vagabonds. Studies show that we are bunch of wanderers ('alemaarigalu'), carrying a record of our wanderings by way of chromosomal hues.

One more meaning of 'ale' is 'to get exhausted/be weary'. 'Ale' further means 'to think oneself/to meditate'. So, it is a 'alevara + ooru > alevoor. 'Alevooraya' is one of the surnames of Brahmins (See TL Page-184).