THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was an impromptu visit by litterateur M T Vasudevan Nair to Malayalam Pallikoodam in the state capital during the summer of 2015 that led to the birth of what is now known as the ‘Malayalam language oath’. The lines that begin with ‘Malayalam aanu ente bhasha, ente bhasha ente veedanu...’ (Malayalam is my language, my language is my abode) were originally a verse written by MT for the children at a summer camp.
MT, who was informed about the activities of Malayalam Pallikoodam by poet V Madhusudhanan Nair, evinced interest in visiting the Pallikoodam which was established to popularise Malayalam as well as the culture and traditions of Kerala. Pallikoodam functionary and author Jessy Narayanan vividly remembers how she was informed of the visit by the literary giant just a few minutes before his arrival.
The summer camp organisers were not sure how keen MT would be to interact with the children. Madhusoodhanan Nair, who accompanied MT, asked the litterateur if he could pen down something for the students. Soon, a chart paper was affixed on a board and a marker handed over to MT.
“To our surprise, MT wrote the thought-provoking lines as if it came straight from his heart. He then asked a student to read it aloud. Only when it was read aloud did we realise that the words had a lot of depth,” said Jessy, who is now the secretary of Malayalam Pallikoodam. The oath reflects how one’s mother tongue is one’s home; the sky; the star one sees; the gentle breeze that caresses and the water that quenches one’s thirst. It sums up finally that one’s being is one’s first language.
It was the then director of Pallikoodam summer camp Gopi Narayanan who suggested Madhusoodhanan Nair that MT’s lines had all the merits of an oath that captures the charm and pride of Malayalam. Reading the verse carefully, Madhusoodhanan Nair found out that MT’s words also encompassed ‘Panchabhootha’ -- the five basic elements of nature.
Soon, guided by Madhusoodhanan, the Pallikoodam functionaries approached the government to make it the official language oath. “Notably, it was Madhusoodhanan Nair who suggested that the line ‘Malayalam aanu ente bhasha’ be pre-fixed to the verse to make it Malayalam-specific,” Jessy said.
In February 2018, the government declared verses as the official language oath. Since then, the oath has been taken by thousands of students in the state’s schools on Kerala Piravi Day (November 1), she added.
MT’s connection with the Pallikoodam did not end there. In September 2018, a batch of around 65 children and their parents accompanied by Pallikoodam functionaries visited him at Thunchan Parambu, the birthplace of Thunchath Ezhuthachan, the father of modern Malayalam language. The children presented MT with a ‘nelkathirkula’ (plaited bunch of paddy earheads) and staged a ‘kavya tiruvathira’ before him.