180. Javagal

Many of our ancient words have got out of usage and with time people tend to forget their actual meaning. This has happened also in the case of Kannada language.
Javagallu
Javagal is a small town between Arasikere and Halebidu in Hassan district. There is a famous pilgrimage centre for Muslims of Karnataka. The place name Javagal may not mean anything to most of the Kannada people. The Kannada word 'java' is used for early morning period as in 'munjavu'. However, the word association of java(period)+kallu(stone) does not make any sense in general.
Tulu lexicon
The Tulu Lexicon compiled by Govinda Pai Research Centre, Udupi (Vol.3, p.1320) gives the meaning of the Tulu word Javakallu.
In the olden days when people had to carry goods by head load, a large block of stone was kept on the roadside of the village so that the carrying person could lower his weight and place it on the stone. It was easier for the carrier to lift the goods by himself since the stone was placed at sufficient height above the ground.
The large piece stone for lowering and resting the burden was known as 'Javagall' or 'Japel' or 'Javel'.The Tulu word 'jāv' or 'jāpini' refers to 'lowering' (the burden).

Tulu and Old Kannada
The interesting implication of this example is that Tulu and the Old Kannada (Hale Kannada) languages shared many common words before 10th Century CE and Javagall is one such word. Now the present Kannada has apparently given up the usage of old words like Javagall which are yet preserved in Tulu language.
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