Oriya litterateur and Jnanpith laureate Pratibha Ray has lamented the gradual degradation that Indian languages have undergone owing to globalisation and modernisation.
Languages have faced the loss of several words in the process. This poses a serious threat to the cultural identity of each State, she said.
She was speaking while inaugurating ‘Kathayude Rajaveedhikal,’ a one-day seminar organised by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi at VJT Hall here on Saturday to commemorate the contributions of Malayalam literary greats C.V. Raman Pillai, P. Kesavadev, K. Saraswathi Amma, K. Surendran, G. Vivekanandan, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, and N. Mohanan.
Ms. Ray said while many languages had been accorded the classical status, none should be considered lowly or inferior as the creation of a language was an amazing achievement. “Every language possesses greatness and speaks of the dream of the people of the land. Efforts must also be made to preserve traditional arts and folklore which highlight the transformation witnessed by each place,” she said.
She regarded Malayalam as one of the most ‘advanced languages,’ and said Kerala had always been receptive to the literary works of other States.
Ms. Ray said the efforts of C.V. Raman Pillai had been instrumental in the popularity of the Malayalam language. His works had always been considered unique as they employed words of other languages, including Sanskrit and Tamil, she said.
Delivering the keynote address, poet Sugathakumari said there had not been many who had infused great strength into the language as C.V. Raman Pillai. “His works have greatly influenced my works and that of several of my contemporaries,” she said. She expressed dismay at the “drought” that Malayalam poetry had been facing in recent times with very few quality works.
Minister for Culture K.C. Joseph presided over the function.
