Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan

Thunchath Ramanujan Ezhuthachan was an Indian poet from around the 16th century (according to historian Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer). He is known as “the father of the Malayalam language” — the principal language of the Indian state of Kerala. He was born at Trikkantiyur, at the town of Tirur, in Vettathunadu. His personal name is Ramanujan. Thunchaththu is his “family name”, and Ezhuthachan (schoolmaster) is an honorific title or the last name indicating his caste. His name is transliterated in several ways, including Thunchath Ezhuthachan, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, and Thunjath Ezhuthachan.