Malayalam, the mother tounge of nearly thirty million malayalis, ninety percent of whom live in Kerala state in the south- west corner of India, belongs to the Dravidian family of  languages. Malayalam is the principal language of the South Indain state of Kerala and also of the Lakshadweep Islands of the west coast of India. Malayalam is the extraordinarily rich in every genre of literature. A person who speaks Malayalam is called "Malayali".

Malayalam is the official language of Kerala, ranks eighth among the fifteen major Indian languages in total number of speakers. Not only is Malayalam widely spoken, but it and other languages are also quite heavily read in Kerala; Malayalam differs from other Dravidian language as the absence of personal endings on verbs. The term ‘Malayalam’ as referring to the language of Kerala is of comparatively recent origin. To begin with, it denoted the land itself. It is probable that the term is the resultant of a combination of two words, mala meaning mountain and alam meaning the land or locality (which lies along side the mountain)

KERALA WRITERS

Vallathol- Mahakavi, part of the new kavithrayam. Author of Sahithyamanjari. Founder of Kerala kalamandalam, the state's flagship institution for the promotion of performing arts.

Kumaran Asan- N.Kumaran Asan (also known as mahakavi Kumaran Asan, the name prefix mahakavi meaning great poet and the suffix Asan meaning Scholar or Teacher).He was a poet, Philosopher and a great social activist.

Cherusseri Namboodiri- Mahakavi (Great poet), part the of old kavithrayam (triad of poets), with Ezhuthachan and Kunchan Nambiar. Author of Krishnagaadha (The Song of Krishna).

Kunchan Nambiar- Mahakavi,  part of the old kavithrayam. Founder of art form Ottan Thullal.

Thunchathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan- Architect of modern Malayalam. Mahakavi, part of the old kavithrayam.

Changampuzha Krishna Pillai- (1911-1948)-poet,author of the pastoral elegy  Ramanan (1936) which sold over 100,000 copies, a record that still holds.

Kamala Das- English Poet and feminist born Madhavikkutty. Asian Poetry prize, 1964, Kent Award, 1965.

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer- Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is an important figure in modern Malayalam literature. He is well known as a novelist and short story writer. He also took part in the Indian Independence movement.

M.T. Vasudevan Nair- M.T. Vasudevan Nair, popularly known as MT, is a Malayalam author, screen play writer and film director. He was born on July 15, 1933 in Kudallur, a small village in Palakkad district, in the Indian state of Kerala. One of the most prolific and versatile of modern Malayalam writers, his novels, short stories and screen plays speak of the pain and anguish of the Kerala society in the post Independence India.