Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthassan is considered as the father of Malayalam literature. Thunchan Parambu is highly venerated and its sand is believed to be sacred. The sand is used in 'Vidyarambham', especially on, 'Vijaya Dashmi' day. Malayalis, (those who speak Malayalam) males and females alike - are almost totally literate, constitute 4 percent of the population of India and 96 percent of the population of Kerala. In terms of the number of speakers Malayalam ranks eighth among the fifteen major languages of India. The word 'malayalam' originally meant mountainous country (mala- Mountain aLam-place).

Malayalam is extraordinarily rich in every genre of literature. Every year numerous books and publications are produced in Malayalam. In Kerala alone 170 daily papers, 235 weekly and 560 monthly periodicals are published in Malayalam. The most circulated daily paper in India is in Malayalam. This language is presently taught in many Universities outside Kerala including some in the United States.