A Comparative Study of Malayalam Literature and Paintings: Trajectories of Evolution

Abstract

Art and literature are part as well as a reflection of life. Literature and arts help to observe and interpret the world. They can also change the world. Visual arts stand in the forefront of knowledge dissemination. However the significance accorded to literature has never been given to painting. The paper traces how literature has always preceded and given more priority against painting and other visual arts form in the region of Kerala. This also goes with the fact that in discussing the history of arts, rural arts and artists are never discussed sufficiently. This is despite the fact that there is always a closer relationship between alphabets, scripts and paintings of various forms. The paper traces this close relationship to the earlier times when the scripts and written forms essentially evolved from hand drawings and stone carvings in the context of the south Indian language Malayalam. That the scripts and alphabets essentially evolved from those early pictographs should be a useful background to understand the relationship. The paper also marks the historical transitions in the Malayalam alphabets and scripts under various influences.