Impact of English education[edit] This section does not cite any references or s

ources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources
. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2012)
The progress of literature in the Cochin and Malabar areas during this period wa
s influenced by the advancement of English education in these regions. The educa
tional activities of the missionaries belonging to the Basel Mission deserve spe
cial mention. It was under their auspices that Dr Gundert, a German missionary o
f exceptional linguistic talents, produced by his own personal effort the Malaya
lamEnglish Dictionary, which even today remains an authoritative work. A priest G
eorge Mathan wrote the first authoritative grammar book in Malayalam titled Mala
yanmayude Vyakaranam. Thanks to the efforts of kings like Swathi Thirunal and th
e assistance given by him to the Church Mission and London Mission Societies a n
umber of schools were started.
Prose literature[edit] This section does not cite any references or sources. Ple
ase help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (July 2012)
The establishment of the Madras University in 1857 marks an important event in t
he cultural history of Kerala. It is from here that a generation of scholars wel
l versed in Western literature and with the capacity to enrich their own languag
e by adopting Western literary trends came into being. Prose was the first branc
h to receive an impetus by its contact with English. Though there was no shortag
e of prose in Malayalam, it was not along Western lines. It was left to the fars
ighted policy of the Maharaja of Travancore (1861 to 1880) to start a scheme for
the preparation of textbooks for use by schools in the state. Kerala Varma V, a
scholar in Sanskrit, Malayalam and English was appointed Chairman of the Commit
tee formed to prepare textbooks. He wrote several books suited for various stand
ards.
The growth of journalism, too, helped in the development of prose. Initiated by
missionaries for the purpose of religious propaganda, journalism was taken up by
local scholars who started newspapers and journals for literary and political a
ctivities.
Short Stories[edit]Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar, (1861-1914)from Thalassery was t
he author of first Malayalam short story, Vasanavikriti. After him innumerable w
orld class literature works by was born in Malayalam.
Novels[edit]With his work Kundalatha in 1887, Appu Nedungadi marks the origin of
prose fiction in Malayalam. Other talented writers were Chandu Menon, the autho
r of Indulekha, a great social novel, in 1889 and another called Sarada. Also th
ere was C V Raman Pillai, who wrote the historical novel Marttandavarma in 1890
as well as works like Dharmaraja, and Ramaraja Bahadur.[citation needed]
Drama and poetry[edit] This section does not cite any references or sources. Ple
ase help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (July 2012)

Shakuntala writes to Dushyanta. Painting by Raja Ravi Varma. The poetry was tran
slated by Kerala Varma as AbhijnanasakuntalamIn poetry there were two main trend
s, one represented by Venmani Nampoodiris(venmani Poets) and the other by Kerala
Varma. The latter's poetry was modeled on the old Manipravalam style abounding
in Sanskrit words and terms, but it had a charm of its own when adapted to expre
ss new ideas in that masterly way characteristic of himself. His translation of
Kalidasa's Abhijnanasakuntalam in 1882 marks an important event in the history o
f Malayalam drama and poetry. Also Kerala Varma's Mayura-sandesam is a Sandesaka
vya (messenger poem) written after the manner of Kalidasa's Meghadutam. Though i
t cannot be compared with the original, it was still one of the most popularly a
cclaimed poems in Malayalam.
One of the notable features of the early decades of the 20th century was the gre
at interest taken by writers in translating works from Sanskrit and English into
Malayalam. Kalidasa's Meghaduta and Kumarasambhava by A. R. Raja Raja Varma and
the Raghuvamsa by K. N. Menon must be mentioned. One of the most successful of
the later translators was C. S. Subramaniam Potti who set a good model by his tr
anslation of the Durgesanandini of Bankim Chandra from an English version of it.