For the love of Malayalam

KOCHI: It was three years ago that writer M T Vasudevan Nair jotted down a few verses for the students of Malayalam Pallikoodam on a board. And now the very verses that ooze the spirit of Malayalam has been selected as the ‘language oath’, a big boost for city-based Malayalam Pallikoodam and a quantum leap for every Malayali. Malayalam can now gloat in the glory of having its own oath, which has different dimensions and is crafted with a brilliance that encompasses the charm of the mother language in every sense.

The oath which begins with “Malayalam aanu ente bhasha, Ente bhasha ente veedanu...”(Malayalam is my language, My language is my abode) goes on to impart a sense of pride and belonging to any Malayali. The oath reflects how one’s mother language is one’s home; the sky; the star one sees; the gentle breeze that caresses; the water that quenches one’s thirst and so forth and finally ending on the note that one’s being is one’s mother language.

The state government recently released an order that mandated MT’s oath to be made as the official language oath in all the schools in Kerala. This year’s International Mother Language Day which fell on Wednesday saw the students of the schools take the oath penned by MT.

It all began at the vacation camp for the children of Malayalam Pallikoodam. The area was cloaked in poetry with students rendering poems. “It was on a visit to one of our sessions that I asked MT if he could pen down something for the students,” poet V Madhusoodanan Nair, the force behind Malayalam Pallikoodam, recalls. The nudge by Madhusoodanan Nair to pen something saw MT readily scribble a few verses on the board. “It happened in a matter of a minute and we were presented with a work that was deep and profound in every sense.

The children readily learned it and took it to their heart. It was when I understood the depth and the universality of the verses that I decided to approach the government,” said poet Madhusoodanan Nair on approaching the government to make it the official language oath.“The oath has a universal character which can be adopted across all languages. The magnitude of each verse is huge. Starting from one’s mother’s womb, everything one experiences is through the mother language and that has been brought forth in the oath. Your dreams, your freedom, your vital force, your livelihood, your very being is tied to your mother language. The oath has several dimensions and is ideal in every sense,” elaborates Madhusoodanan Nair. “If there is one factor that can unite people and bring in a sense of fraternity among them, it is the mother language. No other slab can unite them, be it religion, caste or party affiliations. Favouring a foreign language over mother tongue is akin to being a slave. Any generation championing foreign languages over mother tongue would soon cease to be a lot without identity,” he added.

“The oath opens up a vast vista of interpretations and encompasses the Panchabhootha, all the five basic elements of nature. Ever since MT penned those verses, we inculcated it into our sessions and classes at Malayalam Pallikoodam begin after undertaking the oath,” said Jessy Narayan who is the convenor of Malayalam Pallikoodam. The school aimed at popularising Malayalam and the culture and traditions of Kerala organises classes every Sunday. A new batch has also been started for the children of the employees of Technopark. The students and the faculty of Malayalam Pallikoodam are celebrating the moment and intends to meet M T Vasudevan Nair soon to share the joy.