The grand idiom of the sea nearby
And the steadfastness of the Sahya mountain
The bliss that the Gokarna temple gives,
And the cheerful brightness of the goddess Kanyakumari
The purity of the river Periyar which is like the Ganga,
And the sweetness of the milk of tender coconuts,
The pleasing fragrances that emanates
From sandalwood and many spices,
The inherent energy of the Sanskrit language,
And the beauty of sweet Tamil-
My language is one compact of all this.
Oh pride, you dance about drunk with joy.
On the tender lips that try to lisp,
The first word that mingles with the mother's milk
Is Amma :Mother.
Other languages are just foster mothers.
Our own language is our mother.
Only if children drink the milk of the mother's tender love
Do they attain the fullness of healthy growth?
Even heavenly nectar is nectar to us
Only if our mother serves it to us.
Who do say Kairali is clumsy;
She who has sung for people
The first poem and the Fifth veda
And the precepts of conduct and the Upanisads?
How shameful it is, how sad
That you forget your duty as sons.
Unless you enslave yourselves to your mother-tongue
You do not deserve to rule;
Unless you bow your heads in reverence to her
You cannot hold them up proudly.
Why should I speak more?
From tomorrow whoever comes to Kerala
For the alms of Knowledge
Would have his bag filled.
From times immemorial
This land is famous for its lavish generosity.
These were the lines written by VALLATHOL NARAYANA MENON in his poem ENTE BHASA in Malayalam. The poem aptly expresses the pride in one's mother tongue. This feeling is in Vallathol; all the more powerful because of his traditionalism and nationalism. In this poem he expresses his clear thinking and genuine love for mother -tongue.
He enriched Malayalam with translations from many Sanskrit classics. When he was 75, he started a translation of RigVeda so that common people could get access to the thoughts of the great book through their mother tongue. He has the credit of translating Valmiki Ramayana into Malayalam.
Narayana Menon popularly known by his family name Vallathol and his poetry are an example of the essential strength of the traditional culture of our society. Next to poetry, Vallathol loved KathaKali drama style of Kerala. Credit for earning the present popularity and appreciation of KathaKali should go to the life long zeal and tireless effort of vallathol.
His literary pursuit began from an younger age when he composed Rituvilasam a poem in Malayalam describing the seasons of the year imitating Kalidsa's Ritusamharam.
Following the fashion of his time he composed an epic poem Chitrayogam based on a story from Kathasaritsagar. When published the book earned mixed reception. From then he was at the zenith of his power composing best poems. They were of different kinds : lyrics, narrative poems, drama.
Vallathol's contribution to Malayalam Literature is valuable and vast.
(This blogpost is a part of BlogChatter's Half Marathon 2023)
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