At the turn of millennium, a new language was unlocked in the Tamil country, as almost entirely a written register - and it combined the vast vocabulary of Sanskrit with the syntax of Tamil, the gem and coral of languages; hence Manipravalam. This week Prathik speaks on this subject which he regards to be his bread and butter and where his heart, life, and bread lay. He discusses with Revanth, the history of the development of the language, the range of literatures that Manipravalam found itself to be put to use to, the social and political implications of the language, and of course curious connection it has with Southern Vaishnavism. Revanth tries also to understand the orality of the tongue in contemporary Tamil Nadu.
Some readings:
The Manipravāla literature of the Śrīvaiṣṇava Ācāryas, 12th to 15th century A.D., KKA Venkatachari, 1978.
https://suganyasmusingsscribblings.wordpress.com/2021/01/30/kerala-manipravalam-vs-tamil-srivaisnava-manipravalam/
http://www.manipravala.com/wp/
For the place of Manipravalam in the History of Tamil see - Tamil: A Biography, David Shulman, 2016. (https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=97806740599240
