The Venmani School

         The third quarter of the nineteenth century bore witness to the rise of a new school of poets devoted to (1) the observation of life around them and (2) the use of pure Malayalam. they aimed at a certain simplicity and directness, preferring words of Dravidian origin and Sanskrit words that would not sound strange or harsh. They thus achieved a balanced middle style with a slight bias towards the Dravidian elements (although "mahan" pseudo-Sanskrit for Malayalam "makan" does not bear this out.) Euphony was their watchword. An easy flowing diction that creates no problem for loud and relaxed recitation, a smooth and even rhythmic cadence, maximum clarity of meaning and a pervasive sense of humour and light-heartedness: these qualities were inherited from the chambus via the writers of the Muktakas (single independent quatrains making up complete poetic crystals) like Chelapparampu Nambudiri of a generation earlier.

         The major poets of the Venmani school were Venmani Acchan Nambudiri (1817-1891), Venmani Mahan Nambudiri (1844-1893), Poonthottam Acchan Nambudiri (1821-1865), Poonthottam Mahan Nambudiri (1857-1896) and the members of the Kodungalloor Kovilakam. The style of these poets became quite popular for a while and influenced even others who were not members of the group like Velutheri Kesavan Vaidyar (1839-1897) and Perunnelli Krishnan Vaidyan (1863-1894). The fact that they represented a kind of a moral decadence is not fully recognized by scholars and critics. The slight realism they resorted to was meant only to highlight the down to earth appeal of their erotic exuberance. They were incapable of moral earnestness or intellectual high seriousness. There is nothing in their writings that remind us of the central tradition of Malayalam poetry, beginning in folk poetry and later Ramacharitam and gradually evolving through the Niranam poets, Cherusseri, Poonthanam, Ezhuthachan and Kunchan Nambiar. It is necessary to point out that Nambiar's humour has a basis in social criticism. The humour of the Venmani poets is an end in itself; it is an indulgence in the ludicrous and ridiculous for its own sake. This explains why they could write Ambopadesams over and over again, in which a grandmother gives instructions to the granddaughter on the art of courtsanship. Venmani Mahan, Cochunni Tampuran ,Naduvath Acchan, Oravankara Neelakantan Nambudiri: each wrote an Ambopadesam on the moder of the old Manipravala classic Vaisika Tantram. They all invariably resorted to Sanskrit metres in these works. Another favourite form of poetic exercise for these poets was to bring together the names of contemporary poets comparing them to various flowers (as in Kavipushpamala, by Venmani Mahan), to different characters in Mahabharata (as in Kavibharatam by Kunjukuttan Tampuran), to characters in Ramayana (as in the later Kaviramayanam by Mooloor S. Padmanabha Panikkar), to animals (as in Kavimrigavali by Oduvil Kunjukrishna Menon) and to birds (as in Kavipakshimala by Koyippalli Paramseswara Kurup).

          The most representative poem of the Venmani school is perhaps Pooraprabandam which reveals both the strong and the weak points of the movement. Except for the modernity of the diction and the finish in versification, it is difficult to see any great difference between the descriptive passages in Pooraprabandam and those in the earlier chambus (where also we get realistic descriptions of local people and market places with a touch of pointless humour).

          The Kodungalloor school was an offshoot of the Venmani School, but some of the poets like Kunjukuttan Tampuran had a greater seriousness in their vocation. The best evidence for his commitment to his vocation in his magnificent translation of the whole of Vyasa's Mahabharata completed in the course of a few months. But most of the Kodungalloor poets took poetry for a pastime and indulged in versification for want of any other form of entertainment. The neoclassical games of instant poetic composition, verse-making competition, recitation competition, joint composition of poems, samasya or riddle completion, writing to prescriptions and various other kinds of formulaic exercises were their main concern. They have, no doubt, produced a number of quatrains in Sanskrit metres which are pleasant to recite aloud but they give no deep or complex experience to the reader. In their hands poetry became a skill, a game, a performance without any spiritual dimension. The various controversies of the time had nothing to do with the fundamentals of poetic experience or poetic communication. The squabble over the second syllable rhyme is a good example to show how superficial they were in their speculations on poetry. One hand only to look into Kalidasa's Meghadoot (Cloud Messenger) to realize how the music of poetry was different from the concatenation of similar consonants in the different lines of a stanza. But that was perhaps the last breath of the neoclassical trend which ushered in the Romantic Renaissance at the end of the century.

The Modern Age

         Nineteenth century was not a very creative period for Malayalam literature (except towards the end) from the point of view of imaginative writing. But the foundations for the great renaissance that began at the end of the century were laid during this period. The establishment of colleges for imparting English education, the translation of the Bible and other religious works, the compilation of dictionaries and grammars, the formation of the text book committee, the growth of printing presses, the starting of newspapers and periodicals, the introduction of science and technology, the beginning of industrialization and the awakening of social and political consciousness: these constitute the giant strides towards modernization. It would appear as if the people's, energies were totally consumed by these activities.

       Like his predecessors Swati Tirunal and Uttram Tirunal, Ayilyam Tirunal Rama Varma Maharaja of Travancore (1832-1880) was a great patron of letters. There were many great scholars at his court. He was personally interested in promoting prose literature. He himself wrote, while still young, two prose works Meenaketancharitam and Bhasha Sakuntalam which were published by Kerala Varma Valiya Koyitampuran after his death. In Meenaketanacharitam one of the Arabian tales is retold: Bhasha Sakuntalam is a free translation of Kalidasa's Abinjana Sakuntalam. These two words are pioneers indicating the way Malayalam literature was destined to develop in the coming decades. The spate of translations from Indian languages including Sanskrit and from European languages including English, which began in Ayilyam Tirunal's time, has not yet abated.

        Vishakam Tirunal Rama Varma Maharaja (1837-1885) who succeeded Ayilyam Tirunal, was also an indefatigable promoter of education and the arts. Himself a talented writer of discursive prose in English and translator of English works into Malayalam, he was the cause that others also took up writing original works and doing translations. Chidambara Vadhyar who had translated Sahakespeare's As you Like It and The Winter's Tale into Malayalam received encouragement from him. Visakham Tirunal was one of the earliest essayists in Malayalam. Benjamin Bailey (1805-1871) Joseph Peet, Richar Collins and George Mathen (1819-1970) were responsible for many works on Malayalam language based on western models. Archdeacon Koshy (1826-1900) is remembered for his numerous works in prose, especially for his work Pulleli Kunchu (1882).

          Perhaps the most important of these missionaries was Herman Gundert (1814-1893). Born in Stuttgart in Germany and educated at Tubingen and Switzerland, Gundert came to India in 1836. He wrote over twenty books in Malayalam, the most important which are (1) A Malayalam English Dictionary, (2) A Grammer of Malayalam (3) Keralappazhama (Kerala antiquity) and (4) Pazhamcholmala (A garland of proverb). He also edited an anthology of prose and verse for the use of students under the name, Pathamala. The first authoritative grammer of Malayalam was also Gundert's contribution (1851). This led to the production of a number of grammatical works in Malayalam. Vaikam Patchu Moothathu (1814-1883) published his Grammer of Malayalam in 1876. Kerala Kaumudi by Kovunni Nedungadi (1831-1889) came out in 1878. This was soon followed by the first history of the language by P.Govinda Pillai (1849-1897) published in 1881. The first work on rhetoric in Malayalam on the European model was brought out by Father Gerad under the title Alankara Sastram in the same year. These works are clear indication of the increasing western influence which became established by the end of the 19th century. There were of course distinguished scholars of the traditionalist school like Kaikulangara Rama Warrier (1883-1897) who specialized in writing commentaries on the classic of Sanskrit literature. But the influence of Kerala Varma Valiya Koyitampuran and the general socio-political developments seemed to favour a reorientation towards western models. This trend continued to be powerful until the middle of the 20th century.