Being Volume VI of the Series: International Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Vol. I dealing with the literatures of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit & Apabhramsa, 1987. Vol. II, III, IV & V covering Tamil, Assamese, Kannada, Telugu respectively), the present work on Malayalam offers articles on all important poets, dramatists. Fiction writers, essayists and critics and their important works from the beginning of Malayalam literature down to the present times. The entries are arranged alphabetically. Generally articles on Indian writers go with their Christian names. But there are cross references under their surnames. This would enable one to locate the writers easily. The articles have been compiled and edited by Dr. Ganga Ram Gar, the editor of International Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature Series. These have been read by Dr. K. Ramachandran Nair, Professor and Head of the Department of Malayalam, University of Kerala, Trivandrum. For non-Malayalam readers and for those who want to have a bird’s eye-view of Malayalam literature, a Survey has been placed in the beginning of the Volume. The first work of its kind in English about Malayalam literature. It should serve the purpose of a handy reference tool. It is a must for the libraries of colleges, universities, institutes, academies and for scholars. It should prove quite useful where Malayalam is studied but also where there is a comparative study of modern Indian languages. It also serves the purpose of those non-Malayalam scholars, who happen to come across names of Malayalam writers and their works. Since Malayalam forms a language of the Dravidian group, the Encyclopaedia should attract special attention in South India.
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