Malayalam is set to get its first big global push. In October, the Uni versity of Tubingen in Germany will be setting up a chair dedicated to the teaching of and research in Malayalam. It is being named after Hermann Gundert, a missionary scholar who lived and worked in Tellichery in the 19th century and did trailblazing work in codifying Malayalam grammar and writing its first dictionary .
Gundert's India connection survived generations. His grandson was Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse, whose book, Siddhartha, first published in the US in 1951, was easily among the most influential books of the 1960s.
That's not all. Gundert (1814-1893) was a contemporary of Max Mueller (18231900), the German Orientalist whose translations of the Upanishads and the Vedas not only led to the introduction of Indian culture to the West, but also far-reaching exchanges between Indian and British intellectual life.
The University of Tubingen will henceforth engage a guest professor from Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University at Vakkad, who will take classes and offer short courses, said K Jayakumar, vice-chancellor at the Malayalam University . The project is being funded by the University Grants Commission. Ma layalam University is excited at the prospect of taking the language way beyond its boundaries and the shores of countries that host large diasporic populations -the world currently has 33 million Malayalam speakers. “Our university has a responsibility to propagate Malayalam,“ said Jayakumar. The teachers will have access to the priceless monographs, books and palm leaf manuscripts that Gundert bequeathed the library at Tubingen University , his alma mater.
Tubingen is already a known learning hub for Malayalam enthusiasts in Europe. Scholars at its Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies, such as ethnologist Gabriele Alex and Indologist Heike Oberlin, are already focused on south India. An avid koodiyattam scholar and artiste herself, Oberlin is known among European students keen on studying Kerala's history and culture. Her intensive beginner classes in Malayalam have been attracting students from across Europe for about a decade now.
Malayalam University will designate an eminent professor to the Gundert Chair who will spend a month at a time at Tubingen. During the project, scholars from Kerala will have the opportunity to do intensive research on Gundert's works, help translate them and also draw up a teaching module for other foreign students interested in Malayalam.
