Tuñcattu Eḻuttacchan
16th century · Tirūr, Kerala · Father of Malayalam
Tuñcattu Rāmānujan Eḻuttacchan is honoured as the father of the Malayalam language and its literature. His Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇam Kiḷippāṭṭu, “the Rāmāyaṇa sung by a parrot”, is read aloud in Kerala homes every evening of the month of Karkkiṭakam, called the Rāmāyaṇa month. He also rendered the Mahābhārata in the same style.
He helped settle the Malayalam script and brought sacred stories to people of every community. At Tuñcan Paṟampu in Tirūr, his birthplace, children are initiated into letters on Vijayadaśamī by writing in sand.
Father of Malayalam · Adhyātma Rāmāyaṇam Kiḷippāṭṭu · Karkkiṭakam — Rāmāyaṇa month