Malayalam, My Mothertongue

by Vidula
(India)

I am a native of Kerala which is located in South India. The language spoken there is Malayalam. There are around 22 official languages in India and Malayalam is one among them. It is spoken by around 37 million people. The people of union territory of Lakshadweep Islands also speak Malayalam. The language is said to belong to the family of Dravidian Languages. Many consider Malayalam to be an ancient derivative of Tamil, which over time acquired a large amount of Sanskrit words. But it closely resembles Tamil. Tamil influenced the early growth of Malayalam since it was the language of scholarship and administration. After that Sanskrit made an influence through religious sources. From what my friends from other states have said Malayalam is very difficult to learn. Many of my friends who have lived more than 4 years in Kerala are still struggling to learn the language. That at times is frustrating. But my language has a rich culture associated with it. Actually modern Malayalam literature has people who excel in poetry, fiction and drama. The Malayalam films are a joy to watch. They have a good storyline along with melodious songs and dialogues. I never miss an opportunity to see a good Malayalam movie. I have a good collection of old Malayalam film songs which I hear whenever I get time.It is very relaxing to hear the songs since they have wonderful lyrics and rhythm.