Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Āsāri
Āsāri.—In most parts of the Madras Presidency,Mr. H. A. Sturat writes, " Āsāri (or Āchāri) is synonymous with Kammalān, and may denote any of the five artizan castes, but in Malabar it is practically confined to the carpenter caste. The Āsāri of Malabar is the Brāhman of the Kammāla castes. The Kammāla castes generally pollute Nāyars by approaching within twelve feet, and Brāhmans by coming within thirty-six feet;but an Āsāri with his measuring rod in his hand has the privilege of approaching very near, and even entering the houses of higher castes without polluting them.This exception may have arisen out of necessity." At the census, 1901, some Sāyakkārans (Tamil dyers) returned Āsāri as a title.
In a Government office, a short time ago, the head clerk, a Brāhman named Rangachāri, altered the spelling of the name of a Kammālan from Velayudachāri to Velayudasāri in the office books, on the ground that the former looked Brāhmanical.