Thunchan Parambu - an immortal monument for literature

Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan of Kerala, South India, who is best known for his Malayalam version of the epic Ramayana, was a revered writer known as the father of Malayalam.

Thunchan Parambu, the place where he was born, is protected as a monument today. The place is in the town of Tirur (Thirur), in Malappuram district of Kerala. Lots of people come here on the last day of the Navarathri festival to perform the ceremony of Vidyarambham, when small children are initiated into the world of letters.

The memorial at Thunchan Parambu includes a literature park. The kanjira tree, sitting under which the great poet did much of his writing, is still preserved. A large iron stylus and palm leaves, of the type which Ezhuthachan used for writing are also displayed, besides a bronze statue of a parrot. A parrot is an important protagonist in many of Ezhuthachan’s writings.