A05146 : Lesson - 6-THE BIRTH AND GROWTH OF-TAMIL PROSE

    This lesson teaches you all about the birth and growth of Tamil prose and the history of those who helped it grow. It also tells you about the changes that took place in Tamil prose through the ages.

    Prose is capable of saying a thing simply and directly. It can be understood even by the common man. It has introduction, an explanation and a conclusion. Though prose does not have a separate grammar for itself, it is limited to paragraphs and pages. Since it is simple, it is used by various departments. It can accommodate ordinary words used in spoken Tamil as well as highly exalted literary words. Scientific information can be given clearly and briefly in prose.

    There are references to prose in the Tholkaappiyam, which claim that literary prose is of four kinds. Unfortunately, we do not have any such ancient prose texts. In ancient times, Literature, grammar, medicine, astrology, and philosophy were all written in verse. To explain these verse texts to the layman, commentaries in prose were written. Initially, these commentaries were handed down only by oral tradition. They were first recorded on Palm-leaves in the 8th century A.D. The first Tamil prose commentary written on palm-leaves, was Irayanaar akaporul urai. Later commentaries were in the form of catechism.

    In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were changes in the quality of prose. Separate Tamil prose works began to appear. Simiplicity in word and phrase was considered necessary. These changes were the result of the influence of the Europeans. The new prose was of three kinds:

(1) Prose that was very much like spoken Tamil;
(2) Prose that had a mixture of spoken Tamil, and
(3) Prose that was grammatically pure.

    The changes brought about in the prose of this period were necessitated by the following factors:

(1) administrative needs
(2) The growth of newspapers
(3) Religious propaganda
(4) The growth of education

    There was a time when prose grew because of the Tamil language. Today, Tamil grows only through prose. To that extent, the need for prose has increased. The 20th century has produced great prose writers like Bharathi, Pudumai Pitthan, Thiru.V.Kalyana sundaram and Maraimalai Adigal.

    Thus, this lesson gives you a detailed account of the origin and development of Tamil prose.