Hosabettu Viswanath, a Pune resident and admirer of my father’s book, ‘Tulu Patero,’ has kindly sent me a copy of an article written by Ramchander Baikampadi and published in ‘Mogaveera,’ a Kannada monthly published in Mumbai.

The Kannada article “Malayalam bhashege lipi neeDidavaru naavu tuluvaru” (=Script to Malayalam language was given by we Tuluvas) discusses the Raja of Travancore (Keralaadoption )’s of the Tulu script for writing in Malayalam during the 12th century AD.

For a long time in the last century, our people bemoaned the fact that Tulu lacked a script. Later, however, a large number of taalegari – palmyra leaf – manuscripts written in Tulu script were discovered, and more than 2000 of these are now housed in the Dharmasthala Cultural Research Trust’s collection. Many of these are said to be around 800 years old. Venkataraja Punimchattaya (2001) published a Tulu script booklet. The Tulu script is currently being popularised by the Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy. Neria Harish Hebbar (2003) published the Tulu script details in his internet articles at www.boloji.com/places.

Mayura Sharma revolted against the Pallava kings in the fifth century AD and established the earliest known Kannada kingdom of the Kadamba dynasty, with its capital at Banavasi (now in Uttara Kannada district). Tulunad and parts of Kerala ruled by smaller chieftains appear to have been subject to the Kannada king Mayura Varma’s suzerainty (Mayura Sharma became Mayura Varma after assuming the title of kingship).

Shaivism had a strong influence in southern India, with several Shiva temples built in various parts of Tamilnadu. Mayura Varma and his henchmen built new Shiva temples in Tulunad. According to the epigraphs of his time, Mayura Varma brought Brahmins from Ahichatra (a town on the banks of the Godavari) to perform rituals (Puja ceremonies) in his territory’s temples. He also appears to have sent some Brahmins to Kerala to perform temple rituals.

Even at that time, the relationship between Tulunad and Kerala was harmonious, and Tulu Brahmins travelled to Kerala for further studies in agama shastras or to perform rituals in temples. The Tulu Brahmins used to write the slokas on palmyra leaves (taalegari), which were used for writing at the time, in a curvy, floral script. Previously, it was thought to be a variant of Malayalam script. However, recent research has revealed that this was the script used by Brahmin scholars and was later adopted by Kerala kings.

It is well known that Malayalam did not have its own script until the 12th century AD. The current Malayalam script was developed only after the 12th century. As a result, the Tulu script used by Tulu scholars in Kerala at the time evolved into the current Malayalam script. Ramachander Baikampadi’s new information that the Tulu script was adopted by the King of Travancore during the 12th century AD for writing in Malayalam adds to the Tulu script’s antiquity.

Tulu script’s ancestors

Where did the Tulu scholars discover the script? The Tulu script was not a brand-new language. It was adapted from the alphabets that were in use in the region at the time. Southern India was using variants of the Brahmi and Grantha scripts at the time. Mayura Sharma is said to have gone to Kanchi for his education. Mayura Sharma could have been using a version of Grantha script that was common in southern India.

Kannada script has been gradually evolving since the Kadamba period. It was based on earlier scripts such as brahmi. The Kannada of that time is known as Hale-Kannada (=Old Kannada). However, it appears that the Old Kannada was not yet standardised. The oldest Kannada inscription discovered so far is the Halmidi epigraph (5th century AD).

Tulu scholars were fluent in Devanagari and Kannada, the state language (old). I use the term “state language” because Tulu people were still subject to Kannada kings such as the Kadambas and Chalukyas.

As a result, Tulu scholars used scripts that were a hybrid of Devanagari and early Kannada. Furthermore, Tulu and old Kannada were quite similar languages at the time, more like dialectical variants of the same language. (During the subsequent historical period, the Kannada language evolved in a different way.)

As a result, the Tulu script has some alphabets that are similar to Sanskrit and others that are similar to the Old Kannada and Grantha alphabets that were prevalent at the time. The Tulu script’s initial ‘ah’ and ‘aah’ alphabets are clearly smoothened, curvy variants of the Sanskrit ‘ah’ and ‘aah’. The letters ‘cha,’ ‘zha,’ ‘jna,’ ‘ya,’ and ‘la’ are similar to those in the old Kannada script. Several other Tulu alphabets are related to Grantha script.

Thus, it is clear that the Tulu script was the general script used by scholars in the Tulunad region between the 5th and 12th centuries AD. It is possible that there were local variations in Kannada script within various parts of Kannada state at the time, owing to a lack of standardisation and a scarcity of scholars.

As a result, given the importance of studying the historical evolution of Kannada and Tulu scripts, the original taalegari Tulu scripts must be thoroughly studied and scientifically evaluated. To begin, the palmyra leaves can be carbon dated to determine their age. Second, the variants in the script should be critically examined in relation to epigraphs from various times and regions, so that the chronological evolution of the script in Tulunad can be traced. These studies are likely to have far-reaching implications for the evolution of not only Tulu, but also Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam scripts.

It is worth noting that the Telugu script was based on the Kannada script of the Chalukya period (7th to 8th century AD). The Chalukya kings ruled a portion of Andhra Pradesh at the time, and they introduced the Old Kannada script for writing in Telugu.

Now, there is a general awareness about the revival of the old Tulu script. I use the term “old Tulu script” to emphasise that the Tulu language has grown and evolved over time. For writing in Tulu, we already use the modern Kannada script. Our old Tulu script was based on old Kannada script; similarly, modern Tulu script is based on modern Kannada script. After all, all languages have evolved through borrowing from neighbouring languages, and we should not be ashamed of using modern Kannada script.

Isn’t it better to continue adapting the modern Kannada script for Tulu rather than reintroducing the forgotten old script to both old and new learners of the language? We can adapt the modern Kannada script to suit and accommodate the Tulu language’s unique nuances.