The Famous German in Illikunnu

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On a hillock at Illikunnu, a suburb of Thalassery one can find a colonial styled bungalow which is named after a famous German - Herman Gundert. This sprawling bungalow was built in the 19th century with wide verandas & huge doors but what attracts visitors is the life of the man who stayed here. As you walk along the verandah or the grounds around one gets to know the man himself. The person who is credited for compiling the first Malayalam Dictionary has many other publications to his credit. Gundert was a known missionary but his linguistic prowess is what made him known. 

 

Born in Stuttgart, Germany Herman Gundert always liked dialects which made him learn Hebrew, Latin, English & French. He was also a good musician playing the organ, piano & violin with ease. His father was a votary and so under his influence pursued doctoral degree in Philology. The Basel Mission started its missionary work in Switzerland in 1815 and they considered India as an important place. Herman Gundert was selected to make the journey to Malabar. He arrived at Madras in 1836 & it was during this journey that he met his future wife who was a co-tourist on this mission. He married Julie Dubois in 1938 & the couple reached Thalassery in 1939. 



Being a missionary his primary objective was to spread the word of Christianity but his love for literature made him mingle with the local people learning about their lives & dialect. He was exceptional in learning languages & easily found his way with the people around. He wanted people to understand the importance of language & so started the first Malayalam Newspaper - Rajyasamacharam. His need to spread the word of gospels among people also resulted in starting a magazine by the name Pashchimodayam. Many credit him for the dictionary that he published but one should also give him credit for the exceptional work that he did in making the Malayalam language better by compiling a Malayalam Grammar book by the name of Malayalabhasha Vyakarnam. With this book he also introduced punctuations in the Malayalam language.

 

Apart from being a good literary scholar Herman Gundert was also keen on giving the locals primary education and so started his first school inside the verandah of the bungalow. His wife also started a girls boarding school here. Later Gundert also started schools around Thalasseri to give more children an opportunity to study. Gundert may be a German by birth but his work in and around Thalasseri made people follow his way of life. Gundert did return back to Germany later in his life and this is where he finally finished the dictionary. 


#thalassery #gundert

 

Location: Thalassery, Kerala, India

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