Azhii peralai: from the deep … large waves. This is the expression for ‘tsunami’ in Tamil, the oldest language in southern India. For an ancient dialect to have its own phrase for destructive waves triggered by earthquakes, the people of Tamil Nadu likely experienced tsunamis periodically through the centuries, say scientists. In other words, the catastrophic Indian Ocean event in December 2004 that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries — including 15,000 in India — was hardly a one freak occurrence, he says, and people could have been much better prepared for it.