"Thunjath Ezhuthachan" - Father of Malayalam

The language Malayalam, belongs to the family of Dravidian languages. Both the language and its writing system are closely related to Tamil; however, Malayalam has a script of its own

Thunjath Ezuthachan, honoured as the father of modern Malayalam literature was born in Trikkandiyur near Tirur 400 years ago. He wrote his poems in Malayalam, at a time the Malayalam literature was subdued by Sanskrit, the language of the upper class. Ramayanam and Bharatham of Ezuthachan are widely read in Malayali houses, as sacred books.

The story of his birth is mixed with myths and truths. His real name was Ramanujan and signs of brilliance were evident in his childhood. He traveled extensively in search of knowledge and returned to Thrikandiyur, his birthplace, after mastering the religious sciences.  The privileged were jealous of his knowledge. Later on he came to be called the Father of Malayalam Language. Ezhuthachan tried to propagate the universal nature of the language. He wanted to bring language to level of a layman’s understanding.  

Why do Keralites call Ezhuthachan as father of Malayalam? 

“Chronologically, Cherushery (another prominent writer) lived before Thunjan. But the phrase ‘father of language’ is a symbolic reference. Language represents culture. So Ezhuthachan is in fact denoting culture. He shone as a brilliant star above our culture. He renovated the alphabets of heart. We see the light of conscience and moderation in Ezhuthachan. 

We call him ‘the father of Malayalam language’ because he led the language to a new dimension”.

Ezhuthachan also used language to revolt against the rule of the privileged. Hence, he is entitled to be called the father of the Malayalam language. He portrayed Malayalam as the language of love and harmony among those who celebrated Sanskrit.”.

“Ezhuthachan inscribed the Indian culture into Malayalam. When Shankaracharya (the renowned Hindu reformer) spread our thoughts outside Kerala, Ezhuthachan brought them to Kerala. When countries like China and Islamic countries of the Middle East are trying to preserve their culture from the onslaught of Western cultural invasion, no such attempts are evident from India’s side”, said Prof. B. Hridayakumari. 

“By relying on Western thoughts to analyze our education and economics, we are using an alien yardstick for measuring our own achievements. These are signs of our submission to a foreign culture”.

Source : Jaihoon.com

http;//www.jaihoon.com/watan/thunjan.htm

In Malayalam literature, Ezhuthachan has a place comparable to that of Tulsidas in Hindi. Though his predecessors like Cheeraman, Niranan poets and Cherusseri contributed in assimilating the great epics of Sanskrit into Malayalam, they concentrated on the basic story lines. Ezhuthachan escalated this assimilation by including metaphysical discourses and thereby introduced a high power and a lofty vision in the language.

It is a pity that very little historical data are available on this great poet. Though Ulloor Parameshwara Iyer has surmised that he was born in 1495 AD and lived upto 1575, other scholars are not sure about it. It is however generally accepted that he lived in the sixteenth century.

His parent’s names are not known clearly and there is some confusion about Ezhuthachan’s actual name as well. ‘Ezhuthachan’ is a sobriquet respectfully given to him as a sign of respect. Ezhuthu means writing and Achan means father or guru. Ezhuthachan thus means ‘The Guru of writing’. Presently, however, Ezhuthachan stands as a surname in Kerala.

Ezhuthachan was born in Tunchan Parambu village situated in the southern part of present Mallapuram district. After completing his education he got married but embraced sanyas after the birth of a daughter. Leaving house he traveled to various places in Andhra and Tamilnadu and learnt Telegu and Tamil. Some surmise that his Ramayanam and Mahabharatam were adopted from the Telegu versions of these epics. Even if it is so, they are resplendent in their own brilliance.

After returning, Ezhuthachan settled in picturesque Chittoor village. In this village he erected a Rama temple as well as a Shiva temple and founded his monastery named as “Ramanandashram”. Ezhuthachan’s samadhi is also situated here. In his monastery, he trained a galaxy of famous disciples, such as Suryanarayan Ezhuthachan, Karunakar-an Ezhuthachan, Devan Ezhuthachan and Gopalan Ezhuthachan.

!Source : The Times Of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/60910.cms