The time is gone, the time gone, the water fowl is hopping away behind the screwpine. When I went there there was neither this nor that. When I went there they made me do the fence which was not there. When I went there they made me dig the pond which was not there. When I went there they made me thatch the unthatched roof. For half a pint of toddy they drive me to death, for half a green coconut they drive me to death. The time is gone, the time is gone the water fowl is hopping away behind the screwpine.

Another of these folk-songs presents a young girl who is able to outwit the young man who slyly approaches her as she is walking across a paddy field. It is in the form of a dialogue. The young man asks her to move closer to him and take cover under his umbrella, but she parries his requests with witty evasions.

Who is going there along the causeway
with bangles on the arms?

Oh, it is only the slave girl
of my lord of the farm.

Throw away those bangles, girl,
and come under this umbrella.

This umbrella is just for a day,
but my bangles are for all my life.

Who is going there along the causeway
with palm-leaf rolls in the ears?

Oh, it is only the slave girl
of my lord of the farm.

Throw away the palm-leaf rolls, girl,
and come under this umbrella.

This unbrella is just for a day,
but these palm-leaf rolls are for all my life.

Who is there going along the causeway
with silver anklets on the feet?

Oh, it is only the slave girl
of my lord of the farm.

Throw away the silver anklets, girl,
and come under this umbrella.

This umbrella is just for a day,
but these anklets are for all my life.

          Among the vocational songs are many which render an actual account of agricultural operations, especially the planting of seedlings and harvesting. The following song is sung by Pulayas who earn their living by working all the year round on the soil:

The rains have all come down,
the little fields are now wet,
the ploughing and tilling over,
the little seedlings have been scattered,
Omala, Chenthila, Mala,
little Kannamma, Kali, Karumpi,

Chatha, Chadaya and all
the Pulaya women have come.

They have come and lined up
and portioned out the seedlings.

To move up the line in unison
they get ready and bend down.

Kanna, the Pulaya girl then,
she calls out to Omala and says:

"You must sing a song
before you finish the planting and go."

Then comes a parrot girl
she perches on the tree and chirps.

The little Pulaya girl Omala
looks up at it and says:

"O, parrot girl, now tell me
why you have come here at all."

          Interspread with beautiful choric refrains made up of meaningless vocables constituting Vaythari metres, these folk-songs have preserved for centuries the pristine musical traditions of Kerala. The Christians and Muslims, along with Brahmins and other upper classes, have also had their religious and social songs. Examples are the door-opening song of the Christians associated with marriage celebrations, coaxing the bridegroom to open the door of the bridal chamber; the famous Moplah songs and ballads with their lyrical lilt and fervour; the Sanghakali songs of the Brahmin theatre, the songs about Kali, used for Thiyattu and Mudiyyettu, the boatsongs or Vanchippattu sung by choral groups to accompany spirited boat race activities: and songs used for Kalameshuthu, Thira and other kinds of ritualistic religious worship.

          Among the ballads of a later period we have the famous Vatakkan Pattukal (ballads of the north) and Thekkan Pattukal (ballads of the south). They cover a wide variety of themes ranging from the historical exploits of the legendary heroes of non-religious folk mythology to songs of lamentation and mourning. The ballads of the north are narratives full of dramatic tension: the main characters belong to the Nayar or Ezhava communities, and are distinguished for their valour, military skill and sense of honour. Family feuds often provide the background or foreground of these stories in verse. Odenan, Aromar, Unniyarcha, Komappan, Chandu, Kelu, Alikkutty and Kannan, are a few of the unforgettable characters who figure in these ballads. Aromar and Odenan are the most colourful of these folk heroes. The Tachcholi ballad which reveals the greatness of Odenan is a saga of heroism, violence, revenge, love and courage. Logan calls Odenan "the Robin Hood of North Malabar". "In the popular ballad he is stated to have been treacherously shot, but whether mortally or not is uncertain, by a Mappilla on returning to search for a dagger he had accidentally dropped in a duel in which he had discomfitted his enemy". The opening of the poem reveals some of the general characteristics of these ballads and conjures up the medieval world of family fueds and superstitions. (Translation by Logan:)

To his squire Odayottidathil Kandasseri (Chappan)
said Tachcholi Meppayil Kunhi Odenan,
"For the Lokanar Kavil Kavut,
Which day of ceremony has come and dawned
We to that temple must go".
Tachcholi Meppayil Kunhi Odenan
His apparel he put on,
His sword and shield he took in his right and left.
In front walked Kandasseri,
In the rear the nobleman Kunhi Odenan,
Together proceeded in company.
Said dear Kunhi Odenan
To his wife Kavile Chathoth Kunchichiru:
"Till I go and come
Don't you go down the gate steps;
Do caress child Ambadi,
Give him milk when thirsty'
And rice when hungry",
So Tachcholi Meppayil Kunhi Odenan
Took leave of Kavile Chathoth.

          When Odenan reached Lokanar Kavu, he found the place already "fenced with men on all four sides". He took his sat under the Banian tree. Mathilur Kurikkal and his twenty-two disciples arrived there then. Kurikkal was not pleased to see Odenan seated there. After an exchange of rancour and insult, the two men came to challenge each other:

When descending the steps,
The Kurikkal shouted loud and challenged:
"My good fellow, Tachcholi Kunhi Odena!
If the tenth and eleventh of Kumbham shall come,
If God will spare my life,
I pledge my word to be at Ponniyat
There under the Banian tree
In single combat could we test out supremacy.
That day let us meet again!"
Thus the Kurikkal declared the war,
In the midst of the Ten Thousand,
And proceeded back on his way.
The sight-seers trembled
At this throwing down and taking up the gauntlet.
A stillness prevailed like that after a heavy rain.
A panic spread
Over all assembled.

          Odenan accepted the challenge and in spite of warnings went to the appointed place on the appointed day. The poetic excellence of this ballad consists not only in the narrative vigour but also in the acuteness of observation displayed by the anonymous writer. Odenan's dinner is described with scrupulous attention to detail:

A Kadali plantain leaf was spread
His sister Tachcholi Unichira
Served him the dinner.
Fine lily-white rice,
A large quantity of pure ghee,
And eleven kinds of vegetables curries.
He fed himself sumptuously on all these
And washed his hands and mouth after it.
He then sat in the south verandah.
Kandassery Chappan, his squire,
Served him betel to chew.

           The description of Odenan's appearance as he set out is even better than this:

He wore God-of-serpent's head ear-ring in ears,
Combed down his hair,
And wore a flower of gold over the crown,
A silk cloth round the lions,
A gold girdle over it,
Gold rings in four fingers,
A bracelet worked in with scenes
From Ramayanam and Bharatam
High up on his right arm,
A gold-handled sword in his right hand,
And a tiger-fighting shield in his left hand.
When coming out thus dressed, he looked
Like melted gold of ten and a half touch!
Like the rising sun in the east!
Like the setting moon in the west!

          Among the ballads of the south, one of the most powerful is the Iravikkuttipillai Battle, also called "The Battle of Kaniyamkulam". The dialogue between the distinguished Warrior Iravikuttippillai and his wife, the latter asking her husband not to proceed to battle because she had seen bad dreams about its dire consequences, is particularly touching. Another equally arresting passage is the description of how the women celebrated the occasion of the hero's glorious march to the battle field in full array. The southern songs have a greater admixture of Tamil words. Ramakatha Pattu, which is, perhaps the most elaborate and most magnificent of these southern poems, is not a ballad but a genuine folk epic. Ayyappilli Asan, the author of this massive epic on the theme of Ramayana, is believed to have lived in the 15th century A.D. But the language and literary style point to a folk bias. Born near Kovalam to the south of Thiruvananthapuram, Asan was a master of Tamil too; his language thus remains very close to Tamil. There are numerous passages in Ramakatha Pattu which have a highly lyrical quality and an unmatched delicacy of imagination.

          The folk poetry of Kerala is still an unspent force. It has always shown greater vigour and vitality than the poetry of the elite. The metrical richness of Malayalam folk poetry, too, is immense. It reflects the fundamentally musical approach to poetry that manifests itself in Malayalam literature. A predominant and all-pervasive sense of rhythm seems to be so characteristic a feature of Kerala culture. It might even be said that the perenial appeal of the Pattu school of poetry is mainly due to the inexhaustible melodic potentiality of its metrical structure. The vitality of the folk tradition in historical times is demonstrated by the Mappila Pattukal (Moplah songs) which have not only enriched the metrical resources of the language but put special emphasis on vira and sringara (the heroic and the erotic). The Arabi-Malayalam language used in these Moplah songs establishes the quaint beauty of their melodies. In the same way the Idanadan Pattu, a ballad with a Pylaya hero, adds to the variety of folk poetry in Malayalam.

Ramacharitam

          The evidence for the beginning of conscious literary creation in Malayalam is to be found in Ramacharitam, written in the 12th century and believed to be the oldest extant classic in Malayalam (some scholars have assigned it to the 14th century). The language represented here is an early form of Malayalam which appears to be almost indistinguishable from Tamil, except perhaps for a linguist. Ramacharitam is the earliest of the many poetic versions of the story of Ramayana that have appeared in Malayalam. The work is thus important from the linguistic as well as the literary point of view. Ulloor Parameswara Iyer who was the first to bring to light long excerpts from this poem, holds the view that it was written by Sri Vira Rama Varma who ruled over Travancore from 1195 to 1208. Scholars differ on whether the language of Ramacharitam represents the literary dialect or the spoken dialect of Malayalam of that period.

          Ramacharitam is also taken to the greatest work belonging to the Pattu school. Cheeraman, the author, as his name is given in the poem itself, has adapted to suit a Dravidian sensibility, a story which is unmistakably of Aryan origin. The work retells the story of Ramayana and the author tries to follow Valmiki in all essential details. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that one could read the work as an original and independent poem in which the story is told with remarkable ease, maturity and perfect craftsmanship. It rises far above the level of ordinary folk poetry in its literary sophistication. Even the stansas of invocation is section one show great skill not only in condensing a whole series of events in one context but also in intoning the emotion or bhava in a concentrated form. Here is a passage, for example:

                             So difficult it is for me to narrate
                             how the son of Vayu hugged grief for a night
                             seeking Maithili, the long-eyed one,
                             crossing the billowy sea with perfect skill,
                             as the monkeys went about in all directions
                             at the orders of their king who had become friends
                             with Rama, while he was wandering along the route
                             on which, before the rainy months came,
                             the Rakshasa chief had disappeared with Sita.

          The focus is on Hanuman and the context is clearly specified so that the reference to the night of grief spells out the central bhava. It also marks out the part of the Ramayana story which is going to be narrated in the present work. In the 1814 verses grouped into 164 sections the poet tries to tell in a dramatic style the war between Rama and Ravana. Thus, although the work is called Ramacharitam, it deals with only the Battle Canto (Yudha Kanda) of Ramayana. The earlier episodes in Rama's life are told by means of retrospective narration. The scenes of battle are described with verve and vigour. Physical prowess in fully appreciated by the poet. Some scholars have argued that this poem was composed in order to inspire the soldiers in the discharge of their duty. But there are other emotions also invoked in the poem. Bhakti or piety is dominant in many passages since the author presents Rama as an incarnation of Vishnu. In this, as in many other aspects, it is likely that the author was influenced by writers like Kambar. There is no doubt that in the depiction of both the heroic and the pathetic or tragic the poet shows extreme delicacy of touch and propriety. Here is Mandodari's lament as Ravana, her lord, lies killed in battle:

O King, lying asleep on this battle ground
in royal regalia, kindly rise,
as we of the weaker sex and I, your bondmaid,
who used to make you utter elixir-like words,
weep, while speaking brave words to endure this,
so that our lotus eyes fill with tears blurring the sight.