Malayalam as a language has endless possibilities, but it cannot be nurtured on the strength of the classical language status alone, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said on Tuesday.
Chandy was speaking after releasing a study and interpretation of the ‘Kannassa Ramayanam’ by Dr Puthussery Ramachandran. Linguist and scholar R E Asher received the first copy. Lauding Puthussery Ramachandran’s work, Chandy said that ‘Kannassa Ramayanam’ was an independent and original work. Ramachandran has gifted Malayalam with a book which delves deeply into such a work, Chandy said.
Malayalam was eligible for the status of classical language going by greatness alone, Minister for Cultural Affairs K C Joseph said.
R E Asher, who was honoured on the occasion, said that Ramachandran’s study and interpretation of ‘Kannassa Ramayanam’ was the first of its kind in Malayalam. The Thunchathu Ezhuthachchan Malayalam University and the State Institute of Languages (SIL) should encourage such efforts, Asher said.
‘Kannassa Ramayanam’ made its appearance as a brilliant symbol of cultural renaissance during the age of ‘manipravalam’, Ramachandran said.
SIL director M R Thampan, B Ramakrishna Reddy, M Sreenathan, Ravishankar S Nair, S K Shanavas, P Sreekumar and N Jayakrishnan were present.