An Open Letter to the Chief Minister of Keralam : Use Keralam as a Noun and Kerala as an Adjective

Dear Shri V.D. Satheesan,

I am writing this letter to draw your attention to what I consider an avoidable linguistic blunder committed jointly by the Union Government and the Kerala Government in changing the name of the state from Kerala to Keralam.

I have nothing against calling the state Keralam. In fact, Keralam is the correct Malayalam name of the state. What I object to is the indiscriminate use of the word Keralam in places where the word Kerala is grammatically appropriate.

Change for the sake of change is not necessarily progress. Sometimes, it only creates confusion and, worse, exposes our ignorance.

Let me explain.

Keralam is a noun. It is perfectly correct to say, “Keralam was formed in 1956.” It is equally correct to refer to the University of Keralam. But when the same word is used as an adjective, it undergoes a change.

We say Kerala University, Kerala House and Kerala Government. We do not say Keralam University, Keralam House or Keralam Government.

The distinction is not peculiar to Kerala. It is a feature of the Malayalam language that we have followed for generations.

Take the word Onam, for instance. We celebrate Onam, but we call the traditional feast Ona Sadya and the traditional garment Onappudava. We do not say Onam Sadya or Onam Pudava. The terminal ‘m’ disappears when the word is used adjectivally.

The same principle applies to Malayalam. We speak Malayalam, but the language is referred to as Malayala Bhasha, not Malayalam Bhasha. We have Malayala Manorama, not Malayalam Manorama. Nobody has suggested changing the name of that newspaper to Malayalam Manorama merely because Malayalam is the name by which the language is widely known in English.

Why, then, should the same grammatical rule not apply to Keralam?

There is another reason why this distinction matters to me personally. I happen to be the President of the Kerala Club, New Delhi, an institution founded in 1939 by V.P. Menon. Can anyone seriously suggest that we should rename it the Keralam Club? That would be linguistically incorrect and would sound awkward to generations of people familiar with the institution. The name Kerala Club is perfectly appropriate because Kerala is being used adjectivally.

I have no objection to the state being officially called Keralam. It is our name for our homeland, and there is nothing wrong with asserting it. But the noun and its adjectival form cannot be treated as interchangeable. We should continue to say Kerala Government, Kerala sports, Kerala food, Kerala culture and Kerala University. Keralam should be used when referring to the state as a noun.

I suspect the confusion arose because many people believe that Kerala is merely the English name for Keralam. That is not quite how language works. Kerala is not some foreign or inferior version of Keralam. It is the appropriate adjectival form that has evolved and been used in Malayalam itself.

The decision to change the name may have been driven by a desire to restore the state’s linguistic identity. That is an admirable sentiment. But linguistic pride should go hand in hand with linguistic competence. We cannot claim to honour Malayalam while disregarding its grammar.

I would therefore request you to take up this matter with the Union Government and the relevant linguistic authorities. The official adoption of the name Keralam need not mean that every institution, organisation, department or activity associated with the state must have its name altered to include the terminal ‘m’. Such indiscriminate usage does not enrich Malayalam; it only distorts it.

There is no virtue in changing something that is already correct. Nor should we mistake a cosmetic change for cultural rejuvenation.

Let Keralam remain Keralam. But let the Kerala Government continue to be the Kerala Government!