Malayalam – the Language from God’s Own Country

Malayalam is an Indian language which is mainly spoken in the state of Kerala. It is one of the main languages in India and was declared as a classical language by the Government in 2013. Malayalam belongs to the Dravidian family of Languages. It shares a close relationship and resemblance with Tamil language. Many language experts have postulated that a primeval form of common language which included both Tamil and Malayalam called Proto-Tamil Malayalam which later disintegrated over a period of time and resulted in the formation of Malayalam as a distinct language. Malayalam shows a remarkable sense of diversity through variations in intonation patterns, vocabulary, and distribution of grammatical and phonological elements observable along a variety of parameters, like region, community, occupation, social stratum, style and register. Malayalam borrows has borrowed thousands of nouns, hundreds of verbs, indeclinables and items of basic vocabulary from Sanskrit. Malayalam now consists of 53 letters including 20 long and short vowels and 33 consonants. The traditional style of writing has undergone considerable metamorphosis in keeping with the demands of typing ease, reducing the different letters for typeset from over 900 letters to less than 90 distinct letters. ‘Balyakalasakhi’is a Malayalam romantic tragedy novel written by Vaikom Mohammed Basheer, who is considered to be one of the best malayalam writers. The story ‘Balyakalasakhi’ is about Majeed and Suhra, who are in love with each other from childhood. The author uses narrative style to convey the story.The beginning part of the story, dealing with childhood and adolescence is pleasant and delightfull. The end part is grim and filled with sadness. It also tells about the optimism that people living in near poverty have about their future. They accumulate their dreams and keep their most secret sweet desires to themselves and go on with the hardships of daily life, struggling to make out a living. Even in the moments of deep sorrow, the author uses humour. The novel talks about love in its truest, sincerest form but still that very kind of love goes unfulfilled. The lovers have to face the harsh realities of life, they have to even go through separation, but all their sacrifice fetches no rewards in the end. The powerful legacy of Malayalam language is carried forward to this day, ensuring Malayalam 's current status in the modern Indian literature. Kerala also hosts the nation 's largest literate population, ensuring the availability of an outlet for Malayali writers. With a fast-changing landscape brought by the Information Revolution in India, the people of Kerala seem well-equipped to face these changes and adapt, as they have through their history. References: The History of Malayalam, Wikipedia, Balyakalasakhi.

References: The History of Malayalam, Wikipedia, Balyakalasakhi.