Karnataka > Tulu Language and Literature
Tulu is one of the rich and ancient languages of the Dravidian family. Tulu speaking people are called Tulavas mostly found in Dakshina Kannada and Kasargodu district of Kerala. Tulunadu is bounded by the Kalyanapura river in the North, Arabian sea in the west, Western ghats in the east and the Payaswini/Chandragiri river in the south.
Tulu has its own linguistic pecularities and shares a number of common features with Kannada and other Dravidian languages. Tulu has a very vast folk tradition which has its own pecularities. Folklore in Tulu is mainly found in the form of Paddanas, Sandi, Kabita, Uralu, Padipu, Nritya-padya, Gadi, Ogatu, Jogula, Ajjikathe etc.,
Tulu Brahmins are generally educated people in the Vedas and Shastras. Their folk songs are based on the episodes in the epics 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharatha'. Among the lower castes and untouchables the Bhuta dance tradition is prevalent. When compared with other Dravidian languages, Tulu has a very little classical literature. During the past 150 years, Tulu has adopted the Kannada script for its literary works. Even though the works of Tulu literature initiated by the Basel Mission Christians were only translations of the teachings of Christianity in the beginning, a few important works like the Tulu English Dictionary etc., were published later. Collections of their folk songs etc., and histories of Dakshina Kannada and Tulava Culture were also published. Works on Tulu Grammar, dialect and a doctoral theses on the structure of Tulu verb transformational analysis were published in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. The Kerala and Karnataka governments have helped in developing lexicons and text books of Tulu. Many Kannada plays of Yakshagana and many religious works also have been translated into Tulu. Notable early writers of Tulu literature are Sankayya Bhagawat, Sheenappa Hegade, K.B. Narayana Shetty and M.V.Hegde. S.U.Phaniyadi established the Tulu Mahasabha in Udupi in 1928. This gave great boost to Tulu literature and culture. It led to a linguistic-cum-cultural movement in Tulu. The Tulu theatre and drama developed during this period. K.Doddanna Shetty, K.N.Tailor, Rama Kirodiyan, U.R. Chandar, K.B. Bhandari, Machendranath, Ramananda Churya, Sitaram Kulal, P.S.Rao, Vishu Kumar etc. were the pioneers of the Tulu Theatre. The beauty of Tulu idioms, proverbs and expressions is very well represented in the social activities of this period. Yakshaganas, the spectacular folk dances of Karnataka are becoming popular even in Tulu now-a-days. In recent years, Tulu poets like Amrita Someswara, Anatharam Bangady, Purushottama Punja, Nityananda Karanth, Ashok A. Shetty, K.Shekar.V.Shetty, G.Bayaru, Madhukumar and A.N.Sheuy have composed Tulu Yakshagana epics. There are some organisation which are working for the propagation of Tulu language and culture. Tulu Koota of Mangalore is one such organisation. A few Tulu journals are also being brought out. Many other poets have made a name in Tulu literature. The notable among them are Mandara Keshava Bhat (his 'Mandara Ramayana' is a wonderful epic), Venkataraju Puninchittaya, P.V.Acharya, Ramakrishna Achar, Dumappa Master, Vamana Nandavar, K.V.Ravi, Tilakanath Manjeshwar, Ratna Kumar, Yeshwantha Bolur, Bhaskar Rao, Sitaram Kulal, Sitaram Alwa and Bannanje.
Three Tulu classics in Grantha script, each of them more than 200 years old have been found in palm manuscripts. They are 'Tulu Bhagavato' (by Vishnu Tunga) 'Kaveri' and a prose work 'Devi Mahatme'. Many scholars are engaged in research on Tulu language, culture and folklore of the Tuluvas. They are D.N.S.Bhat, S.N.Bhat, M.Rama, S. Mallikadevi, U.P. Upadhyaya, William Madta, T. Gopalakrishna Bhatta, Sediyapu Krishna Bhatta, A. Acharya, Venkataraju Puninchattaya, Vivek Rai, Amrita Someshwar, Sushila Upadhyaaya, Chinnappa Gowda, K. Padmanabha Kekhunaya and other young scholars. Some of the works on Tulu linguistics and folklore brought out are: 'A comparitive study of Tulu Dialects', Tulava Darshana', 'Folk epics of Tulunadu', 'Tulu Janapada Sahitya', 'Bhutaaraadhane', Tulu Baduku', 'Paaddanagalu', 'Janapada Aaradhane Mattu Rangakale', 'Karaavali Jaanapada', etc. Tulu Academy was founded by the State govt. in 1994.
Research on Tulu language, folklore and history is carried on in the Kannada department of the Mangalore University and the Rashtrakavi Govinda Pai Research Centre at M.G.M.College, Udupi. Scholars in Pune, Annamalai and Trivandrum Universities are engaged in research in Tulu language. The Govinda Pai Centre of Udupi has compiling a multi-volume on modern Tulu Lexicon.
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