THUNJATHTHU RAAAMAANUAN EZHUTHTHACHCHAN - FATHER OF MODERN MALYALAM LIPI

                                                 TUNJATHTHU RAMANUJAN     

                                                       EZUTHTHACHCHAN

Friends,

Thunjaththu Ramanujan Ezhuththachchan is the father of Modern Malayalam scripts which used to be written in vattezhththu which was used to write Tamil Language.  He changed it to be written in VATTEZHUTHTHU AND KOLEZHTHU using GRANDHA LIPI which was used in Kerala to write Sanskrit and made thus the MALYALAM LANGUAGE INDEPEDENT OF TAMIL LANGAUAGE although many tamil words are still used in MALAYALAM. He is known as THUJATHU EZHUTHTHACHCHAN and many have forgotten his name, RAMANUJA.  Writing the biography of such a great person is a very difficult task.  However, being the month of RAMAYANA (KARKKARTAKA is usually the month in which in most of the Kerala Hindus’ houses especially Nairs used to read ADHYATHMA RAMAYANA written by THUJATHEZHUTHACHAN which the MAHAKAVI made in KILIPPATTU (അദ്ധ്യാത്മ രാമായണം കിളിപ്പാട്ട്) as if a PARROT sings it. (തത്ത പാടുന്ന മാതിരി) which is unique.

He was born in THRIKKANDIYUR of VETTATHUNADU  now in Malappuram District somewhere in 16^th Century, since I do not have his exact date of birth, ( KOZHIKODE, ERANAD,VETTATHUNAD, VALLUVANAD etc. are the previous names. I shall be grateful to any person who can give me his correct date of birth.  He was the contemporary of the great  Sanskrit poet Brahmasri Narayana Bhattathiri, who wrote NARAYANEEYAM and the great Malayalam Poet  POONATHANAM Namboothiri who was dejected from life  after his only child was dead and who wrote JNANPANA (ജ്ഞാനപ്പാന) which is very famous.  He is instrumental in combinig Grandha Based Sanskrit and Vattezhuththu and make a MANIPRAVALAM by synthesizing them. With this the use of Sanskrit increased and the influence of Tamil language which predominated so far started decreasing.  Hence, Sri. RAMAHUJAN EZUTHACHAN became father of the present Malayalam Language which was solely depended in TAMIL LANGUAGE “. Ezhuthachan thus composed the Hari Nama Keerthanam in his new 51-character alphabet. Since the song was wildly popular, the alphabet grew in use and popularity along with it. The 31-character Vattezhuthu alphabet continued to be taught as the Malayalam alphabet until the British regulations relating to registration of bonds and deeds eventually led to its disappearance.” I will not be fair if I do not mention that MALAYALEES throng the sands of THUNJAN PARAMBU during MAHA DASAMI DAY with their children who are to be inducted  into further studies and write on their tongue thus :

"Anpathoraksharavumoronnithenmozhiyil
Anpodu cherkka Hari Narayanaya Nama" — Hari Nama Keerthanam 14th stanza in Malayalam Language “ അന്‍പത്തൊന്നക്ഷരവും ഓരോന്നെന്‍ മൊഴിയില്‍ അന്‍പോടുചേര്‍ക്ക ഹരി നാരായണായ നമഃ.” The same is also written in Rice which they bring for this purpose.

About his caste although ULLOOR S. PARAMESHWARA IYER and certain other  scholars opine that Thunjathu Ezuthachan was a NAIR and EZHUTHTHACHCHAN is the profession and not caste.  Even some others say that he is the son of a Namboothiri Brahmin born to a SHUDRA woman since in olden days only the eldest son in the  family  could marry  i.e VELI (വേളി അഥവാ കല്യാണം) I vehemently do not agree with these contentions. Iu agree with Sir Burnel who said that “was "a low-caste man who goes under the name Tunjatta Eluttacchan, a native of Trikkaṇḍiyur in the present [1874] district of Malabar. He lived in the seventeenth century, but his real name is forgotten; Tunjatta being his ‘house’ or family-name, and Eluttacchan indicating his caste”.^[5] In 1865, Burnell saw the manuscript of the Bhagavata translated and adapted by Thunchaththu, allegedly copied by his sister, preserved at Puzhakkal in the Chittur taluk, and wrote that “The author’s stool, clogs, and staff are preserved in the same place; it thus looks as if Tunjatta Eḻuttaččhan was a sannyâsi of some order .” In KERALA there is an attempt to consider low castes as born in hight castes.

Why I agree with Burnel is that in NARAYANEEYAM MOOLAM WITH TRANSLATION IN MALAYALAM I have read that Sri. THUNJATHTHU RAMANUJANEZHUTHTHACHAN was always under the influence of country made liquor which is an attribute of Olden Low caste people. Further in Valluvanad Taluk people used to say Ezhuthachchan Katupottan (എഴുത്തച്ചന്‍ കടുപൊട്ടന്‍). Here KATUPOTTAN is considered as a low caste. When Narayana Bhattathiri sent some Nampoothiris including his brother to Ezhuththachchan, it is written that Ezhuththaachchan told “മത്സ്യം തൊട്ടു കഴിക്കാന്‍ പറയൂ” which only could be understtod as a remedy to cure Sri Bhattathiri from rheumatism as to write MAHABHAGAVATHAM condensed  from MATHSYAAVATHAARA.  However, any person will have some bad habit acquired by him/her which is true in the case of this great person also.

Our subject matter is that it was this RAMANUJAN EZHUTHACHAN who gave MALAYALAM LANGUAGE independence from Tamil Language.  And AS A GREAT RESPECT TO THIS GREAT PERSON KERALA GOVERNMNT established a MALAYALAM UNIVERSITY CALLED THUNJATHEZHTHACHAN MALAYALAM UNIVERSITY AT HIS BIRTH PLACE IN 2012 (BETTER LATE THAN NEVER !) which was inaugurated by the Honourable Chief Mininster, SRI.OOMENCHANDY,  of Kerala on 1^st November, 2012.

It will not be appropriate to conclude if I do not say about some great works of this great person which are :-  KERALOLPATHY, HARI NAMA KEERTHANAM, GANAPATHISTAVAM, KILIPPAATTI PRASTHANAM, DEVEE MAAHATHMYAM, KERALA, NATAKAM, HARIHARA SUTHAN  ( കേരളോല്‍‍പ്പത്തി,ഹരിനാമ കീര്‍ത്തനം, ഗണപതിസ്തവം, കിളിപ്പാട്ട്പ്രസ്ഥാനം, ദേവീമാഹാത്മ്യം, കേരളനാടകം, ഹരിഹരസുതന്‍ മുതലായവ).

 P.R.RADHAKRISHNAN