“Learning a new language can be an unforgettable experience,” says award-winning Malayalam trainer E C Sabu as he recounts his latest phone dialog with one of his college students. “A Telugu speaker, she completed her Malayalam certificate course more than a decade ago. She has now enrolled her son for the online classes,” he shares over a cellphone name from his home-town Pala in Kerala including that language programs typically go away a lasting impression. “Learning Malayalam has touched her life and now she wants to pass on the knowledge to her child. What happens in our classroom is cultural diffusion. It brings people from multi-cultural backgrounds and promotes oneness.”
Sabu, who served as vice-principal, later as principal of CMS Higher Secondary School earlier than retiring from energetic educating this May, is a recipient of many awards together with ‘Panditha Sresta Award’ for his service within the schooling sector. With over 35 years in energetic educating, he’s set to train the fourth batch of Amrutham Malayalam, a web-based eight-month certificates course provided by the World Malayalee Council, Coimbatore Province.
Students with their certificates
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The digital classroom is a melting pot of cultures and friendships. Every yr, a number of non-native speakers attend to understand Kerala’s art and tradition, its panorama, people and literature. N Deepa Saravanan, assistant professor at Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts enrolled to put together for a doctorate thesis on comparative literature of Tamil and Malayalam. “I picked 100 stories of Malayalam writer C V Balakrishnan and Tamil writer Nanjil Naadan for my research. As Balakrishan’s works are available only in Malayalam, I learnt Malayalam through the course. I have now translated as many as 10 of his stories in Tamil including MTV’s short story Oru Athyapakan Janichu from his collection Irttinte Aathmavu.”
For Dhanya Anand, a German trainer based mostly in Chennai, the course helped her draw comparisons with German and Malayalam cultures. “I ensure that I read one page of Malayalam comic series Bobanum Moliyum every day to stay connected with language.”
“It’s a positive story to have emerged out of the pandemic,” says Vijayan Cheruvassery, basic secretary of the Council, reflecting upon the beginnings of the net lessons. “We have got three enquiries from Amsterdam for the new batch. From the previous batch, one of our students from South Africa relocated to Calicut and continued her schooling here. Since she was already familiar with the language, it helped her score 88 percent in Malayalam exams at school. Many youngsters join to catch nuanced humour of Malayalam films. Another retired English professor calls this learning, her second childhood and hopes that it delays the onset of Alzheimer’s.”
Rajesh Kumar who obtained the course rolling throughout his tenure as president of the Council says the response has been overwhelming. “Since Malayalee population is spread out far and wide, there is a growing interest to understand Kerala’s culture, literature, and films. The course has reached out to children, professionals, school principals, and bureaucrats too, especially during their posting in Kerala as it helps them understand people’s issues better. Sabu’s teaching works like magic.”
For many, it’s works of Malayalam literary stalwarts like M T Vasudevan Nair, Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Tagazhi Sivasankaran Pilla and Sugathakumari that pulls them to the course. “They are intrigued when they learn about Jnanpith awardees and want to relish their celebrated works in Malayalam. It breaks barriers and opens doors to the rich landscape of Kerala,” explains Sabu. One of his previous college students, P Chellappan, a retiree who began his profession at Defence Accounts at Madhya Pradesh, says, “The way he introduces words and letters quoting examples from literary works and poems makes it a memorable experience.” For S Viswaroop, urologist with Vedanayagam Hospital in RS Puram, the course strengthened his bond along with his sufferers from Kerala. “Sabu Sir is a passionate teacher, always punctual and sincere and has a unique teaching methodology. It rubs on to us.”
Vijayan likes to name it ‘magical learning’. “His teaching methodology is simple, yet so in-depth.” Sabu says studying by no means stops for his college students. “Their WhatsApp groups are buzzing as they share audio notes of reading Malayalam passages. For non-native speakers, especially those who speak Tamil, they are conditioned to use ra, cha or la in a particular way and get confused as they constantly compare. I address these issues right at the start,” he says, including, “ The excitement I see on their faces while reading in Malayalam is what keeps me inspired.”
The lessons start from October 2. Call 9486477891/ 9994531441
