Cherupaithangal (Malayalam: à ´Âà µÂà ´±à µÂà ´ªà µÂà ´¤à ´Âà µÂà ´Âà µ¾. Full title: à ´Âà µÂà ´±à µÂà ´ªà µÂà ´¤à ´Âà µÂà ´Âà µ¾à ´Âà µÂà ´ à ´Âà ´ªà ´Âà ´¾à ´°à ´¾à µ¼à ´¤à µÂà ´¥à ´ à ´Âà ´Âà ´Âà µÂà ´²à µÂà ´¶à ´¿à µ½à ´¨à ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´¨ à ´ªà ´°à ´¿à ´Âà ´¾à ´·à ´ªà µÂà ´ªà µÂà ´Âà µÂà ´¤à µÂà ´¤à ´¿à ´¯ à ´Âà ´¥à ´Âà µ¾) is the first Malayalam book ever to be printed in Kerala. It is not the Malayalam book ever to be printed. The first Malayalam book ever to be printed is Samká¹£epavedÃÂrththham authored by Clemente Peani and printed in Rome in 1772. Cherupaithangal is a collection of seven stories for children translated from English by the British missionary Benjamin Bailey and printed in C. M. S. Press, Kottayam in 1824. It is also the first book in Malayalam that could be categorized as children's literature. The existence of this book was long forgotten and, in modern times, it was brought to public awareness by George Irumbayam, an Indian literary critic and literature researcher, in June 2024. The digital version of the book was made publicly available by Kerala Sahitya Akademi on 8 February 2014.
The seven stories
The following are rough English translations of the titles of the seven stories in the book.
- The story of a four year old girl named Marjari from England (à ´Âà ´Âà ´Âà ´²à ´¾à ´¨à µÂà ´¤à ´¿à µ½à ´®à ´¾à µÂà ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´°à ´¿à ´Âà ´¨à µÂà ´¨à ´ªà µÂà ´°à ´¾à ´¯à ´¿à ´¨à ´¾à ´² à ´µà ´¯à ´¸à µÂà ´¸à ´Âà µÂà ´¨à µÂà ´¨ à ´Âà ´°à µ à ´ªà µÂà µºà ´ªà µÂà ´¤à ´²à ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
- The story of a knowledgeable child (à ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´¾à ´¨à ´¿à ´ªà µÂà ´¤à ´²à ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
- The story of lamps (à ´Âà ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´¿à µ»à ´Âà µÂà ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´¿à ´Âà ´³à µÂà ´Âà µ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
- The story of fortitude in adversity (à ´µà ´¿à ´ªà ´¦à ´¿ à ´§à µÂà µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´¯à ´ à ´Âà ´°à µ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
- The story of George and his wheel (à ´Âà µÂà µÂà ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´Âà ´Â
à ´µà ´¨à µÂà ´±à µÂà ´Âà ´Âà µÂà ´°à ´¤à µÂà ´¤à ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
- History of King Edward VI (à ´Âà ´¡à µÂà ´µà ´¾à µÂà ´¡ à ´Âà ´¨à µÂà ´¨ à ´ªà µÂà µ¼à ´Âà ´³à ´µà ´¾à ´¯à ´°à ´¾à ´Âà ´¾à ´Âà µÂà ´Âà ´¨à µÂà ´®à ´¾à ´°à ´¿à µ½ à ´Âà ´±à ´¾à ´®à ´µà ´¨à µÂà ´±à µ à ´Âà ´°à ´¿à ´¤à ´Â)
- The meaning of mental strength (à ´®à ´¨à ´¸à µÂà ´¸à µÂà ´±à ´ªà µÂà ´ªà ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µ à ´¸à ´Âà ´Âà ´¤à ´¿)
- The story of Theophilus and Savio (à ´¤à µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´«à ´¿à ´²à µÂà ´¸à ´¿à ´¨à µÂà ´±à µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´ à ´¸à µÂà ´µà µÂà ´¯à ´¾à ´¯à µÂà ´Âà µÂà ´¯à µÂà ´ à ´Âà ´¥à ´¾)
Full text
The full text of the book is available for free download in Internet Archive at the link Cherupaithangal.
See also
References